Apple's first foldable hits stores today — $1,999, fingerprint unlock, six million of them on the entire planet. NX Tech Tips #37 is a good day to convert your old files and pause that update. 🎙️
1. The $1,999 flip phone 👛
The iPhone Duo — Apple's first foldable — reaches U.S. stores today (October 23), with 28 more countries and regions following October 30. It starts at $1,999 for 256GB and climbs to $3,199 for 2TB, with a 7.6-inch inner display, 5.4-inch outer screen, A20 Pro chip, eSIM-only — and Touch ID instead of Face ID. Your thumb. On a $1,999 phone. Apple is expected to build only about 6 million foldables this year, so supply is tight.
The tip: if you want one, today is the day — six million units against eight billion people is not a sale, it's a lottery.
Sources: imfounder — Tech News October 2026 (citing MacRumors, PhoneArena)
2. Windows' October update is boot-looping Dell PCs 🔁
Microsoft's own community forums are filling up with the same story: after the October update (KB5127648) installs, some Dell laptops and desktops fail to boot with a winload.efi error — one IT shop reported about 50 machines down at once. The working fix right now: boot into Safe Mode and uninstall the update.
The tip: if your Dell offers that patch this week, let somebody braver install it first — and know your Safe Mode path before you need it.
Sources: Microsoft Tech Community thread
3. Etsy bans AI-generated recipes and patterns 🍪
Etsy said Thursday (October 22) it will no longer allow merchants to sell AI-generated recipes and patterns, part of a wider push for firmer AI rules on the platform. Items that require buyer effort to reach a finished product can't be AI-created, and most listings must include at least one unaltered photo of the actual item against a real background.
The tip: buying digital downloads? If the photos look too perfect, that scone recipe might be theoretical. The real-photo rule is your new BS detector.
Sources: CNBC · NBC News · Mashable
4. Microsoft Publisher dies this month 🪦
October 2026 is Publisher's end of life: Microsoft 365 subscribers already lost access to the app as the removal rollout began, and support for the perpetual version ended October 13 alongside Office LTSC 2021. Microsoft's own guidance: convert your .pub files before it's too late.
The tip: got old .pub files — the garage-sale flyers, the church bulletins, the one perfect raffle poster? Convert them to PDF right now. Future-you at the funeral says thanks.
Sources: Microsoft Support — Publisher end of life
5. Streaming math: $139.41 a month 📺
Per Fortune's September tally: subscribing to eight major streaming services without ads or bundle discounts now costs $139.41 a month — $1,672.92 a year. We killed cable to save money, then rebuilt it app by app, except now the remote has eight apps.
The tip: audit the stack tonight. If you can't name what you actually watched on a service last month, unsubscribe. Cable is winning the rematch.
Sources: Fortune
6. DeepSeek raises ~$15 billion for budget AI 🐋
DeepSeek — the lab famous for cheap, open AI — has pulled in roughly $15 billion (~100 billion yuan) in one of China's largest-ever private AI rounds, with Tencent and CATL among the lead backers (The Information pegs it near $16 billion). Turns out "cheap" meant your bill, not theirs.
The tip: the free tiers keep getting better — hit the free ceiling before you pay for premium anything.
Sources: AI Weekly live index · The Information
That's #37. The foldable unlocks with your thumb, the update needs undoing, and Publisher's flyer days are over. Convert your files, pause that update, and I'll see you tomorrow.
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