Apple unfolds its decade-long iPhone

PLUS: Australia wants algorithms to be optional

Good morning, tech enthusiasts. Apple has chased a foldable iPhone for the better part of a decade — and tomorrow, it will finally show it off.

It’s late to the bendable-phone party: Huawei and Xiaomi both unveiled new models in China this week, raising the pressure on Apple to turn a niche gadget into the smartphone’s next big thing.

Also today: Australia wants to let you switch off the algorithm that keeps you scrolling, plus a new wearable tracks how your brain works.

In today’s tech rundown:

  • Apple gets ready to ‘unfold’ the iPhone

  • Australia is coming for the ‘For You’ feed

  • This $499 wearable tracks your brain all day

  • Huawei and Xiaomi unveil high-end foldables

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

APPLE

Image source: Apple

The Rundown: Apple’s Sept. 9 event is expected to put years of product development onstage, with new CEO John Ternus set to unveil Apple’s first foldable iPhone, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro lineup, new Watches, and a push to make Siri AI matter.

The details:

  • Tomorrow’s event could be one of Apple’s biggest in years, with the company expected to introduce a book-style foldable, reportedly priced at over $2K.

  • Apple’s foldable ambitions stretch back more than a decade, with patents and prototypes predating Samsung’s original Galaxy Fold.

  • The device is expected to open into a tablet-sized display, combining an iPhone and small iPad, while Apple has reportedly prioritized a flatter inner screen.

  • Apple is also expected to launch only the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, pushing the standard iPhone 18 and other lower-priced models into spring 2027.

Why it matters: Foldables still account for only around 2% of smartphone sales, but Apple is aiming to change that and give people a reason to upgrade as replacement cycles stretch out. The real test is whether enough buyers will pay $2K-plus to push a still-niche form factor into the mainstream.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Image source: Images 2.0 / The Rundown

The Rundown: Australia wants to make the “For You” feed optional: new draft laws would force social platforms to ask Australians whether they want algorithmic recommendations or a feed limited to the accounts they actually chose to follow.

The details:

  • The “My Feed, My Way” initiative requires platforms to notify users and let anyone over 16 toggle personalized recommendations off by default.

  • It’s part of a Digital Duty of Care covering apps, messaging, and chatbots, which would have to protect under-18s from addictive design and harmful content.

  • Platforms would need to document how they reduce risks to users, overseen by eSafety; penalties reach A$109.2M (~$79M) for failures to comply.

  • The draft is out for consultation and slated for Parliament later this year. The EU’s DSA already requires very large platforms to offer a recommendation option.

Why it matters: Age bans govern who gets on a platform and takedowns govern what stays up, but Australia is going after the recommendation systems that decide what gets amplified in the first place. If it works, the policy could offer a less blunt alternative to age bans: giving users more control over the algorithms shaping their feeds.

WEARABLES

Image source: Atlas

The Rundown: Brain tracking could be the next frontier for wearables: San Francisco startup Atlas just opened preorders for a $499 behind-the-ear EEG device designed to measure focus, stress, and mental fatigue throughout the day.

The details:

  • Atlas 1.0 sits behind the ear and mixes EEG with motion, skin-conductance, and voice-vibration sensors to give “Presence,” “Stress,” and “Energy Burn” scores.

  • Atlas says its main advance is capturing usable EEG while people move, drawing on more than 500K real-world brain recordings to train its algorithms.

  • The app pairs brain data with context like sleep, exercise, and calendar activity to show what may be helping or hindering focus and stress.

  • The Pioneer Edition costs $499, with a $29.99 monthly subscription and shipping planned for Q1 2027; Atlas has already raised $24M.

Why it matters: Wearables have largely focused on heart rate, sleep, and movement; Atlas is trying to bring continuous tracking to the brain. If its measurements hold up outside controlled settings, consumer EEG could become a new layer of personal computing, though reducing brain activity to simple scores still deserves skepticism.

SMARTPHONES

Image source: Xiaomi

The Rundown: Not to be outdone by Apple’s big event, Huawei and Xiaomi just launched their latest foldable flagships in China, unveiling their most ambitious hardware in the foldable game.

The details:

  • Huawei’s new Mate XT2 tri-fold opens into a tablet-sized display and runs on the company’s new Kirin 9050 Pro chip, with a redesigned hinge.

  • The XT2 starts at 19,999 yuan (~$2,980) and rises to 24,999 yuan, with Huawei claiming a 42% performance gain over its predecessor.

  • Xiaomi’s new 18 Fold starts at 10,999 yuan (~$1,639) and pairs with Xiaomi’s XRing O3 processor, with enough screen space to run three apps simultaneously.

  • The launches land as Huawei commands ~68% of China’s foldable-phone shipments, while Apple is expected to unveil its foldable device on Sept. 9.

Why it matters: Apple may be new to foldables, but it is entering a Chinese market where Huawei and Xiaomi have spent years refining the form factor. Foldables are becoming another front in China’s push to build premium devices around homegrown tech, as U.S. restrictions constrain Huawei’s access to advanced components.

QUICK HITS

Elizabeth Holmes is the subject of a surprise new Nathan Fielder documentary, filmed with intimate access in the 34 days before she entered prison.

Tesla’s FSD Supervised won approval in Slovenia, its sixth European market, as the company builds toward a possible EU-wide vote as soon as Oct. 6.

Novartis’s myotonic-dystrophy drug del-desiran failed a Phase III trial, a painful result after the company acquired the drug via its $12B purchase of Avidity Biosciences.

A startup trying to revive Twitter rebranded its planned social network from Twitter.new to Tweet.app after a federal judge blocked its use of the Twitter name.

Arm CEO Rene Haas said AI could help find cures for cancer within our lifetimes, but a shortage of chips and data-center capacity is slowing that process.

Stoke Space raised $1B as it races to launch its fully reusable Nova rocket in 2027 and build a larger vehicle aimed at competing with SpaceX.

Astrophysicist Adam Becker said toxic Martian dust could be a major obstacle to Elon Musk’s Mars-colony ambitions, contaminating habitats, food, and water.

Tech companies are reportedly eyeing Argentina’s Patagonia for AI data centers, drawn by its cool climate, abundant wind, hydro, and shale-gas energy, and cheap land.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation is backing a $62M quantum-chip factory in Copenhagen, set to open in 2027.

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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