The tech industry puts emphasis on “move fast” in the “move fast and break things” Zuckerbergian motto — from boardroom decisions that reimagine wearable tech to product rumors turning heads on social media, here are the most interesting moves, announcements, and possible pivots in Silicon Valley this week.

Meta eyes retail expansion beyond Silicon Valley: Everyone works retail at some point in their career, right? Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is planning to amplify its retail presence significantly. According to Business Insider, internal communications reviewed by the publication indicate that the tech giant is actively exploring opening additional retail stores and hiring retail employees, expanding on its sole existing retail space, Meta Store in Burlingame, California. At the Meta Store, shoppers can test drive Meta’s Quest VR headsets and Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, creating an Apple Store-like experience for Meta’s hardware lineup.

While the number of potential stores and their locations remain under wraps, the move could substantially boost Meta’s sales (if implemented). Earlier this year, Zuckerberg said that 2025 would be make-or-break for their AI glasses product lines. The Facebook parent company managed to sell 1 mn units of their smart glasses in 2024 — a total of 2 mn since their debut in 2023, with ambitious plans to produce 10 mn units annually by 2026, according to The Verge.

Apple jumps ahead with year-based OS naming: Apple seems to be fast-forwarding its timeline. According to anonymous sources cited by Bloomberg, Apple will introduce a major overhaul to its operating system naming strategy at this year’s WWDC on 9 June. Rather than sequential version numbers, Apple OS across all products will be identified by year of release. In short, iOS 18 will be succeeded not by iOS 19, but iOS 26 — with the same naming scheme applying to watchOS, iPad OS, macOS, tvOS, and visionOS. But this won’t be the only change revealed at this year’s WWDC — all operating systems will be getting a major UI face lift, according to the news source, allowing for more seamless integration between devices within the Apple ecosystem.

OpenAI’s mystery device sparks wild speculation: Speaking of Apple, a former VP is now cooking up OpenAI’s “top-secret” AI device — and the internet can’t resist speculating what it could be. Last week, Sam Altman announced OpenAI’s acquisition of IO, a nascent start-up co-founded by former Apple senior executive Jony Ive in a USD 6.5 bn deal — OpenAI’s largest acquisition to date — to “usher in a new era of artificial intelligence hardware,” according to The New York Times. Altman and Ive have refused to reveal any details about the physical AI products in the works, but hope to share details by 2026.

But that hasn’t stopped rumors from flying. From screenless wearables to glorified home assistants, Business Insider has compiled a list of potential theories — some more plausible than others. TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, known for reliable tech predictions, believes OpenAI’s mystery device will be a compact, screenless (and potentially wearable) device that connects to smartphones and laptops.

Kuo’s guess is as good as anyone’s, but aligns with clues from Altman, who noted that the device would not be a smartphone or smart glasses, and rather “the third major object on your desk, alongside a MacBook and iPhone,” according to BI.

Tags: