Apple Takes Aim at Enterprise AI Market with New Macs, Pitches Them as Cheaper Than Data Centers

Meta Platforms shares jumped 4.3% in the afternoon session after the company's Meta Connect event showcased new hardware and deeper Muse AI distribution beyond the phone. According to Meta's Connect 2026 recap, the company is bringing Muse to its AI glasses so users can interact with the agent hands-free throughout the day, and it showed Muse updates including new features, connectors, and a state-of-the-art model. Meta also unveiled its widest AI-glasses lineup yet across Ray-Ban, Oakley, and Meta Glasses, including first-ever Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses, and said more than 100 AI-glasses styles are planned by year-end. Separately, CNBC reported that CEO Mark Zuckerberg debuted $1,299 Meta VR Glasses for spring 2027 and a Muse Charm pendant planned for holiday shipping, extending Meta's AI-agent push into wearables. The shares were trading at $778.88, up 4.6% from the previous close, and Meta is up 19.8% since the beginning of the year, setting a new 52-week high.

Apple unveiled its first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro lineup at its first major product event under CEO John Ternus, putting Siri and on-device artificial intelligence at the center of its pitch. The passport-shaped Duo opens into a 7.6-inch inner display with a 5.4-inch outer screen, runs on Apple's new A20 Pro chip, and starts at $1,999, below the more than $2,500 analysts had anticipated and roughly $100 above Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 at $1,899. Ternus positioned privacy as a key differentiator, describing the iPhone as an intelligent personal hub that handles AI services on-device whenever possible, with Private Cloud Compute used when cloud processing is required; Siri AI has begun rolling out in beta and will work with more than 300,000 apps at launch, though it will not initially be available in the European Union on iOS, iPadOS and watchOS, or in China pending regulatory requirements. Apple enters foldables years after Samsung, which launched its first mass-market foldable in 2019 and has released eight generations since, and the category still accounts for a single-digit share of the overall smartphone market, according to IDC's Nabila Popal, who estimated Apple's foldable could generate more than $45 billion in revenue by the end of 2027. The Duo goes on sale October 23, when investors will begin to see how consumers respond to Apple's entry into the category.

Meta has launched a secretive, keychain-sized AI device with a camera and microphone, shipping months ahead of OpenAI's rumored rival. The device, called the Muse Charm, was revealed a day after the meteoric rise of Meta's Muse, according to host Ejaaz Ahamadeen, who broke down the news from Qualcomm's Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii. The announcement came alongside the biggest stories of the week from Meta Connect and beyond. No pricing, release date, or sales figures were disclosed.