Apple says the iPhone Duo display issue affects a small number of units.
The cause and failure rate remain unknown, but the hinge is suspected.
If your iPhone Duo screen fails, contact AppleCare for a replacement.
Some iPhone Duo owners began reporting screen damage shortly after their new phones arrived last Friday, with bright white lines appearing on the inner display within hours of unboxing. It’s a problem for affected owners, but the reports alone don’t establish how widespread it is or common.
Apple has acknowledged a display issue now and said it will offer replacements: “We are aware of an issue impacting the inner display on a small number of iPhone Duo units. If users experience issues with their iPhone Duo display, they should contact AppleCare for a replacement.”
If this is a manufacturing or assembly issue, it’s ultimately not down to you. However, based on the reports I’ve read from users in this situation, the customer service and support messaging around this issue seems to be a little muddled at present.
One affected user reports that an Apple Genius they spoke to at an Apple Store in Jacksonville, Fla., told them that they must have damaged or dropped the Duo before going on to say “it’s a new device and it’s fragile and these things should be expected with new technology,” and then suggested the owner insure it and make a claim. But don’t let this put you off.
Here’s what I’d do:
Document the issue. Take photos of the damage and note the timeline of events (which shouldn’t be difficult, as you haven’t had the handset long).
Approach the retailer. If you bought it from Apple, contact Apple; if you got it from a third-party retailer or your carrier, that’s your first port of call.
Don’t accept any responsibility for damaging the handset. You might get some resistance, but stand your ground. A $2,000+ handset should last longer than a few hours, and since there are a number of reports of the issue circulating (and plenty of secondary reporting), you’re not alone.
The options. In the end, you’ll probably be presented with two options: a return for a refund or a replacement.
Should I get a refund or replace my iPhone Duo?
Supplies of the Duo are low, which means you’re highly unlikely to walk out of a retailer with a replacement in hand (even if that retailer is Apple). I’ve only come across one report in which an affected owner received an immediate replacement. Most are being told they’ll have to wait until January for a replacement. This might change, as Apple could choose to divert more stock to replacement channels to address this issue.
Of course, this assumes the issue isn’t particularly widespread (more on this in a second) and Apple can figure it out and resolve it quickly.
If you can wait, then my advice is to wait. But if you were planning to sell or trade in your existing handset, that would leave you in a bit of a bind. Grabbing a refund and waiting for all this to blow over before buying another one will be the best option for you.
My iPhone Duo isn’t broken yet! What should I do?
Tricky question. What if your Duo is fine right now but falls victim to “Crackgate” down the line?
ZDNET sibling site CNET built a custom machine to open and close the iPhone Duo 20,000 times a day. It’s well past 80,000 cycles now with no crack yet, so I wouldn’t assume your Duo will meet the same fate as those above. You can check in on CNET’s most current results via its livestream on YouTube.
That said, I’m assuming most people dropping $1,999 to $3,199 on a handset will have AppleCare or some third-party insurance. That’ll give you peace of mind moving forward, no matter what Apple’s policy on this ends up being in the long term.
Also, if you bought the handset directly from Apple, you have 14 days to return it if this issue has made you lose confidence in the robustness of a folding iPhone. If you bought it from a carrier or third party, you’ll have to check its returns policy (and be aware of any fees).
How widespread is the iPhone Duo’s screen issue?
Not very. It’s safe to say that any new iPhone launch will see hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of devices land in the hands of new owners on day one. Despite the hype around “Crackgate,” I’ve read fewer than a dozen firsthand reports of the issue.
This, combined with the fact that the damage all seems to be exactly the same, suggests it’s likely a batch of defective hinges that made it into the wild, and it’s an issue that’ll be sorted out going forward. But whether that causes more shortages in the short term remains to be seen.
What’s causing the iPhone Duo’s cracked screen?
Bottom line: We don’t know, but there are some well-informed guesses out there.
Another pattern I’ve noticed in reports from affected users is that their Duos initially opened and closed smoothly, but then they began to encounter resistance when opening and closing the handset. After this, the display would break within a few open/close cycles.
The speed with which these damage reports began to appear — some within a few hours — suggests this is a manufacturing or assembly issue, not wear. It’s a complicated hinge made up of more than 100 components, so there’s a lot of scope for things to go wrong.
There was a flurry of activity over the weekend related to what is, rather predictably, being called “Crackgate.” The teardown experts at iFixit have been busy — they completely disassembled a Duo, built a 3D model of the hinge, and identified several ways the hinge mechanism could be damaging the inner display.
It could be that the flexible display is coming into contact with a support bar that doesn’t retract properly, or that a rail that moves during folding is brushing against the screen, causing a pressure hotspot. Finally, the damage appears to start where a lot of edges, components, and moving parts converge, and that convergence could be stressing the display more than expected.
South Korean YouTuber CuriousHagi궁금하기 also took apart an iPhone Duo to examine the hinge and posted a very informative video.
I’ve reached out to Apple for comment and will update this story if and when we hear back.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
Senior Contributing Editor
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over two decades to helping users get the most from technology — whether that be by learning to program, building a PC from a pile of parts, or helping them get the most from their new MP3 player or digital camera. Adrian has authored/co-authored technical books on a variety of topics, ranging from programming to building and maintaining PCs. His most recent books include ‘Build the Ultimate Custom PC’, ‘Beginning Programming’ and ‘The PC Doctor’s Fix It Yourself Guide’. He has also written training manuals that have been used by a number of Fortune 500 companies.
See full bio
Crimson Desert’s first Charting the Unknown DLC is releasing imminently, despite its initial delay, a mere seven months after the base game released, during which time Pearl Abyss has updated it with content relentlessly.
Charting the Unknown releases on October 29 or 30 depending on where you live, but it’s a simultaneous release around the globe. Here’s when you can expect to play it:
West Coast US: 3 pm PDT (October 29)
East Coast US: 6 pm EDT (October 29)
UK: 10 pm GMT (October 29)
Europe: 11 pm CEST (October 29)
Australia: 9 am AEST (October 30)
New Zealand: 11 am NZST (October 30)
If you’re unsure whether you can run it, you can see the updated system requirements on the Steam page. The preload is also currently live, though it requires a pretty hefty storage footprint to install. The game itself is 135GB, though, so you’ll probably want a headstart downloading it, unless your internet is more capable than mine.
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Today’s post explores the product development cycle guide for first-time product launches and new startups. A rigorous process, it can be overwhelming, but at the end of the day, the satisfaction of launching the product that is a success will make any clients or start ups wants to achieve more. It can be complex, yet it can be made simple by following a process which is called the product development cycle. It is really important to have knowledge, and to be able to understand all of the factors that can be associated with product development services, as it will help anyone attain the vision that they are eyeing for.
It will also save up resources and money, which can be limited for every startup. By being able to understand means that it can help avoid any errors and mistakes that could happen in the process of processing. Whether any client is focused on creating a high-tech electronic device or something that can be utilize everyday, it is a must to seek guidance.
There are certain platforms that can be used and are on the service that can really aid any problems. One platform is Cad Crowd, Cad Crowd is a firm where people can have wide access to a massive pool of talents and 3D design experts who are qualified to do all of the tasks you need. Cad Crowd is efficient and effective, as you can have a partnership with various talents who will make your project a success, attainable, and what’s more important is something that you can be proud of having.
Product Development Cycle is a process that needs to be followed step by step in order to turn ideas into making it in the real world. There are different goals that any clients and start-ups would want to achieve, so it should be functional for the prospective buyers of the products. Product Development Cycle is not just a one-step process, but it covers the process from brainstorming until it is manufactured and launched in the competitive market. Learning the process of the product development cycle and its cycle will prevent future dissatisfaction and expensive rework that can also delay the progress of the product. It is important to have a plan for the product in order for any failures not to happen.
Why first-time launchers need a structured approach?
New product development services are not just a step that should be done for one time, it is the entire process of developing the product. It is a structured guide that makes sure that any start-ups or clients can navigate the process system. It is merely not about launching and then allowing magic to happens its not. There are many factors that can be taken into account. A planned strategy provides a clear milestone and aids in identifying issues early on, reducing the likelihood of ignored errors and mistakes in the future. Sometimes pressure can stand and hold back any ideas. By adhering to a predetermined structure, businesses can essentially get support and a backbone from people with more years of industry knowledge without having to learn from it in the most difficult manner.
The high stakes of product development
For anyone who is starting up, the idea of how many items may simply flow on the first launch seems like a nightmare and causes worry, which can, however affects the cycle of the development of the product. In addition to making money, the majority of them risk losing more than they invested. It is a do-or-die game that investors take a chance, but in reality, to avoid any failures, the key for this is to avoid making decisions and plans in a short span of time and be overly enthusiastic. Those who fail, does not have a clear plan that can help make any development succeed. Adopting and by having more methodical and efficient approach might aid in hastening the launch’s success and preventing it from being a tragic and depressing aspect of statistics.
Common reasons new products fail
There are a lot of reasons as to why new products fail, these include insufficient study regarding the client’s product that they want to launch, as well as budget constraints, which prevent one from funding the entire process. These failures typically occur when the start-up owners or clients become overly enthusiastic about their ideas, and they tend to neglect some other factors that could really affect the product development. This is where the assistance of an expert product concept development designer become invaluable. It is necessary to not just think about the good side that a product can bring, but also the possible bad things that could stop and make the progress from being a failure. Determining whether the product is what consumers want to purchase can prevent the project from failing.
It is very wrong and not advisable to skip the parts of the product development cycle for a client to save time and to have a successful launch in a shorter time. No, it does not guarantee success if these processes are not being able to follow that can also lead to more costs and time wasted. For example, a little design error that is simple to solve was not identified at earlier times, because of this it can have a domino effect that can make the error too complex to fix. Due to this prototype turns into an expensive error once production has started and may be irreversible. When deadlines seem tight, it can be challenging to maintain discipline and resist the urge to take shortcuts. However, adhering to each step correctly is typically the only way to avoid a defective product and save money and time.
Overview of the product development stages
Usually, the cycle of product development is divided into parts or stages that are connected to one another. It begins with brainstorming or product concept design services and proceeds through market research to determine whether or not it is feasible and practical in this day and age. At this stage, the help of a feasibility study could be conducted to determine whether it is feasible before proceeding to make the design and prototype. And then, it all comes down to engineering, testing, additional quality checks, and making approvals. After receiving the approval, adjustments or editing touches are possible to comply on regulation standards. Each component is crucial and connected to the others, creating a structured framework for an actual business.
Stage one: idea generation
A problem can be solved despite it being complex, just make sure that reality checks happen and not just ideas that can be so hard to attain, which can be impractical already. It cannot be denied that most of the start-ups usually find concepts that actually have the potential to make sales and are more important than simply coming up with random ideas, which could just be a waste. Most individuals just have ideas around, but they do not know how to work on it, despite this, it’s wiser to find out what the people actually need.
Identifying real problems worth solving
Who does not want comfort? Everyone wants comfort that is worth of their money. Having the best ideas regarding a product can stem from the experience of annoyance or some inconvenience that made a big impact. Rather than merely coming up with a random solution and then trying to find a purpose for it, it is better to start with a challenging scenario, identify the parts that can be a pain, and figure out how to handle them. This motivation can lead to a successful product that will appeal to many. The only way to make sure that the product designer is producing something that others will actually want to pay for is to use the approach they call problem-first.
Ideas do not stop at producing in one’s mind, but it is important to question it such, it can be attainable, cost-friendly, and can face the challenges, especially in the market. Some ideas can be a pain, or something that really bothers you that needs solving, and even if you have already researched more about it, it does not satisfy the curiosity that is in your mind. Some people focus on these issues and find suitable answers to make them a reality, while others only keep them as ideas. When the time comes, keeping an archive of all those ideas can be a significant way in the real world.
Stage two: market research and user validation
Before anything else, that can make the plan proceed to development. It is necessary to have it validated, such as market research, questions like who the targeted market is, and how much it will cost them to afford should be kept in mind. Is the product I am thinking of already implemented? Is it well established?. When this step is not followed, surely the product launch can be disappointing which is really a big mistake, especially when it is made by start-ups.
Understanding your target market
It can be tempting to have a product that is more than just its functionality, such as pleasing potential buyers and clients by attracting them with the designs made. As a design for manufacturing firm, it is much more preferable to have and identify the target market so that it will be the focus of the product. This makes it easier to collect information about what the product would need to be. The decision-making processes that will be done should be guided by an understanding of the behavior of the target market, including how they spend their time, what might be the problem, and how much they can afford for the price of the product. By applying all of these, it becomes easier to create something that the target market will use if you can identify them precisely.
Conducting customer interviews
By hearing the opinions of potential customers and buyers can be a big help that can make a difference in the entire output. To have open ears and an open mind is an efficient way of hearing their ideas and their say about products. Conducting a survey can yield measurable findings, but it cannot compare to an interview when people’s true feelings and reasons for wanting to buy a product are heard. One thing to keep in mind is to have an open ended questions and ask for their suggestions because they can be the answer to a problem that a startup has.
Competitive analysis fundamentals
A product that can be a basis for improvements is an effective way of making another product efficient in the field of the development cycle. By using studies and research, the product design and development designer can be able to know the factors why some products fail, and some are still successful after many years. By knowing what some issues are, it can then be up for revisions and upgrades, which will just mean that there are no identical products that might still have the same issues and errors. It is a brave step to know where everyone stands and it makes it much easier to identify a location to genuinely win by noting all of their abilities, what they charge, and how they draw buyers.
Sometimes demand can be overflowing, so some of the start-ups usually make the same products that are not unique and make no difference to each other. Having this one, you can have a clear vision in mind if people, the potential buyers and customers, are really eager to buy the products. To be able to do this, make a page and then engagement can be seen which can also determine if they just like the thought of the product or making it a need. If there are a lot of engagements, it means that it can be preceded to another phase and if not, then the answer is somewhat silent, a change of strategy is required.
Stage three: product concept and feasibility
Once everything is taken care of, and if the clients have already seen that there is a demand to have the said product, and are interesting of buying it, it can then be put up for concepts. It’s now time for some sketches, drawings, and the 3D visualization services for products that is up for development. At this point, you are not building and making the product yet, you are just planning out to see how it will happen. This will lead to having a goal of making the professionals and experts, such as engineers and designers, who will be a help in creating all of this should understand the product thoroughly. It is also a phase wherein you have to ask yourself, the owner of the start-up, if it is practical and feasible to have all of this. If it is profitable and is not just a waste of resources.
Defining product requirements
It should be taken into consideration to have all the requirements in the product to make sure that when all of the things are passed through, there will be no more problems that can cause delays. Having the product requirements can act as guidance so that there will be no need to remember, and they should be prioritized. Having this one can make the product more intentional and appealing to the target market. It is important to set and have a clear plan in order for success to happen that products are finished and launched properly in the market. In addition to this, is that it is crucial to have all of the teams be able to understand the product or the project. It is important for the DFM company to have a clear vision and goal in mind and avoid confusion and misunderstandings that could be a problem.
Technical feasibility assessment
The technical feasibility assessment is more about having all of the technicalites check. Such materials, manufacturing facilities and methods that will be use is up to the standards of the local or national protocols and standards. This assessment usually identifies poor material errors, flaws that can sometimes be hard to spot. Being able to have this identity means that there is still time for any revisions to happen and changes that can be very much needed.
Economic feasibility analysis
In this day of age where everything is increasing, it is a must to have a product that is worth every penny. It is not just about the money, but it’s about the quality that any start-up or company can produce. Some may still prefer to have costly materials because it offers them quality and can last longer. This economic feasibility analysis leans on the whole manufacturing costs, such as how much money will it cost to ship an item, and the process of how a product can be sold out to the market. You, as a client or a start up thinks that when costing a product and selling it a lot means that money is overflowing, but it’s not. There are a lot of things to consider when pricing a certain product because it can cost your bank a lot if not taken seriously.
Realistic Planning is a must. It is important to adapt the changing times because it is not always the case that there are blessings that can make your product sell out for a short period of time. Realistic planning should have a timeline so that people and prototype design teams involved know the phasing of the development. In addition, it is important to have a knowledge that is kept in mind about the costings and breakdowns of resources.
Stage four: product design and prototyping
After carefully visualizing and planning, it is time to put all of it into 3D modeling and CAD design. In this stage, materials are carefully selected, there is guidance from engineers, and there are certain technicalities that need to be specified. It is not merely about the looks, this stage is more about making the product functional and durable. Having a good design guarantees that materials are not cheap, the product is working perfectly, and it is safe to use. Having some of these can make sure that your product or project that is in the development process can be launch into public with no more problems.
Computer-aided design fundamentals
Computer-Aided Design Fundamentals or CAD design services make it possible to have a reliable and precise digital model that can be turned into life. It can also be edited and modified even for a short period of time. By utilizing this one, when making changes, it can be tracked by anyone who is included in the team who is making the product or the project. By having this, prototyping is now starting. Digital tools and models are one step ahead of the process because they can guarantee that designs are properly and accurately done, and with that means all of the 3D models being created are just the same as the real-life product.
Stage five: product development and engineering
In this stage, seeking the right ones is essential. They can make a significant move that can lead to success. Prototypes are now being transferred into manufacturing sites or facturies who will then be producing it. The product development and engineering is a phase where it is crucial to have the best suppliers, engineers, designers, workers and the right strategies. Having all of these makes it possible that a refined product can be achieved, and it is also a must to have all of it documented because it is a protocol that needs to be followed.
Quality planning and control systems
Having the basis on whether the product is up to the standards, testing should be done. Criteria are laid out to ensure that problems cannot happen, and biases should not occur. Having high ratings in the review system can say a lot about the company, it means that buyers are trusting the products and then the company or start-up will flourish. On the other hand, having a bad review means there are still things that needs improvements.
This phase is more about product changes and upgrades. When testing is done, feedbacks are needed. This feedback can be a good or bad, but whatever it is, is it just for the success of the product to happen. It is a must to have a product that is already ready for release in the market. And if flaws are identified, it is a must to have it changed, fixing it could mean that you are up to the standards and quality.
Stage seven: launch and post-launch optimization
Launching takes place after a rigorous and long process. A good product makes it possible for all 3D design teams involved to collaborate and have the same path in mind, which is achieving success. Launching is not the end of the product development cycle, yet it is just a phase in the real world, facing criticisms from buyers.
How Cad Crowd can help
Cad Crowd is valuable in any case. When things go rough when it comes to the product development cycle, Cad Crowd can be a solution. Cad Crowd is a platform where it is leading, providing communication and partnerships to different talents, experts, professionals, and freelancers who specialize in their own field.
Cad Crowd experts can give guidance and support at every phase or stage in the product development, whether it be starting from brainstorming until it is up to launching the products. Rather than having a jam-packed internal team, a client can utilize Cad Crowd because they can partner even just for a short time, whether project-based or not. Cad Crowd ensures that their services are provided by these experts at the best standards and quality. Contact us for a free quote today!
Conclusion
For someone who is a first timer in the field of having a product, any start-ups or companies faced a lot of challenges. Making the product development cycle can sometimes be forgotten, but it is an essential part of the process because it spans from day 0 to the times that a product is now efficient and functional. Most companies can move quickly, avoid typical errors, and confidently make decisions about product ideas when professional advice is reachable.
In addition, a Cad Crowd expert makes it to a point where every product or project a client has follows the protocols given. Being able to do this does not just allow success, but it also makes sure that transparency is achieved, which is really a great move. The product development cycle can be challenging, but with the right people who offer services that are suitable and proficient, it can be made easy.
MacKenzie Brown is the founder and CEO of Cad Crowd. With over 18 years of experience in launching and scaling platforms specializing in CAD services, product design, manufacturing, hardware, and software development, MacKenzie is a recognized authority in the engineering industry. Under his leadership, Cad Crowd serves esteemed clients like NASA, JPL, the U.S. Navy, and Fortune 500 companies, empowering innovators with access to high-quality design and engineering talent.
The FTC has reportedly imposed a $15 million (20 billion KRW) fine against Samsung for misleading mobile gamers with the Galaxy S21, S22, and Tab S8.
It states that the devices featured a GOS (game optimization service), which would handle heat generation for the devices; however, it was found to hinder gaming performance regardless of temperature.
The devices would suffer from decreased graphical performance, lag, and freezes.
Samsung has reportedly been served a hefty fine in South Korea over its “misleading” gaming experience on a few past-gen devices.
According to Yonhap News (Korean), the FTC has imposed a $15 million fine (20 billion KRW) for misleading mobile gamers with the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Galaxy Tab S8 series (via SamMobile). In a statement, the FTC said, “Gaming performance was one of the most effective indicators for showcasing the capabilities of premium smart devices through rapid screen transitions and elaborate graphical effects.”
However, in Samsung’s old advertisements, it showcased an experience that users seldom received.
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It was reported that the devices in question featured a GOS: a game optimizing service. The post states that this service was responsible for the “heat management system” for games. The FTC found that Samsung’s GOS wasn’t an aid to gamers, but a hindrance. The GOS would begin limiting the device’s performance when a game was launched, resulting in reduced graphical performance, freezing, and lag.
One would imagine that a phone’s performance would decline a bit (or, at least lower its quality) if it was generating too much heat. After all, these devices have internal systems to avoid total failure. But what’s strange is that the FTC states the GOS would hinder GPU and CPU performance no matter whether the phone (or tablet) was hot or cold.
The FTC states its move “…reaffirms the need by companies to clearly inform consumers of important factors affecting performance…” Samsung reportedly disagrees with the FTC. Yonhap News obtained a statement in which the company says the GOS was put in place to “…allow users to enjoy games stably for extended periods.” Moreover, Samsung reportedly plans to defend itself against the FTC’s fine.
Heat management, you say?
(Image credit: Nick Sutrich / Android Central)
Android Central’s Take
We all know that I’m a gamer by this point. Nothing is more frustrating than purchasing a device because of its alleged gaming performance to then be disappointed. What did I buy this phone for, then? You can say the same for any aspect of a phone, tablet, or PC. If the advertised or stated performance is not up to par, it’s a problem. And it’s a bigger problem when the company itself didn’t inform users about the glaring limitations.
Gaming has gotten better on phones. If we’re thinking about Samsung’s flagships, it’s definitely improved, but it could be better. The Galaxy S25 Ultra can run intensive games like Wuthering Waves; however, you will need to lower some settings for a stable, smooth FPS (frames per second). Of course, there are other devices out there better equipped to handle these strenuous games.
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What’s most curious to me about the FTC’s fine is that the GOS was a heat management system. Samsung has been no stranger to overheating devices, and its Exynos chip was a major culprit. Phones are going to get hot no matter what, but Exynos was infamous for overheating in the blink of an eye. Samsung has taken strides to improve that with the Exynos 2600, and we’ve seen rumors about even more updates for the 2700.
Most go-to-market plans fail on arithmetic before they ever fail in the market. Here’s a 30-minute exercise that tells you whether yours adds up.
Ask a founder about their go-to-market strategy and you’ll usually hear a story: the ideal customer, the positioning, the three channels they’re “leaning into” this year. Ask how many leads those channels need to produce each month to hit the revenue target, and the conversation tends to get quieter.
That gap between narrative and numbers is where a lot of marketing budgets go to die. And it’s about to get more expensive.
On October 21, Forrester published its 2027 B2B go-to-market predictions, forecasting that AI agents will influence 75 percent of B2B purchase decisions. The research firm also expects two-thirds of providers to lose deals because buyers can’t verify their claims, and warns that marketing leaders may cut as many as a quarter of roles in anticipation of AI productivity gains that fall short.
“In 2027, the defining challenge for B2B go-to-market leaders will be to make deliberate choices about what to automate and where human judgment still matters,” Sharyn Leaver, Forrester’s chief research officer, said in the announcement.
Deliberate choices require something most GTM plans don’t have: a model. Not a deck, not a list of channels, but a set of numbers that connect what you spend to what you expect to earn. Here’s how to build one before you commit the budget.
Start With the Gap, Not The Channels
The most common mistake is planning forwards from tactics. A founder decides to “do LinkedIn, some PR, and a webinar series,” allocates a budget that feels reasonable, and hopes the revenue follows.
Flip it. Start with the number you need to close.
Take a hypothetical B2B software company doing $2 million in annual revenue with a goal of reaching $3 million in 12 months. The gap is $1 million in new bookings. Everything in the plan should exist to close that gap, and you should be able to say how.
Work Backward Through The Funnel
Now translate the gap into customers, then into leads.
Say the average first-year contract is worth $20,000. Closing a $1 million gap means signing 50 new customers. If 2 percent of leads eventually become customers, you need 2,500 leads over the year.
That’s roughly 208 leads a month. Write that down. It’s the first number most plans never state out loud.
Account For The Sales Cycle
Here’s where many plans quietly break. If your average sales cycle runs four months, a lead generated in month nine probably won’t close until after your 12-month window ends.
In practice, only leads from the first eight months count toward this year’s target. So the real requirement isn’t 208 leads a month. It’s closer to 313, front-loaded into the first two-thirds of the year.
A plan that ramps marketing slowly and “scales in the back half” can be mathematically incapable of hitting its own goal. You won’t see that in a slide. You’ll see it in a spreadsheet.
Put a Price On Every Lead
Next, estimate what a lead costs you. If your blended cost per lead across channels is $150, generating 2,500 leads costs $375,000.
Then check the return. At a 70 percent gross margin, $1 million in new revenue produces $700,000 in gross profit. Spending $375,000 to earn it gives you a return on marketing investment of about 87 percent.
That looks healthy. Now stress-test it. If your cost per lead is actually $250, the budget rises to $625,000 and the return falls to roughly 12 percent. If conversion slips from 2 percent to 1.5 percent, you need about 3,333 leads instead of 2,500.
Small changes in assumptions move the outcome dramatically. That’s the point of running the math: you find out which assumptions your plan depends on before the market tells you.
Treat Channels Like a Portfolio
Only after the funnel math works should you decide where the money goes. The strongest GTM teams treat channels the way an investor treats assets, each with a role, a cost profile, an expected return, and effects on the others.
A useful frame is PESO: paid, earned, shared, and owned media. Paid ads can generate leads quickly but stop the moment spending stops. Owned channels, such as your website and content, compound slowly. Shared channels build community and reach. Earned media, meaning press coverage and third-party mentions, builds the credibility buyers look for when they validate a decision.
That last category deserves a fresh look in light of Forrester’s forecast. If buyers increasingly rely on AI tools to research and fact-check vendors, the predictions suggest GTM teams will need credible, consistent proof points that those tools can index and validate. Independent coverage is one of the few signals a vendor can’t simply assert about itself, strengthening an effective go-to-market strategy.
The practical takeaway: don’t evaluate channels one at a time. Ask what each one does for the others, and whether the mix as a whole can produce the lead volume your funnel requires.
Use a Calculator, Not a Gut Check
None of this requires a finance team. A spreadsheet works. So do purpose-built tools.
One example is PlotGTM, a free go-to-market strategy calculator that asks for current revenue, a target, a time horizon, conversion rates, average deal size, margin, and sales-cycle length. It then models a budget, a channel mix across paid, earned, shared, and owned media, a funnel forecast, and return on marketing spend. It can also work backward from a revenue gap to estimate the budget and monthly lead volume required.
“If your strategy can’t survive one honest calculator, the problem is your assumptions, not the market,” says Alexander Storozhuk, the founder behind PlotGTM.
Whatever tool you use, the value isn’t the output. It’s being forced to write down every assumption and see how they interact.
The 30-Minute Test
Before you approve next year’s marketing budget, answer these questions in writing:
What’s the Revenue Gap?
The difference between where you are and where you need to be, in dollars.
How Many Customers Close It?
Divide the gap by your average deal size.
How Many Leads Does That Require?
Divide customers by your lead-to-customer conversion rate.
When Do Those Leads Need to Arrive?
Adjust for the length of your sales cycle.
What Does Each Lead Cost?
Use real numbers from past campaigns, not hopes.
Does The Return Justify The Spend?
Compare gross profit from new revenue to total marketing cost.
What Breaks The Plan?
Change your two shakiest assumptions by 25 percent and see what happens.
If you can’t answer one of these, that’s the most important thing you’ve learned all quarter. The market will eventually test your go-to-market strategy. It’s far cheaper to test it yourself first.
Few things ruin a quiet evening faster than a robot vacuum roaring through the living room. Most of us end up pausing the cleaning run, which defeats the whole purpose of owning one. Matic thinks it has the answer with its new Serene robot vacuum, and the big selling point is how little noise it makes.
The Matic Serene runs at 52 decibels even when cleaning at full power. To put that in perspective, Matic compares it to the hum of your refrigerator. It is available now for $1,695, which is $200 more than the original Matic’s current price.
Why does 52 decibels matter?
Most robot vacuums force you to pick between clean floors and a quiet home. Their silent modes drop to somewhere around 55 to 60 decibels, but only by weakening suction. Switch them to full power, and the noise climbs to roughly 70 decibels.
Matic
The Serene doesn’t make you choose. It is three decibels quieter than the original Matic while still cleaning at maximum suction. Matic cofounder and president Mehul Nariyawala told The Verge, “It’s very quiet on carpets, on hard surfaces; you mostly hear brush roll now.”
According to Nariyawala, the Serene is built for people “who are extremely noise sensitive,” and apart from the new hardware, it’s “exactly the same Matic.” You still get the same camera-based navigation and design that make Matic stand out from the usual disc-shaped robots.
Can you upgrade your current Matic?
You can. Starting in early 2027, Matic owners can request a Serene hardware upgrade by paying the difference between their original purchase price and $1,695. The catch is that Matic’s prices have gone up a few times since launch. If you bought yours at the original $1,095 price, you will be paying $600 to upgrade.
That’s a steep price for a quieter vacuum. However, if noise is what kept you away from robot vacuums, the Serene could finally win you over.
There are 57 million people worldwide living with dementia today. For the researchers working to help them, the obstacle isn’t a lack of effort — it’s too much data, too few experts to synthesize it and a pace of discovery that can’t keep up with the disease.
The Consortium for Biomedical Research and AI in Neurodegeneration (C-BRAIN), working with NVIDIA, is using AI to change that.
Alzheimer’s disease is one of today’s leading global health challenges, with over 10 million new dementia cases diagnosed each year. Despite a 7x increase in National Institutes of Health funding in the last 15 years — reaching $3.9 billion annually — no treatment has been found to stop, prevent or reverse the disease yet.
The bottlenecks are not enough high impact scientific findings, too much data living in institutional silos and too slow a pace of synthesis to keep up with the research that is published.
C-BRAIN, led by Dr. Randall Bateman and a consortium of 18 member institutions across academic, philanthropic, pharma and research organizations, launched in November 2025 to help scientists make better, faster discoveries by accelerating the research that makes new treatments possible.
“We have a window of opportunity with artificial intelligence to do research fundamentally different than we’ve ever done before, in a way that accelerates discoveries to help patients,” said Bateman, founder and director of C-BRAIN and the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Distinguished Professor of Neurology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He described their work as “AI tools built by scientists, for scientists.”
The consortium is building a system that harnesses previously untapped Alzheimer’s research data to support scientists’ work.
Speeding Research From Weeks to Hours
Essential assets in Alzheimer’s research are datasets that have never been publicly accessible to AI tools or human researchers. This includes unpublished findings, negative results and governed proprietary data from member institutions.
“A lot of life sciences data doesn’t make its way into the frontier models,” said Dr. Ade Ojewole, chief technology officer of C-BRAIN. “The consequence of that is we’re leaving a lot of intelligence on the table.”
C-BRAIN refers to this as “dark data,” which slows down Alzheimer’s research.
Some dark data is directly deposited into secure computer systems for AI tools to access. To use this data without compromising patient privacy or institutional governance, C-BRAIN uses a hybrid centralized and federated approach — where AI models learn from data at each institution without that data ever having to leave its walls. This kind of infrastructure is technically demanding to build and scale, which is part of what NVIDIA brings to the collaboration.
C-BRAIN currently runs 64 NVIDIA data center GPUs on premises alongside cloud-based nodes on Microsoft Azure, with additional NVIDIA GPU capacity, including NVIDIA Blackwell systems, on the horizon as the consortium’s ambitions scale.
To explore how AI and accelerated computing can advance Alzheimer’s research while navigating its technical demands, C-BRAIN is working with NVIDIA to incorporate technologies including the NVIDIA BioNeMo open developer platform and the MONAI framework for C-BRAIN’s research pipelines.
“The C-BRAIN collaboration with NVIDIA aims to unlock those models in a way that they can deliver something quite impactful and important,” said Bateman.
“A great deal of optimization is going to be needed as we push the boundaries of what today’s spatial omics machine learning architectures can model,” Ojewole said. “NVIDIA software is definitely going to come into play there.”
Researchers at C-BRAIN have already built two tools: OpenScientist — built with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in an effort led by research scientist Justin Reese — and InsightEngine, built with 387 Labs.
OpenScientist is an open source agentic AI co-scientist that takes a scientist’s research question and dataset, then semi-autonomously generates hypotheses, runs analyses and produces verifiable, auditable insights. InsightEngine is an open source research platform that uses agentic AI to test hypotheses against the scientific literature, analyzing user-supplied datasets, exploring a biomedical knowledge graph and checking every claim against evidence to catch hallucinations before researchers commit to costly experiments.
In published case studies, OpenScientist completed analyses in minutes that domain scientists estimated would take weeks to months, at a cost of under $10 per run. At C-BRAIN’s current reach of over 200 research groups, this capability could release substantial research capacity, potentially exceeding one million hours annually at scale.
From Correlation to Cause
Looking ahead, C-BRAIN aims to build a multimodal biological foundation model trained on the full breadth of its data — neuroimaging, multi-omics, fluid biomarkers and longitudinal clinical measures.
By year three, it aims to discover new causal mechanisms of brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease, moving to testable scientific principles using the full scope of available research and data.
Bateman said, “AI that can think and reason has the potential to accelerate discoveries that will lead to powerful and implementable preventions and treatments for the entire population.”
With Halloween just around the corner, Best Buy this week is detailing its sale plans for the holiday, as well as the rest of the year. This includes a special event on Friday, October 30, and the usual month-long discounts leading up to Black Friday on Friday, November 27.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Best Buy will kick off its holiday sales with “DoorBOOsters” on the day before Halloween, with additional doorbusters dropping on select tech products every week of the holiday season. My Best Buy Plus and Total members can expect to get added rewards for select doorbusters this season as well.
Afterwards, Best Buy’s Black Friday sale will officially start on Thursday, November 19 and run through Saturday, November 28. Cyber Monday deals will then appear on Sunday, November 29 and run through Monday, November 30. There will also be a week of last-minute savings from December 18 through December 24.
Deals Available Now
Ahead of these events, there are also a few notable discounts happening at Best Buy this week, including great deals on TVs, Apple products, and more. This event is available to all customers and doesn’t require a My Best Buy Plus or Total membership.
If you’re on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.
Deals Newsletter
Interested in hearing more about the best deals you can find as we head into the holidays? You can sign up for our Deals Newsletter and we’ll keep you updated so you don’t miss the biggest deals of the season!
Last week’s Steam Next Fest had over 8,000 demos; now Valve has revealed the 50 most-played among them. The results aren’t surprising: there’s lots of friendsloppy casual co-op, incremental games continue to be popular, and players have by-and-large rejected games with overt generative AI use, with only four of the games among the 50 declaring AI use in development.
Here are some other factoids:
Among all 50 of these games, the only entry published by a traditional “blockbuster” publisher was Tropico 7, a Ubisoft affair [Oops, it’s actually a Kalypso Media affair].
Latest Videos FromPC Gamer
Teach My Little Sister How To Drive was one of the four games with AI disclosures. It leans heavily on an LLM-powered NPC which apparently cost its developer over $1,000 a day.
I’m not super surprised by the list, which you can find here, and which is topped by 1-6 player “asymmetric party game” Worst Class Ever. I’m not surprised because it really does capture the zeitgeist, but it’s nevertheless pretty eye-opening when you compare it to the kinds of games that dominated the event only five years ago. For example, this Reddit thread lists highlights like Norco, Death Trash, Sable, Unpacking and The Inheritance of Crimson Manor, all of which people still talk about and play (though I am still waiting for Death Trash to enter 1.0).
It’s hard not to see the outsize influence of Roblox and UGC in general on this list, which can sometimes be unappreciated by people who like to pay for games on Steam and read about them on PC Gamer. It’s possible that the kids who were reared on cheap smartphone software are responsible for the surge in freewheeling online co-op games with simple graphics, but whatever the case, 2026 feels very, very different to 2021.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
eMudhra, the certificate authority that issued eight intermediate TLS credentials so weak that anyone could mint certificates for any website or mail server—one had a private encryption key of just 4—said it’s getting out of the business.
V. Srinivasan, chairman of India-based eMudhra Limited, cited increasing costs and complexities of compliance requirements—paired with the business generating just 1 percent of its revenue. He also said that the emergence of organizations providing TLS certificates free of charge further reduced returns on investment when compared to other products and services the company offers.
Don’t let the door hit you on the butt
“However, the level of social media amplification around this incident has brought scrutiny that is out of proportion to SSL/TLS’s place in our business,” the company continued in a Thursday post. “In view of this, after detailed deliberations our board has concluded that withdrawing from global SSL/TLS is the right decision for eMudhra and its shareholders.”
The announcement came two days after researchers revealed eMudhra had issued eight certificates with private keys so defective they were trivial to discover. Anyone who took the time—which was measured in milliseconds—could crack them and then use them to generate TLS certificates that would be trusted by all major browsers, as well as an untold number of email servers, IoT devices, Docker containers, forgotten Linux machines, and unmaintained CLI tools that ship their own copy of the roots.
Whereas NIST P-384 elliptic curve cryptography private keys—used in the type of certificates eMudhra issued—are supposed to contain roughly 384 bits of entropy, the eight compromised certificates had key sizes ranging from 3 to 8 bits. Stated differently, whereas there are supposed to be 2384—a number with 116 digits—different key possibilities, the strongest of the defective keys had a maximum of just 256. The private keys were 4, 56, 66, 115, 155, 156, 230, 237.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
