Apple takes the crown from Samsung

PLUS: MIT says AI is ready now for 12% of jobs

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Jennifer Mossalgue & Rowan Cheung
November 28, 2025

Good morning, tech enthusiasts. Apple is about to end Samsung’s 14-year reign as the world’s top phone maker, powered by iPhone 17 hype and a global upgrade cycle kicking into gear.

Apple is smartly sliding into budget territory it once ignored, and analysts say this price-slashing could keep the Cupertino giant on top until 2029. Could a rumored foldable iPhone be the final twist of the knife?

In today’s tech rundown:

  • Apple set to overtake Samsung for top spot

  • MIT says AI is ready for 12% of jobs

  • Alibaba launches Meta-rivaling AI glasses

  • China rescues astronauts stranded on space station

  • Quick hits on other tech news

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

APPLE

Image source: Ideogram / The Rundown

The Rundown: Apple is poised to overtake Samsung as the world's largest smartphone maker in 2025, reclaiming the top spot for the first time in some 14 years on the back of surging iPhone 17 demand.

The details:

  • Counterpoint Research expects Apple to ship about 243M iPhones next year versus roughly 235M phones for Samsung, a gap of around 8M units.

  • That would give Apple about a 19.4% share of the global smartphone market, edging out Samsung at about 18.7% as the overall market grows just over 3%.

  • The surge is driven by strong iPhone 17 sales and a major upgrade cycle as pandemic-era devices age out, especially in the U.S. and China.

  • Analysts expect Apple to hold the No. 1 spot through at least 2029, helped by upcoming lower-cost “e” models and a possible foldable iPhone.

Why it matters: Apple's riding high on strong iPhone 17 sales, even as the iPhone Air stumbles. But the key move is Apple's expansion beyond premium, betting it can dominate multiple price tiers at once — hooking aspirational buyers in developing markets while keeping high-end customers locked in the iOS ecosystem.

MIT

Image source: Ideogram / The Rundown

The Rundown: MIT just quantified the AI job scare: 11.7% of the U.S. labor market is now economically replaceable by existing AI, representing roughly $1.2T in annual wages across finance, healthcare, admin work, and white-collar services.

The details:

  • The estimate comes from the new “Iceberg Index,” a large-scale simulation that models 151M U.S. workers, mapping 32K skills across 923 occupations.

  • Researchers contrast a "Surface Index" of current AI use — 2.2% of wages, mostly in tech — with an 11.7% "Iceberg Index" of tasks already automatable.

  • Not surprisingly, the jobs most exposed are heavy on repeatable cognitive and admin work in sectors like finance, healthcare, and professional services.

Why it matters: The 11.7% figure represents what AI can handle right now, not what will actually get automated — that depends on corporate strategy, political decisions, and adoption speed. But some states are already using the index to run what-if scenarios on retraining and investment before the automation wave hits for real.

ALIBABA

Image source: Alibaba

The Rundown: Alibaba just entered the smart glasses race with its Meta-rivaling Quark AI Glasses, a $500-ish wearable powered by the company’s Qwen large language models, now hitting the shelves in China.

The details:

  • The glasses come in two models — the flagship S1 and stripped-down G1, starting at 3,799 yuan ($537) and 1,899 yuan ($268), respectively.

  • Alibaba says the main hardware difference is the lenses: the S1 uses clear micro-OLED screens in the frames, while the G1 omits the AR-style display.

  • Both models include bone conduction microphones, built-in cameras, and a swappable dual-battery system that can last up to 24 hours on a charge.

  • The glasses plug into Alibaba's commerce stack, letting users look at products and instantly pull up Taobao pricing or trigger Alipay payments, for example.

Why it matters: Alibaba is betting it can beat Meta by wiring AI glasses directly into China's largest e-commerce and payments infrastructure. While Meta relies on partners like Ray-Ban, Alibaba owns the full stack from hardware to checkout, potentially delivering a tighter — and more profitable — experience.

SPACE

Image source: Shujianyang via Wikimedia

The Rundown: China launched an uncrewed Shenzhou-22 spacecraft as an emergency lifeboat for three astronauts stranded on the Tiangong space station after suspected space debris cracked their return capsule.

The details:

  • The capsule docked with Tiangong just over three and a half hours after liftoff, restoring a guaranteed escape route and delivering supplies.

  • The damaged Shenzhou-20 spacecraft was scheduled to return three astronauts to Earth earlier this month, but window cracks grounded the vehicle.

  • China's space agency accelerated the launch, originally slated for April or May 2026, to provide a safe return option.

  • Shenzhou-22 hauled medical supplies, station equipment, repair tools for the damaged capsule, plus fresh fruit, vegetables, and comfort foods.

Why it matters: China's response validates its "one launch, one on standby" emergency protocol, which keeps a backup spacecraft and rocket in near-readiness at Jiuquan. The swift resolution stands in sharp contrast to NASA's handling of two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station for nine months last year.

QUICK HITS

HP Inc. plans to cut 4K to 6K jobs worldwide by fiscal 2028 as it leans on AI to drive productivity across its PC and printer business.

Anduril’s autonomous weapons are flunking real-world tests, reports the WSJ, as the Palmer Luckey–founded defense startup rides a $2.5B raise to a $30.5B valuation.

McKinsey quietly cut about 200 global tech jobs as it shifts more internal work to AI systems, joining a wider trend of using automation to handle support tasks.

The European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution calling for children under 16 to be barred from social media by default unless parents explicitly consent.

A trial of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic shows that when people stop taking them, they tend to regain the weight and lose many of the cardiovascular and metabolic benefits.

Singapore-made AI “Kumma” teddy bear is back on sale even after it was recalled for the toy’s chatbot engaging in sexually explicit conversations.

WeRide and Uber launched the Middle East’s first fully driverless robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi, a year after starting operations with safety drivers.

Pony.ai plans to triple its global robotaxi fleet from about 1K vehicles at the end of this year to more than 3K by the end of 2026 as its growth ambitions ramp up.

YouTube is testing a new “Your Custom Feed” feature that lets users actively shape their home recommendations with prompts rather than solely relying on algorithms.

Battery recycler Redwood Materials, which just raised $350M, is cutting about 5% of its 1,200-person workforce — affecting a few dozen employees.

COMMUNITY

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Rowan, Jennifer, and Joey—The Rundown’s editorial team

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