Daily briefing
November 9, 2026
14 stories · about 14 minutes
Apple starts selling $50 packs for extra Apple Intelligence use
Apple's first paid add-on for its AI features is a one-time $49.99 pack in Logic Pro. It gives Creator Studio subscribers more room once they hit their monthly limit.
- Apple's Logic Pro update adds a Buy More Usage button that sells an Intelligence Usage Pack for a one-time $49.99.
- It is the first time Apple charges for extra use of its AI features inside an app.
- Unused usage rolls over month to month but expires 12 months after purchase, and Family Sharing is not supported.
- Final Cut Pro, Pixelmator Pro and the iWork apps are expected to get the same option this month.
Why it matters: Apple has started selling Intelligence Usage Packs, a one-time $49.99 purchase that adds AI usage once a Creator Studio subscriber reaches the monthly limit. The packs appear first in Logic Pro, and unused usage rolls over but expires after 12 months. They are sold in eight countries, including the US, UK and India. Apple is expected to add the same button to Final Cut Pro, Pixelmator Pro and the iWork apps this month.
Read the full story →Windows 11 tests a way to switch off the Sticky Keys popup for good
Microsoft is adding a checkbox to the Sticky Keys and Filter Keys popups so you can stop them from coming back. It is in test builds now, about 31 years after the dialog first appeared.
- Microsoft is adding an option to the Sticky Keys and Filter Keys popups that stops them from appearing again, so you no longer have to dig through Settings.
- It is in Windows Insider test builds released on November 6, 2026, Experimental build 26340.9882 and Beta build 26320.9876, and it rolls out in stages.
- Tapping Shift five times starts the Sticky Keys popup, and holding the right Shift key for eight seconds starts the Filter Keys popup.
- Microsoft has not announced when the change reaches everyone.
Why it matters: Microsoft is testing a checkbox inside the Sticky Keys and Filter Keys popups that stops them from coming back, instead of sending people to deep Settings menus. It appears in Windows 11 Insider builds released on November 6, and it is rolling out in stages. The popups date back about 31 years to Windows 95. Microsoft has not given a date for a public release.
Read the full story →US regulators question whether Waymo's school bus fix worked
The US traffic safety agency opened a new review after most reported school bus violations happened after Waymo's November 2025 software fix.
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a recall query on Friday, November 6, to check whether Waymo's school bus software fix actually worked.
- NHTSA says a majority of the reported incidents happened after the fix, which Waymo finished rolling out on November 17, 2025.
- Waymo says it has received no citations since March 2026 and that it will respond to the query once it arrives.
- The separate National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is also investigating Waymo's behavior around school buses in Austin, Texas.
Why it matters: NHTSA opened a recall query into Waymo on November 6 to check whether its software fix for passing stopped school buses worked. The agency says a majority of reported incidents happened after the fix, which Waymo completed on November 17, 2025. Waymo says it has had no citations since March 2026. The query will decide whether the recall remedy was adequate, and Waymo still has to respond.
Read the full story →NVIDIA unveils GR00T 2 and Isaac Lab 3.0 to teach robots delicate work
At the Conference on Robot Learning, NVIDIA introduced an open robot model, a faster simulator and new benchmarks. The goal is robots that can handle gears, cables and small parts.
- NVIDIA introduced GR00T 2, an open world action model that completed 40 of 50 tested tasks at least once without task-specific demonstrations.
- With one demonstration per task GR00T 2 averaged 71% success across 50 tasks, rising to 95% with five demonstrations.
- Isaac Lab 3.0 with the Newton physics engine reached up to 2.5 times the training throughput of Isaac Lab 2.3 with PhysX in a dexterity benchmark.
- Two new open benchmarks, DexBench and VABAR, measure robot dexterity and adaptability on industrial tasks.
Why it matters: NVIDIA introduced GR00T 2, an open robot model, plus Isaac Lab 3.0 and two new benchmarks at the Conference on Robot Learning in Austin. GR00T 2 completed 40 of 50 tested tasks at least once without task-specific demonstrations. Isaac Lab 3.0 with Newton reached up to 2.5 times the training speed of the older version. Foxconn, Siemens and others are already testing it for factory work.
Read the full story →Tesla launches its robotaxi service in San Antonio, its eighth city
Tesla's Robotaxi is live in San Antonio with a 274 square mile launch map. The big question is how much of that map riders can actually book.
- Tesla's official Robotaxi account announced service in San Antonio starting at 5 a.m. local time on Monday, November 9, 2026.
- The launch map covers about 274 square miles, the largest day-one map Tesla has posted, and more than four times Waymo's 59 square mile San Antonio area.
- Tesla has not said how many cars it will run, and a public tracker had not logged a single Tesla Robotaxi in San Antonio on Monday morning.
- An independent check in Austin found the app accepted rides in only about 59% of the area Tesla advertises.
Why it matters: Tesla launched its Robotaxi service in San Antonio on Monday, its eighth city, with a launch map of about 274 square miles. That is its biggest day-one map and more than four times the size of Waymo's San Antonio area. Tesla has not said how many cars it will run or whether they will carry safety monitors. Independent tests in Austin found about 59% of the advertised area was bookable.
Read the full story →Coinbase gets its federal trust bank charter, but no savings accounts
Coinbase now has full approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to run as a national trust bank. It can hold and move assets, but it cannot take deposits or make loans.
- Coinbase now has full approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to operate as a national trust bank, after conditional approval on April 2, 2026.
- The charter lets Coinbase handle custody, payments and related services under one federal regulator, but it cannot take ordinary deposits or make loans.
- Coinbase says it is the world's largest crypto custodian, and the approval is expected to help its stablecoin business grow.
- Small banks are pushing back, and the Independent Community Bankers of America has filed a lawsuit over the OCC's power to grant such charters to crypto firms.
Why it matters: Coinbase received full federal approval to run as a national trust bank, which lets it hold and move assets under one regulator but not take deposits or make loans. It matters because it shows crypto companies moving into the regulated financial system, while small banks fight the idea in court. Next, watch the bankers lawsuit and how Coinbase moves its custody business over the next three years.
Read the full story →Google's new AI chips keep your data locked, even while they work on it
Google added two chips to its eighth-generation TPU family: TPU 8tx, which keeps data encrypted while AI runs on it, and TPU 8i Max, built for huge context windows.
- Google added TPU 8tx and TPU 8i Max to its eighth-generation TPU family, the first time it has introduced four TPU systems in one year.
- TPU 8tx keeps prompts and model weights protected in hardware while AI runs, using 5th Gen AMD EPYC processors as its host chips.
- TPU 8i Max puts two TPU 8i chips in one package for double the compute, double the SRAM and double the memory bandwidth of TPU 8i.
- Google also opened up its software: PyTorch code now runs natively on TPUs, and tools like TPU Sync are open source.
Why it matters: Google announced two new eighth-generation TPU systems: TPU 8tx, which protects data and model weights in hardware while AI runs, and TPU 8i Max, which doubles the compute of TPU 8i for huge context windows. It matters because companies and governments that hold sensitive data have been cautious about running AI in the cloud. Next, watch for pricing and a launch date, which Google has not given yet.
Read the full story →Instagram's AI age detection goes global, putting millions more teens in Teen Accounts
Meta is expanding the AI that spots teens who gave an adult birthday to Instagram users worldwide, moving them into Teen Account protections automatically.
- Meta is expanding its AI age-estimation technology on Instagram to every region, after earlier launches in the US, Australia, Canada, the UK, the EU and Brazil.
- The system looks for signals such as birthday messages, school mentions and visual cues in photos and videos, then places suspected teens in Teen Accounts even if they signed up with an adult birthday.
- In Australia, Meta has also started using Apple's age-range signal, which an app store passes to apps when a parent sets up a teen's phone.
- Similar technology is still rolling out on Facebook, and Meta says it will begin launching it on Threads globally later this year.
Why it matters: Meta is expanding the AI age-estimation technology on Instagram to every region, placing millions more teens who signed up with an adult birthday into Teen Account protections. The system reads signals such as birthday messages and visual cues in photos. It builds on launches in the US, EU and Brazil, and Meta says Threads is next later this year.
Read the full story →Embodied AI unveils AIR, a wheeled robot built to work beside people without a cage
The Swiss startup's two-armed robot keeps its heavy parts in the torso, learns each job from a remote operator, and aims for CE marking in 2027.
- Embodied AI, a 25-person Swiss startup, unveiled AIR on November 6 at Humanoid Europe 2026 in Munich.
- AIR is a torso with two light, soft arms on a wheeled base, built to work next to people without a safety cage.
- A remote operator runs each new job first, and the robot's AI learns to do it alone, typically within a month.
- The company reports a 95% average task success rate in paid pilots and plans CE marking in 2027, but has not published a price.
Why it matters: Swiss startup Embodied AI unveiled AIR, a two-armed robot on a wheeled base that is built to work beside factory staff without a safety cage. Its arms are light and cable-driven, and a remote operator teaches it each job. The company reports a 95% task success rate in paid pilots with unnamed manufacturers. It plans CE marking in 2027 and has not published a price.
Read the full story →Three charged over $129M AI scheme that faked CEOs and lawyers
US prosecutors say three men used AI to copy the voices and faces of CEOs and top lawyers, then talked accounting staff into wiring about $129 million.
- Prosecutors in New York charged Jacob Soall, Sharon Hazan and Guy Sheetrit with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.
- They allegedly targeted thousands of companies between July 2024 and February 2026 and took at least $129 million.
- The scheme used AI to imitate a CEO's voice and sometimes face on calls, then a second fake call with an impersonated lawyer.
- The three were arrested in Spain and the UK between June and September 2026, and the seven counts carry up to 104 years in prison.
Why it matters: Federal prosecutors in New York have charged three men with using AI to impersonate company CEOs and top lawyers, tricking accounting staff at thousands of companies into wiring about $129 million. The scheme combined a spoofed CEO email, an AI-cloned voice on a call, and a second call with a fake law firm attorney. It ran for more than 18 months before arrests in Spain and the UK. Trial dates have not been reported.
Read the full story →Four of six AGIBOT robots pass a 24-hour convenience store shift
AGIBOT put six G2 humanoid robots to work in a real Shanghai convenience store for a full day. They finished 1,730 tasks, and two of them failed the final review.
- Six AGIBOT G2 robots worked a real Shanghai convenience store from 10 a.m. on November 2 to 10 a.m. on November 3, 2026.
- They completed 1,730 tasks, including 683 customer service interactions and 147 coffee orders.
- Four robots passed the final assessment. The cleaning robot and the shelf inspection robot did not.
- The company has not said how often staff stepped in, or how the robots compare with human workers on speed and cost.
Why it matters: AGIBOT ran six G2 humanoid robots through a 24-hour livestreamed shift in a working Shanghai convenience store, and they logged 1,730 tasks. Four of the six passed the company's own final assessment, while the cleaning robot and the shelf inspection robot fell short. More than two million people watched online. AGIBOT plans to keep testing the robots in more real-world jobs, but it has not published how often humans had to help.
Read the full story →NVIDIA lets Korean AI chips plug into its systems with Rebellions and SK Telecom
Rebellions will connect its Rebel R200 chips to NVIDIA's platform, and SK Telecom plans to run the racks in its Korean data center.
- Rebellions will use NVIDIA NVLink Fusion to connect its Rebel R200 neural processing units (NPUs) to NVIDIA's platform.
- SK Telecom plans to deploy the resulting racks in its AI data center, including for Korea's "AI for All" project.
- The companies plan to use NVIDIA GPUs for the first stage of an AI answer and Rebellions chips for the second.
- Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT backs the work, and says it will start with Rebellions and SK Telecom.
Why it matters: NVIDIA, Rebellions and SK Telecom announced that Rebellions will connect its Rebel R200 AI chips to NVIDIA's platform through NVLink Fusion, with SK Telecom planning to deploy the racks in its Korean data center. NVIDIA GPUs would handle the first stage of an AI answer, and Rebellions chips the second. Korea's science ministry backs the plan. No launch date or chip count was given.
Read the full story →A Georgia Tech student says his dorm-built jet hit 491 mph
Tomas Salvo says his $13,000 Reaper jet aircraft beat the 465 mph radio-controlled record. Nobody has verified it yet.
- Georgia Tech aerospace student Tomas Salvo says his jet-powered Reaper reached 491 mph while carrying a 2.6-pound payload.
- The claim is self-reported and not verified. It would beat the 465 mph record set in 2017 by Niels Herbrich's Inferno.
- Salvo built three working aircraft for about $13,000, and says each can hold that speed for four minutes.
- The Reaper still falls far short of Mach 1, which the $750,000 Boom Prize requires.
Why it matters: Georgia Tech aerospace student Tomas Salvo says his jet-powered Reaper reached 491 mph while carrying a 2.6-pound payload, which would beat the 465 mph radio-controlled record from 2017. The claim comes from Salvo himself and is not verified. He says he built three working aircraft for about $13,000. He hopes to pass 500 mph next, though that is still far below the Mach 1 needed for the Boom Prize.
Read the full story →Huawei launches a desktop PC it says is built entirely from Chinese parts
Huawei's Qingyun HM650 runs its own Kirin X90 chip and HarmonyOS, and Huawei says every part is made in China. The claim comes with open questions.
- Huawei unveiled the Qingyun HM650 desktop on Thursday 5 November 2026, for government and enterprise buyers, with its own Kirin X90 chip and HarmonyOS.
- Huawei says the machine received the first certification of a 100% domestic component rate, from the processor to the memory, though the exact scope is unclear.
- Huawei says it has sold over 1 million HarmonyOS PCs as of October and expects 1.2 million by the end of 2026.
- One Chinese government agency has reportedly signed up for 600 of the machines, and Beijing has told government bodies to move off Windows-and-Intel computers.
Why it matters: Huawei launched the Qingyun HM650, a desktop for government and business buyers that runs its own Kirin X90 chip and HarmonyOS. Huawei says every component is made in China, though the scope of that certification is unclear. Huawei says it has sold over 1 million HarmonyOS PCs so far, and one Chinese agency reportedly ordered 600 of these desktops. Huawei has not yet published a retail price.
Read the full story →