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Apple’s releases put AI into manufacturing, watches and cloud access rules, while OpenAI and Google brought it into security and election workflows. Anthropic’s new scenario explorer reframes the AI economy around who receives growth, not just how much output rises.

Lead story / launch

Apple uses AI to build its foldable iPhone

Apple has introduced the iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone, and made the manufacturing of its hinge central to the device’s durability case. Rather than presenting AI as a feature customers use, Apple says it uses algorithms in the factory to pair each hinge with the housing that fits it best.

The hinge contains more than 100 components that control opening and closing, support the center of the display and help keep the screen flat when opened. Apple says it scans the surface topology of every unit with a confocal laser, then 3D-prints as many as 25 micro layers of custom photopolymer to reduce residual waviness.

That production process sits alongside a broader materials strategy. Apple cites high-strength glass, custom adhesives designed to relieve bending stress, multi-layer lamination, and a nano-textured polymer cover layer it says is up to 40% stiffer than other materials used in the industry.

The practical test will take time. Apple’s process explains how it is trying to manage the repeated movement and stress that concern foldable-phone buyers, but it does not establish long-term reliability. Preorders begin October 16, with availability beginning October 23.