Good morning to the Tekin Plus army. Today is Saturday, January 3, 2026. The first weekend of the new year has arrived, and the atmosphere in the tech world is a volatile mix of "CES Hype" and "Market Anxiety." While our news teams are packing their bags for the flight to Las Vegas for CES 2026 (starting Monday), major corporations decided not to wait, detonating massive news bombs this morning to avoid getting lost in next week's noise. Last night, Asian financial markets witnessed an event that might rewrite history: A Chinese company, largely unknown to the West until yesterday, went public and doubled its value in hours, claiming to break Nvidia's monopoly. Is Jensen Huang's empire under threat? Meanwhile, Cupertino is silent, but leaks from Apple's supply chain in Vietnam and India suggest a "Grand Sacrifice." It appears Tim Cook is preparing to hit the reset button on the iPhone strategy, potentially killing the beloved but stagnant "Standard Model" in favor of radical new form factors. In this **Extended Edition of Tekin Morning**, we go beyond the headlines. We put Nvidia's new cloud server specs under the microscope, analyze the geopolitical implications of the new Chinese GPU, and ask the hard question: Is Samsung's new $800 AI projector actually worth it? Pour your coffee and settle in; this is the most comprehensive briefing of the year so far.
1. The Apple Files: Goodbye "Boring Rectangle" – Why the Standard iPhone 18 is Being Killed The biggest story of the day comes from deep within Apple's supply chain. Ming-Chi Kuo, the renowned analyst,
released a note claiming that Apple has effectively halted the development of the 6.1-inch "iPhone 18 Standard." Strategy Analysis: Enter the "Air" and "Fold" Models Why would Apple kill its volume seller?
The answer lies in one word: Differentiation. For the past three cycles (iPhone 15, 16, 17), the gap between the base model and the previous year's Pro model has vanished. Customers see no reason to upgrade.
Apple's proposed 2026 lineup looks radically different: iPhone 18 Air: An ultra-slim device (rumored 5mm thickness) replacing the Standard and Plus. It sells "Style," not specs. iPhone 18 Pro & Pro Max:
The powerhouses, retaining the titanium build and triple cameras. iPhone Fold (Potential): A clamshell device to finally answer the Samsung Z Flip. This suggests the end of the "Default iPhone." In 2026,
you either buy the best camera (Pro), the thinnest phone (Air), or the folding one. Sales Data: The 30% Collapse of Non-Pro Units According to Q4 2025 sales data, the Pro and Pro Max models accounted for
a staggering 65% of revenue. The standard models saw a year-over-year decline of 30%. The data told Tim Cook a harsh truth: The era of the $800 "Generic iPhone" is over. 2. The Chip War: How Biren Technology
Grew 100% Overnight Yesterday, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange witnessed an explosion. Biren Technology , a Chinese GPU manufacturer, saw its stock price double on its IPO day. But why does a single Chinese
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