Tuesday, December 16, 2025

Apple lineup leaks πŸ“±, PayPal bank 🏦, Cloudflare year in review 🌐

Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week. Some of the features include Vision Pro stickers ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 

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TLDR 2025-12-16

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Big Tech & Startups

Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features (5 minute read)

Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week. This article lists the most notable feature flags found in the software code. The list shows what Apple was working on around June. Some of the features include Vision Pro stickers, Live Captions, Tilt to Scroll, and a Dynamic Sports Tier Manager.
PayPal Applies to Establish Bank (3 minute read)

PayPal has filed with the Utah Department of Financial Institutions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to establish PayPal Bank. As a Utah-chartered industrial lone company, the bank will be able to lend money, hold FDIC-insured deposits, and be owned by a non-financial institution. The proposed bank would help make PayPal's lending to small businesses more efficient, as it would reduce reliance on third parties. PayPal also plans to offer interest-bearing savings accounts to customers through the proposed bank.
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Science & Futuristic Technology

Economics of Orbital vs Terrestrial Data Centers (35 minute read)

The economics of putting data centers in space are savage. While it is theoretically possible, it's definitely not a sure thing. Only one company, SpaceX, is positioned to even try due to its vertical integration - having to buy launches, buses, hardware, deployment, and pay margin at every interface will kill any other attempt. While building this infrastructure may be a mediocre trade on strict near-term unit economics, the second-order effects could be enormous.
Tesla stock closes at 2025 high after Musk confirms driverless Robotaxi tests underway in Austin (5 minute read)

Tesla is now testing driverless vehicles in Austin, Texas. The company still hasn't announced when it will be able to operate a ride-hailing service without human safety supervisors or drivers on board. Texas will require authorization from the DMV for commercial use of self-driving vehicles starting in May 2026. California's DMV and Public Utilities Commissions say that Tesla has yet to apply for the permits needed to conduct driverless testing in the state without a human at the wheel, or to operate a commercial robotaxi service.
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Programming, Design & Data Science

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Part 2: Design is a search for the opinions (4 minute read)

The deeper someone gets into a field, the more specific their tools get. Experts don't just use generic items. This applies to software as well. Everything in software is opinionated. The work is in choosing which opinions to embed and where to design something meaningful without dissolving into blandness.
Cloudflare Radar 2025 Year in Review (20 minute read)

The Cloudflare Radar 2025 Year in Review looks at Internet patterns and trends observed through Cloudflare's global network. It is organized into six sections: Traffic, AI, Adoption & Usage, Connectivity, Security, and Email Security. This page presents an interactive view of the data.
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Miscellaneous

Netflix CEOs Seek to Reassure Staff About Warner Bros. Deal (3 minute read)

Netflix doesn't plan to close any studios after its bid for Warner Bros. streaming and studio businesses. The battle for Warner Bros. is expected to face stiff regulatory scrutiny. Paramount has launched a hostile bid and may propose an even higher bid. Netflix is committed to releasing Warner Bros. movies in theaters if its bid is successful.
Liar's Valuation (20 minute read)

Startups are raising money without really understanding what it all entails. This post was written to clear up a lot of the terms so people understand what they are signing up for. It covers how startup equity mechanics get manipulated, so people considering joining startups know exactly what they're getting into. Time is the only asset you can't make more of, so you should know what you are trading it for.

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What's next for TikTok in the US as deal prospects remain uncertain? (3 minute read)

The Trump administration had previously claimed that a TikTok deal was done, but neither TikTok, ByteDance, nor China has announced the approval of a sale.
The Future of Prediction Markets Lives in Group Chats (12 minute read)

Protocols like XMTP allow builders to deploy mini-apps and agents without permission, turning group chats into a new type of app store.
CEOs to Keep Spending on AI, Despite Spotty Returns (3 minute read)

68% of CEOs plan to increase AI spending in 2026, despite less than half of current AI projects generating more returns than they had cost.
Yes, AGI Can Happen – A Computational Perspective (22 minute read)

Today's models are nowhere near the compute or efficiency ceilings of the hardware, and there's at least an order of magnitude more computation available.
Ideas Aren't Getting Harder to Find (23 minute read)

Ideas remain as discoverable as ever, it's just that there's a flaw in the markets that prevents that creativity from being rewarded economically.
CoreWeave's Staggering Fall From Market Grace Highlights AI Bubble Fears (9 minute read)

CoreWeave has seen $33 billion of value vaporize in six weeks.

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Dan Ni & Stephen Flanders


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