Apple Finally Folds, Meta's AI Moves Into WhatsApp & OpenAI's Disputed Math 'Proof'

Apple announced its first foldable iPhone at the Sept 9 event — a 7.6-inch inner display, the thinnest iPhone ever, and a genuinely crease-free panel, starting at $1,999 (up to $3,199) with preorders slated for October. Alongside it, the iPhone 18 Pro landed with a 2nm A20 Pro chip, a new 48MP variable-aperture camera, up to 36h video, and India pricing of ₹1,64,900 — pre-orders Sept 12, on sale Sept 18. Four years after Samsung, but 'crease-free' might be the real flex.

The problem

Apple sat out the foldable category for years while Samsung and Chinese makers iterated through five generations — leaving the biggest phone brand conspicuously absent from the fastest-growing premium form factor, and its Pro line looking iterative.

What changed

At the Sept 9 'Surprise and Shine' event Apple unveiled its first foldable iPhone: a 7.6-inch inner screen, the thinnest iPhone ever, and a crease-free display (using a Samsung-made panel), priced from $1,999 to $3,199 with preorders in October. The iPhone 18 Pro (from $1,199 / ₹1,64,900) adds a 2nm A20 Pro chip, a 48MP variable-aperture main camera with manual Pro controls, and up to 36 hours of video; it goes on sale Sept 18.

The catch

The foldable's exact retail name is still muddled across reporting (iPhone Fold / iPhone Ultra / iPhone Duo), and it's a split launch — announced now, but preorders and shipping slip to Q4. It's also a v1 device: Touch ID instead of Face ID and no telephoto lens.

What it means for you

If you want the Pro, pre-orders open Sept 12 and it sells Sept 18 — nothing gained by waiting. If the foldable tempts you, hold: October preorders plus first-gen compromises mean the smart money watches reviews before dropping $1,999+.

Meta launched Muse, a consumer AI agent that runs in WhatsApp, on the web and on iOS/Android — and it doesn't just chat. It opens its own browser, fills forms, negotiates prices and completes purchases with a card generated per transaction. It's free with $20 (Power) and $100 (Maximum) monthly tiers, US-only at launch. Muse asks for approval before spending or sending, but you're still handing an AI real access to your inbox and wallet.

The problem

AI assistants have mostly been answer machines — they tell you how to book a flight or draft an email, then leave the actual clicking, paying and negotiating to you. The gap between 'gives advice' and 'gets it done' is where most people still lose time.

What changed

Meta's Muse (launched Sept 8) is an agent that acts: running on its own virtual machine with its own browser, it books travel, fills forms, negotiates and pays using a card generated per purchase — reachable inside WhatsApp, on the web at muse.ai, and via iOS/Android apps. It's free with $20 and $100/month tiers.

The catch

It's US-only and 18+ at launch, and the trust ask is huge: you're granting an AI access to your accounts, inbox and payment. Meta says Muse requests approval before sensitive actions like spending or messaging, but 'convenient' and 'handed my wallet to a bot' are the same sentence here.

What it means for you

If you're outside the US you can't try it yet — but this is the template every big AI is copying, so watch how the approvals and per-purchase card actually behave before letting any agent touch your money. Start it on low-stakes tasks (research, form-filling), not checkout.

One of the most useful Samsung Galaxy tools is buried in the Edge panel: Smart Select (rebranded 'AI select' on newer One UI). Swipe in the Edge panel, tap Smart select, and draw a box around any part of your screen — then record that region as a GIF (up to 15 seconds) or instantly extract and copy the text inside it. No screen-recorder app, no OCR app; it's already on your phone. If it's hidden, add Smart select to the Apps Edge panel in Settings.

The problem

Capturing just part of your screen as a shareable clip, or pulling copyable text out of an image or video, usually sends people hunting for a third-party recorder or OCR app — extra installs, watermarks and permissions for something the phone can already do.

What changed

Samsung's Smart Select (now 'AI select' on One UI 6.1.1+) lets you draw a box around any screen region from the Edge panel and either record it as a GIF (up to 15s) or extract the text to copy or share — fully built-in.

The catch

It's Samsung Galaxy only, the feature moved and got renamed in recent One UI versions so the exact path varies, and you may need to update the Samsung Capture app from the Galaxy Store for GIF recording to appear.

What it means for you

Swipe out the Edge panel, tap Smart select (or AI select), and try boxing a chat bubble or a paused video — GIF for the clip, Extract text for the words. Pin it to the Apps panel so it's one swipe away.

Now that Apple has a foldable, the real question is iPhone Fold vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. Apple's pitch: the thinnest, most crease-free book-style fold yet, with seamless iOS, AirPods, Watch and Mac integration — but it's a first-generation device with Touch ID, no telephoto lens, and a $1,999 starting price. Samsung's pitch: four years of foldable refinement, S Pen support, DeX desktop mode, a real telephoto zoom and mature multitasking. Deep in Apple's ecosystem? Wait for the Fold. Power user who wants everything today? Samsung still holds the crown.

The problem

Buyers eyeing a book-style foldable now have a genuine cross-platform choice for the first time — but Apple entering the category doesn't automatically mean its debut beats a rival that's been iterating for years, and the trade-offs aren't obvious from a keynote.

What changed

It's a clear split. The iPhone Fold leads on hardware polish — thinnest ever, the most crease-free panel to date, and tight iOS/AirPods/Watch/Mac continuity. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra leads on maturity and power features: S Pen input, DeX desktop mode, a real telephoto camera, and years-refined multitasking on a more open Android.

The catch

Comparisons are partly on paper until the iPhone Fold ships (Q4) and gets tested — and its first-gen cuts (Touch ID, no telephoto) are real. Samsung's edge assumes you'll actually use S Pen/DeX; if you won't, you're paying for features you'll ignore.

What it means for you

If your whole life is iMessage, AirPods and a Mac, wait for the iPhone Fold and buy after reviews. If you want the most capable foldable available right now — multitasking, stylus, zoom — the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is still the one to beat.

OpenAI says an internal system more capable than GPT-6 Astra produced a solution to the Navier–Stokes Millennium Prize Problem — with around 10,000 coordinating AI agents working for 88 hours to build the proof. But the claim is already contested: mathematicians, including NYU's Tristan Buckmaster, are disputing the attribution and whether OpenAI accelerated its own effort after learning of others' progress. So — a genuine scientific breakthrough, or overhyped PR? Tell me where you land.