Daily Summary of Technology · Final editionThursday 29 October 2026 · UTC
Technology News: 29 October 2026
AWS grows 39% as Amazon misses forecasts; Alphabet shares slide after earnings
Amazon Web Services grew 39% in the third quarter, its fastest growth since late 2021. Amazon as a whole missed revenue and earnings forecasts and is burning through cash on AI spending. Alphabet shares fell sharply on Thursday after results in which weak search advertising outweighed cloud growth, while Microsoft's Azure grew 48%.
On the device side, OnePlus launched new phones with 9,000mAh batteries in China, Motorola set a date for its Signature 27 flagship, and Apple raised the education price of the MacBook Neo again.
AWS revenue jumps 39% while Amazon misses overall forecasts
AWS sales rose 39% from a year earlier to $45.98 billion, the unit's fastest growth since the fourth quarter of 2021, and its operating income grew to $17.8 billion from $11.4 billion. During the quarter AWS signed deals with Meta and OpenAI, and it now makes up a record of almost 23% of Amazon's revenue.
Amazon overall missed forecasts: net sales rose 12% to $201.9 billion against $202.2 billion expected, and earnings per share were $1.89 against $1.97. Free cash flow was negative $42.4 billion over the trailing 12 months, Amazon kept its 2026 capital spending forecast at about $220 billion, and the stock fell more than 9%.
Motorola sets November 5 reveal for its Signature 27 flagship
Motorola said on 29 October that it will fully reveal the Signature 27 on 5 November, and the phone appears set to go on sale in 2026 despite its name. Known specifications include a 200MP periscope telephoto camera, a 50MP Sony LYTIA 910 main camera and Bang & Olufsen audio. Notebookcheck reports a worldwide launch in November with a 165Hz AMOLED display, and a rumoured price of about 1,595 euros for 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.
Alphabet shares tumble after earnings as Microsoft's Azure grows 48%
Alphabet shares fell 10% in after-hours trading on Wednesday. Quarterly revenue of $127.6 billion missed the expected $128.2 billion, and weak search advertising and cash burn outweighed growth at Google Cloud. The decline continued into Thursday, pulling the S&P 500 lower and renewing investor concern about AI capital spending. Microsoft's results pointed the other way, with Azure cloud revenue up 48%.
OnePlus launches Ace 7 and Ace 7 Pro with 9,000mAh batteries in China
OnePlus unveiled two 5G phones, the Ace 7 and Ace 7 Pro, in China at 7 pm local time on 29 October. Both have 9,000mAh batteries, far larger than in most phones, and support 100W fast charging. Reports also point to a 200MP camera, a Snapdragon chipset and a 185Hz display.
Apple raises MacBook Neo education price to $649, its second increase
The MacBook Neo, which launched in March at $499 on Apple's education store, now costs $649 there, MacRumors reported. The price already rose once, to $599, in June. In separate reporting, AppleInsider said the memory chip shortage will not be solved before 2030 and that a new shortage is building that could push prices up further.
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