October 29, 2026 • 6 min read

Touch Comes to the Mac, and Audi Joins the Battery Recall

Apple prices its first touchscreen Mac at $2,899, Google’s Gemini 4 Carbon takes the top spot on one AI index, and Audi joins Volkswagen’s EV battery recall.

Tech 24 • October 29, 2026

Good morning. Here's what happened in tech over the last 24 hours.

The biggest stories, launches, and ideas from the past day — all in one place.

FEATURED

AI / MACHINE LEARNING • YESTERDAY

Google's Gemini 4 Carbon Ranks No. 1 on One AI Index, but Only Security Defenders Get It

Google announced Gemini 4 Carbon on Wednesday. It scored 59 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, ahead of Claude Opus 5.5 at 58 and GPT-6 Astra at 57. That's a one-point lead on a newly revised test.

Access is narrow. Only selected cybersecurity defenders in Google's Fairwind Program have it for now. Google gave no date for a wider release. Introductory pricing is $2 per million input tokens and $10 for output, rising to $4 and $20. Hallucinations rose from 4% to 11% against Argon, though correct answers rose too, VentureBeat reports.

If you build on Gemini, nothing changes today. Argon stays the public model, and VentureBeat says its higher rates start December 1. Check your budget before then.

Sources: Google, VentureBeat, Artificial Analysis

Elon Musk’s Next Partnership: Buy This Stock Now

Part of his $320 trillion blueprint

In April 2026, Elon Musk announced he was partnering with Intel.

The result?

Shares took off…

And were trading 177% higher just two months later.

I believe Elon is about to announce a NEW partnership with this little-known company…

To work on what he called "the most epic AI project in history."

But you need to act fast…

Because Elon has already approached this company.

I believe he's going to make it official by October 30…

Which should send shares higher than anyone can imagine.

Click here to see the details

Latest Stories

See all →

PRODUCTS / LAUNCHES • YESTERDAY

Apple's First Touchscreen Mac Starts at $2,899

Apple unveiled touchscreen MacBook Pros on Wednesday. The 14-inch with M5 Pro starts at $2,899. The 16-inch starts at $3,399. M5 Max models cost $4,499 and $4,799. Pre-orders are open, and they ship Friday, November 6.

Touch is built into the OLED display, a first for the Mac. The screen also brings Dynamic Island to macOS. Apple claims up to 24 hours of battery life from its own testing.

This isn't Tuesday's M6 MacBook Pro we covered yesterday. It's a separate, pricier line. Pick which one you need before November 6.

Sources: Apple, MacRumors

CRYPTO / WEB3 • YESTERDAY

Google Previews Crypto Custody That Splits Keys Across Systems

Google showed Multi-Party Compute on Wednesday, CoinDesk reports. It's a custody system for crypto and tokenized assets. It's in private preview, and general availability is planned for early 2027.

The system splits a private key into pieces held on separate systems, so no single machine holds all of it. A bank might keep one piece in Google Cloud and another on its own hardware. Fireblocks, Fordefi and BitGo already sell rival products.

It guards against stolen credentials, not people tricked into approving bad transfers. If you run a treasury, ask your custodian how it protects keys today.

Sources: CoinDesk

STARTUPS / BUSINESS • YESTERDAY

Microsoft Booked $10 Billion From OpenAI in One Quarter

Microsoft disclosed in a filing Wednesday that OpenAI deals brought in $10 billion last quarter, TechCrunch reports. That's nearly 11% of Microsoft's $92.3 billion in revenue for the quarter ended September 30.

The figure includes revenue-sharing payments, and Microsoft didn't split out how much. Microsoft's stake in OpenAI slipped from about 25% in June to 24% in September.

One customer now carries a big slice of Microsoft's growth. If you own Microsoft stock, you're also betting on OpenAI's sales.

Sources: TechCrunch, Microsoft

After The End of America

Make time for this

I've been working with Porter Stansberry for over 20 years.

I was there when his warning about destruction of the dollar's purchasing power – The End of America – went viral…

And when he predicted that COVID-era money-printing would trigger the worst inflation in a generation.

But this might be the most explosive story he's ever broken – a bombshell monetary reset that nobody has told you about or prepared you for.

I’ll be sharing this video with my friends, my folks and everyone who’s financial future I care about.

If you have savings in the bank or any money in the market – you need to make time for this immediately.

In Porter’s new documentary, you'll discover:

• How the last time America reset its money like this it created an average of 1,300 millionaires every day – while quietly ruining the wealth of millions more

• Why you'll be forced to use this new money – whether you support it or not

• How the most popular investments of the last decade could be among the worst bets of the new monetary order

• Why most Americans will end up on the wrong side of this reset – and the one move that could determine which side you land on

• Five assets Porter believes sit at the very heart of what's unfolding – and why a critical event in December could send them surging

Watch it here now

ENERGY / CLIMATE TECH • YESTERDAY

Audi Joins Volkswagen's EV Battery Recall as the Total Hits 85,402

Audi added 12,734 Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron SUVs to a Volkswagen Group battery recall, Electrek reports. Electrek counts 85,402 electric vehicles worldwide. In the US, 9,048 Audis from model years 2024 and 2025 are affected.

The risk is overheating and fire when the battery charges above 80% under certain profiles. Audi knows of no fires or injuries tied to the Q4 issue. There's no repair yet.

Own one? Limit charging to 80% and call your dealer. Audi plans to mail interim letters on December 18.

Sources: Electrek, The Next Web

ROBOTICS / HARDWARE • YESTERDAY

Xreal's Aura Glasses Cost $1,099 at Launch and Need a Pocket Puck

Xreal opened orders Wednesday for Aura, wired glasses that run Android XR. The 12GB model costs $1,099 through December, TechCrunch reports. The 16GB model with 512GB costs $1,299 through December. US shipments start by mid-November.

The glasses have a 70-degree field of view and weigh under 95 grams. They connect to a puck you have to carry. Orders are open in the US, Canada and South Korea, and Japan follows November 2.

Sources: TechCrunch, Tom's Guide

► WATCH THIS

Play: GitHub Universe 2026 opening keynote

► Play the video

DEVELOPER TOOLS • YESTERDAY

GitHub's Copilot Fusion Picks the AI Model for You

GitHub made Copilot Fusion generally available at its Universe conference Wednesday, The New Stack reports. It chooses and combines AI models for each coding task, so you don't have to pick one. You choose an effort level: Standard, High or Max.

GitHub says Fusion Max scored 60 on the Artificial Analysis Coding Agent Index, within two points of Claude Code with Opus 5.5 Max. It also claims about half the average API cost per task. Those are GitHub's numbers. Watch the opening keynote, then test it on one real task.

► Watch the video

Sources: GitHub, The New Stack

Quick Hits

Nvidia faces a Justice Department inquiry over its $12.93 billion Hugging Face purchase, Reuters reports, citing sources. Officials are asking how the deal affects AI competition.

Amazon put a camera in its new $249.99 Echo Studio, TechCrunch reports. Check its camera settings before you set one up.

Alphabet will expand ads in AI Mode to more countries, TechCrunch reports. Search revenue grew 12% last quarter, down from 17% in the second. If you buy search ads, expect more AI placements.

STAT OF THE DAY

Google Cloud revenue growth, third quarter

103%

to $30.7B

per Alphabet

Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.

Share with a friend

Touch Comes to the Mac, and Audi Joins the Battery Recall

Six stories a day. Short enough to read over coffee.