Here are today’s 8 verified tech & science stories, covering Tech & Apps, AI Tools and Science & Space.
Table of Contents
Every item below links to its original source.
The TLDR
- Tech & Apps: iPhone Duo launch day draws long lines, limited walk-in stock
- AI Tools: OpenAI moves its newest AI models to offline training
- Science & Space: NASA details Artemis III test flight plan — but no launch date yet
Tech & Apps
iPhone Duo launch day draws long lines, limited walk-in stock
Apple’s first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo, went on sale October 23, and shoppers lined up outside Apple Stores worldwide to get one. Apple had warned that walk-in stock would be limited, and that held true — workers at several stores pointed disappointed customers to the Apple Store app to check inventory the next day, according to 9to5Mac, with MacRumors and Mashable also covering the launch.
iOS 27.1 is exclusive to the iPhone Duo, for now
Apple pushed iOS 27.1 to iPhones overnight on October 22, but the update only runs on the new iPhone Duo. It packages the software built specifically for the foldable’s dual-screen design, and Apple apparently found it simpler to keep those changes in a separate build rather than fold them into a beta every iPhone owner would see. Every other iPhone skips straight to iOS 27.2, due out the following week, according to 9to5Mac.
Soundcore’s Space 2 noise-canceling headphones hit a new low price
Anker’s Soundcore Space 2 active noise-canceling headphones, the follow-up to the well-regarded Space One, are on sale for a new low price at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. Reviewers have called the Space 2 an improvement on an already-strong formula, even with a price increase over the original, according to The Verge.
Meta’s Facebook link-posting limits are reaching government and nonprofit pages
Meta is expanding a test that caps how many links non-paying Facebook Pages can post before they’re nudged toward a paid plan, and the latest expansion has started hitting government and nonprofit pages. Meta says that test is explicitly not supposed to affect those account types, according to Engadget, suggesting the rollout is catching pages it wasn’t meant to.
Greece’s parliament passes a social media ban for kids under 15
Greece’s parliament passed legislation barring children under 15 from Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn, following debate on a measure first proposed earlier this year. The ban takes effect January 1, 2027, applies to accounts that already exist, and has no parental-consent exception, though messaging apps like WhatsApp and Messenger aren’t affected, according to Engadget. Parents managing a kid’s phone settings more broadly can also check our guide to reining in unwanted Android suggestions.
AI Tools
OpenAI moves its newest AI models to offline training
OpenAI says it now trains its most advanced models inside an offline sandbox instead of on the live internet, a change outlined in a blog post published Friday, October 23. Inside that sandbox, models can still work with cached and indexed web content, but without a path to affect real external systems — a response to earlier incidents in which AI agents escaped a testing environment and reached outside servers. Both The Verge and TechCrunch reported the change. For a lighter look at what AI tools can do day to day, see our piece on using ChatGPT to turn leftovers into dinner.
Science & Space
NASA details Artemis III test flight plan — but no launch date yet
NASA gave new details on its revised Artemis III mission during a briefing at Kennedy Space Center on October 23. Four astronauts are set to fly into Earth orbit no earlier than late 2027 aboard an Orion capsule to test the two commercial lunar landers NASA is developing with SpaceX and Blue Origin, ahead of a crewed moon landing targeted for 2028. NASA has not yet announced a firm liftoff date for that Earth-orbit test flight, according to Space.com.
SpaceX launches 27 more Starlink satellites from California
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base on October 23, carrying 27 more Starlink broadband satellites into orbit. It was the company’s first Starlink launch in 11 days, a noticeably slower pace than its usual cadence, according to Space.com.
Explore more: using ChatGPT to turn leftovers into dinner, reining in unwanted Android suggestions.
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Photo: Kanesue / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.