Apple's iPhone Price Hike, AI Valuations, and the Shifting Tech Landscape

The Week in Tech: From iPhone Price Hikes to AI Valuations

It's been a busy week in the tech world, with big moves from Apple, Google, and a slew of AI startups. Let's break down the most significant industry developments, from potential iPhone price increases to record-breaking market valuations.

Apple's iPhone Price Hike: A $100 Question

According to tech tipster Yogesh Brar, Apple is planning to increase the price of all iPhones by $100, including the upcoming iPhone 18 series and the rumored foldable iPhone Ultra. The announcement could come as early as September 8th. This follows recent price hikes on Macs, iPads, and some home products, but it would be the first time Apple raises iPhone prices in the US market.

If true, this move would mark a significant shift in Apple's pricing strategy. The company has historically kept iPhone prices stable in the US, even as component costs fluctuate. But with rising memory costs and a more cautious consumer, Apple may finally pass those costs along. It's a gamble—consumers might balk at paying more, especially if they're already holding onto their phones longer.

AI Valuations: The $2 Trillion Question

Anthropic, the company behind Claude, is reportedly planning an IPO this fall, and some existing investors are betting on a valuation that could exceed $2 trillion. That's based on the company's revenue growth, not any official pricing. Anthropic's annualized revenue has already surpassed $47 billion, and investors project it could hit $100-$120 billion by the end of 2026. At that rate, a $2 trillion valuation would be roughly 17-20 times revenue—steep, but not unheard of in the AI sector.

Meanwhile, Ilya Sutskever's new venture, Safe Superintelligence (SSI), is rumored to be developing a small reasoning engine that learns in real-time using test-time training. The idea is to let models update their weights on the fly, rather than relying solely on frozen weights and context windows. Early results reportedly show high sample efficiency, but SSI hasn't confirmed anything publicly. It's an intriguing concept, but we'll need more details before getting excited.

Google's Gemini 3.7 Flash: Aimed at Developers

Google released Gemini 3.7 Flash, just three weeks after the 3.6 version. The new model focuses on coding and AI agent workflows, with improvements in software engineering, web development, and document understanding. Google claims it outperforms the previous version on benchmarks like FrontierCode and WebDev Arena, and that it can generate more complete web pages with fewer prompts. The API pricing is set at $0.75 per million input tokens and $3.75 per million output tokens through the end of the year.

It's clear Google is trying to keep pace with OpenAI and other competitors in the AI race. But the rapid iteration also raises questions about model stability and the ability of developers to keep up with the changes.

Chinese Tech: CXMT Surpasses Tencent, BYD's ADAS Fleet Grows

In China, memory chip maker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) saw its market cap reach 3.54 trillion yuan, surpassing Tencent's 3.44 trillion yuan on the same day. That makes CXMT the most valuable company on the A+H share market. The comparison is based on closing prices on August 13th, and with currencies and stock prices fluctuating, the ranking could change quickly.

BYD, the electric vehicle giant, announced that its vehicles equipped with advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) now number over 3.52 million. The "God's Eye" system generates over 220 million kilometers of driving data daily. In July alone, BYD sold 187,670 ADAS-equipped vehicles. The company also participated in drafting a new national standard for combined driving assistance systems, which will take effect in January 2027.

Smartphone Market: US Sales Slip, Low-End Shrinks

Counterpoint data shows US smartphone sales declined in Q2 2026, with the low-end segment hit hardest. Rising memory costs and cautious consumers are squeezing the budget market, and some manufacturers are repositioning their devices upward. Samsung and Motorola gained share, suggesting that brands with strong carrier relationships and full price tiers are better positioned to weather the storm. For smaller players, the problem isn't just a bad quarter—it's that the low-end market is structurally shrinking.

Earnings Roundup: Lenovo's Record Quarter, JD's Revenue Slip

Lenovo reported record quarterly revenue of $26.94 billion, up 43% year-over-year. Its Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) was a standout, with revenue nearly doubling to $8.51 billion and operating profit swinging to $777 million. AI server orders backlog grew 157% sequentially to $54 billion. The company's PC business also grew, with global market share at 24.2%.

JD.com, on the other hand, saw its first quarterly revenue decline in over a decade, down 2.9% to 346.4 billion yuan. The company blamed weak consumer sentiment, with employment worries and a sluggish property market curbing spending. JD is looking to Europe for growth, with a proposed acquisition of Ceconomy, the parent of MediaMarkt and Saturn. But the deal faces regulatory scrutiny, with a decision expected by October 2026.

AI and the Cost of Tokens

Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan is encouraging founders to spend heavily on AI tokens, a strategy he calls "Tokenmaxxing." He argues that running AI agents with up to a million tokens can give startups a competitive edge and let them experience AI capabilities that might not be mainstream until 2028. The cost can be steep—up to $100,000 a year—but Tan thinks it's worth it for founders who can turn successful AI tasks into reusable "skills."

Not everyone agrees. Uber's CTO and Cognition's CEO have both cautioned against focusing solely on token consumption, arguing that efficiency and output quality matter more. The debate highlights the tension between aggressive experimentation and cost discipline in the AI era.

AI Assistants and New Features

ChatGPT has introduced a "computer history" feature that records which apps and websites you use on desktop, allowing for more personalized interactions. OpenAI also previewed "Ultrafast," a service layer that runs GPT-5.6 Sol up to 14 times faster, with output reaching 750 tokens per second, powered by Cerebras hardware. It's initially available to select API customers.

Alipay's AI assistant "Abao" is rolling out to HarmonyOS users, allowing natural language commands for services like booking cleaners and hailing rides. Meanwhile, Xiaomi's HyperOS 4 beta is now open for recruitment, featuring a new "Super Xiao Ai 2.0" with an expert mode that can interact with third-party apps.

Other Notable Developments

• DJI released the Osmo 360 II action camera, capable of native 8K/60fps video, priced from ¥3,299.
• Tencent's WorkBuddy upgraded its knowledge base to support collaborative editing of HTML and Markdown files.
• Apple is reportedly in talks with publishers to license real-time news for an AI-enhanced Siri, with a budget potentially in the hundreds of millions.

It's a lot to take in, but the themes are clear: AI is driving valuations, hardware prices are creeping up, and the tech industry is navigating a complex mix of opportunities and headwinds. Stay tuned for more updates next week.