Apple can't build enough iPhone Duos

PLUS: TikTok builds its super app

Good morning, tech enthusiasts. Apple finally made a foldable, and now it can’t make enough of them.

The $1,999 iPhone Duo sold out within hours of launch, and Apple won’t say when supply will catch up. Some orders are already slipping into Jan. 2027.

Also: TikTok keeps building out its everything app, and BrainCo wants a wearable to do Ozempic’s job.

In today’s tech rundown:

  • Apple says it can’t predict Duo supply fix

  • TikTok builds a super app, piece by piece

  • BrainCo aims to build an ‘electronic GLP-1’

  • Rivian, Ford scale up 3D-printed car parts

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

APPLE

Image source: Apple

The Rundown: Apple’s $1,999 iPhone Duo is proving easier to sell than to build, with Apple saying it still can’t predict when supply of its first-ever foldable will finally catch up with demand.

The details:

  • Apple executives said that the Duo remains supply-constrained even as manufacturing ramps, with some orders slipping into Jan. 2027.

  • The Duo sold out online within hours of its Oct. launch, while limited retail inventory and long shipping windows have persisted since preorders opened.

  • CEO John Ternus said a “very small percentage” of Duo units have been returned over display problems, including reports of cracked inner screens.

  • iPhone revenue rose 17% to $57.6B without any Duo sales, since the phone went on sale after the quarter closed.

Why it matters: The Duo is Apple’s first foldable, and a long shortage will show whether its supply chain can scale a device this complex. Rising memory costs, driven by AI demand, are already adding pressure on several products, so the squeeze also looks to be reaching past the Duo.

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TIKTOK

Image source: TikTok

The Rundown: TikTok just launched Must Eat, a restaurant guide built from 40M+ posts and comments. It’s the newest addition to a stack that already covers shopping, hotel booking, and sports scores, and may soon include sending money.

The details:

  • Live in NYC, LA, and the Bay Area, Must Eat features two lists per city (Everyday Eats and Elevated Dining) and filters for cuisine, price, rating, and distance.

  • U.S. TikTok Shop sales hit $15.82B in 2025, up 108% after a 407% jump in 2024, according to eMarketer estimates.

  • TikTok GO launched in May for booking hotels, attractions, and experiences in the app. A World Cup hub followed in June with live scores and schedules.

  • Bloomberg found code in the U.S. iPhone app for sending money in DMs through TikTok Pay. TikTok says it isn’t testing the feature.

Why it matters: Uber added hotel booking in April, X launched in-app payments in July, and TikTok now has hotels, a store, and a restaurant guide, with payments reportedly still only in code. TikTok says it already sent 27M Americans to a local restaurant, cafe, or shop for the first time last year, spending an estimated $4.7B.

BRAIN TECH

Image source: BrainCo (BrainCo’s EEG headband)

The Rundown: BrainCo, the brain-tech startup often called China’s answer to Neuralink, is building a wearable that it’s pitching as a drug-free alternative to GLP-1 weight-loss injections, Bloomberg reports.

The details:

  • BrainCo says the wearable would use brain stimulation to reduce appetite, with founding partner Nyx He describing it as an “electronic version of GLP-1.”

  • The company hopes to launch it in China within two to three years before potentially expanding to the U.S.

  • BrainCo says it already makes EEG-based medical and wellness devices, research systems, and bionic hands that translate neural signals into movement.

  • GLP-1 drugs act on receptors across the brain and body, while BrainCo is betting electrical stimulation can tap into appetite-control circuits.

Why it matters: Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. adults say they’ve used a GLP-1 drug, per KFF, so there is a big market for these treatments. But stimulating the brain to suppress appetite wouldn’t necessarily reproduce the broader effects of GLP-1 drugs, and BrainCo has yet to publicly demo comparable weight-loss results in large human trials.

AUTO

Image source: Ford

The Rundown: Rivian, Ford, and GM are taking 3D printers out of the prototype lab and putting them on the factory floor, where they now make tools, fixtures, and low-volume production parts, CNBC reports.

The details:

  • Rivian spent $5M on 3D-printing equipment, with materials running about $1.7M a year, saying that the machines cut wait times for parts from weeks to days.

  • Ford runs 200+ printers in its program and expects 3D labs at 23+ plants by year-end. A vending machine in Dearborn hands out printed tools.

  • GM puts 135 printed components on the Cadillac Celestiq. Stratasys’ Fadi Abro called GM a model for how to “standardize and then scale” the tech.

  • Automakers are using printers to bypass tooling delays, shrink inventories, and fix problems before the supply chain has time to get involved.

Why it matters: 3D printing won’t replace stamping presses or injection molding for mass production anytime soon, but it can make tools and low-volume parts faster and closer to where they’re needed. For now, it looks more like a way to make supply chains more flexible than a way to replace them.

QUICK HITS

Apple’s post-Tim Cook era opened with a bang, as CEO John Ternus’s first earnings report delivered record Sept.-quarter revenue of $114.5B, up 12% year over year.

DoorDash is rolling out $12 meal boxes from local restaurants in 20+ U.S. cities, with no delivery fee and reduced service fees, as it competes for budget-conscious diners.

Meta is reportedly considering raising at least $20B via new bonds to help fund its massive AI infrastructure spending, though the final decision is yet to be made.

Supermarkets in Belgium and Sweden reported suspected cyberattacks that tampered with refrigeration systems, similar to attacks recently seen in France.

Snap finalized a settlement to avoid an LA trial alleging Snapchat’s design contributed to social-media addiction and harm among young users.

SpaceX may buy Boost Mobile or tap its network, giving Starlink a path to become a full-fledged wireless carrier, the Washington Post reports.

Biotech-developed drug Tavneos is facing possible FDA withdrawal after regulators raised concerns that its pivotal trial data may have been manipulated.

Hackers exploited poorly secured billboard systems worldwide to display pornographic content, exposing basic security failures in thousands of internet-connected displays.

North Korea dismissed U.S. allegations that state-linked hackers stole $6.3B from Binance as “absurd,” as the crypto exchange says withdrawals have now normalized.

Website builder Squarespace is cutting about 300 jobs, or 19% of its workforce, just over two years after private-equity firm Permira took the company private for $7.2B.

Ford launched a new “privacy promise” to clearly explain how it collects and uses connected-car data and pledge not to monetize driving data or use it for targeted ads.

That's it for today's tech rundown!

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Rowan, Zach, Shubham, Jennifer, and Nate — The Rundown’s editorial team

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