November 2026, by the numbers.

Free to reuse with credit to Techlantis (CC BY 4.0).

The stories that mattered

• Google cuts off a botnet of 1.3 million Android TV boxes built in at the factory

  Google and a group of security firms dismantled XCPE, a backdoor that came built into the firmware of more than 1.3 million Android TV boxes. Google says the maker, Videostrong, did it on purpose to sell access to criminals, and has banned it. The takedown cuts the operators off but does not clean the boxes, so owners still need clean firmware or should unplug them from the internet.

• Marvell to buy Lumentum in a $115 billion all-stock deal for AI optics

  Marvell agreed to acquire Lumentum in an all-stock deal valued at $115 billion, giving Lumentum holders 4.5 Marvell shares per share at a 23.9% premium. The pairing joins Marvell's chips with Lumentum's lasers and optical switches for AI data centers. Lumentum owners will hold about 33% of the result. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2028, pending approvals.

• Apple posts record $114.5 billion quarter, then warns of slower growth

  Apple reported $114.5 billion in revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter, up 12%, with record September-quarter iPhone sales and an all-time high in Services. Earnings were $2.10 a share, helped slightly by tariff refunds. Fiscal 2026 revenue reached a record $478.8 billion. Apple expects its biggest quarter ever for the holidays, but with slower growth, thinner margins and ongoing shortages.

• Anthropic confirms Claude Code now steers away from cloning existing games

  Anthropic confirmed it added two sentences to Claude Code's instructions on Opus 5.5 to steer it away from recreating someone else's specific game. The company says copying games infringes intellectual property and breaks its usage policy. Original games and games from your own designs are meant to keep working. Anthropic says it will keep adjusting the rules, while users also report refusals on reverse engineering work.

• Robots race up Mount Tai's 3,100 stone steps in China's first mountain contest

  Dozens of Chinese teams raced legged and humanoid robots up more than 3,100 stone steps on Mount Tai in the first contest of its kind on a UNESCO World Heritage mountain. A Unitree robot dog won the legged race in 43 minutes and 41 seconds, and a humanoid team won its shortened race in 27 minutes and 26 seconds. Robots wobbled, overheated and drained batteries on real stairs. Organizers say the data will guide robots for inspection and rescue.

Plus 7 more. See every story in the weekly recaps.