Apple lets outside AI agents into Keynote, Pages and Numbers

Agents got hands this week. Apple opens Pages, Keynote and Numbers to outside agents through MCP and puts a touchscreen on the MacBook Pro, Google's Genie 4 world model learned to make sound, and a new infostealer goes after your Claude and Cursor logins. OpenAI and Anthropic also both claim their models knocked over a hypothesis from 1999, and Xreal put Android XR on a tether.

Google DeepMind: Genie 4 gets sound and a steering wheel

DeepMind published Genie 4. The world model now generates music, ambient sound and character dialogue together with the scene, and you steer it with plain language while it runs. Gemini 3.8 Flash sits in the loop to keep the scene coherent. TechCrunch has the longer write-up.

Access is a research preview for trusted testers. Google AI Ultra subscribers get it in Project Genie, and early partners get it through the Gemini API and Google AI Studio. DeepMind itself says visual details and object permanence can drift over longer runs.

DeepMind names previs for film, interactive prototypes from a prompt and training environments for robots and agents as use cases. Agencies should look at the prototypes, because a client walkthrough you describe in one sentence beats a Figma flow on click-through alone.

There's no date for everyone else yet, so for now it's a very good trailer.

Apple: Keynote learns MCP, the MacBook Pro learns touch

Apple announced that Pages, Keynote and Numbers get a built-in AI assistant, in beta, running on Apple and OpenAI models. It drafts and restructures text, designs and animates slides, and builds tables and chart suggestions from your data.

On macOS 27, all three apps also support Model Context Protocol. Outside agents can read content, make edits and run actions inside them. Apple, the company that likes closed doors, just handed your agent a key.

The update lands in November and is free for existing Creator Studio subscribers. The assistant is US English only for now, and new subscribers pay $12.99 a month.

The hardware followed a day later. Apple's touchscreen MacBook Pro launched on 28 October in 14 and 16 inch, from $2,899 and $3,399. It has a new PROLED XDR display, a hinge that steadies the screen when you touch it and a Dynamic Island style cutout instead of the notch. TechCrunch lists M5 Pro and M5 Max chips for it, plus a maxed out 16 inch at $14,549. A standard 14 inch with the M6 chip, from $1,999, was unveiled on 27 October. Sales start on 6 November.

Steve Jobs said in 2010 that touch surfaces don't want to be vertical and that after a while your arm wants to fall off. Sixteen years later Apple sells a vertical touch surface, with a hinge to keep it from wobbling.

The launch coverage says nothing about touch features in macOS 27, so November will show whether the software matches the screen. How long until the first draft of every client deck comes from an agent? If your proposals live in Keynote, you can test it next month.

OpenAI & Anthropic: Two labs, one hypothesis from 1999

OpenAI says its models refuted the Exponential Time Hypothesis, a computer science assumption from 1999 that some logic problems need exponential time. Anthropic followed with its own refutation hours after its mathematician Levent Alpöge suggested OpenAI's results built on existing work.

The hypothesis' authors, Russell Impagliazzo and Ramamohan Paturi, are now being asked to check the claims together with MIT's Ryan Williams. Williams had earlier called OpenAI's proof dump a "DDOS attack on mathematicians" and said OpenAI's algorithm can't be the best one possible.

Many papers lean on ETH, so a confirmed refutation would send people back to their footnotes. Until the humans sign off, it's a claim with a nice repo. And somebody has to find the time to verify what labs publish at this speed.

Aokigahara: The stealer that wants your AI sessions

Check Point Research published its analysis of Aokigahara on 23 October. The infostealer goes after the usual browsers and wallets, and also after authentication, session and config files for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Codex, ChatGPT Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, GitHub Copilot and Gemini CLI.

It also collects Git credentials, SSH files and AWS, Azure and Google Cloud credential files. Check Point doesn't say how the malware spreads, and it hasn't confirmed how the operators make money from the haul.

A stolen AI session can mean someone else runs up your paid plan, or sits inside your client's repo with your permissions. Developer laptops now hold more keys than most password managers.

So tell your freelancers that AI tool logins belong on the same list as cloud keys. Rotate them after any suspicious download and keep them off machines you use for everything else.

Xreal: Aura puts Android XR on a tether

Another pair of smart glasses, two weeks after the last one. This time it's Xreal Aura, a wired Android XR headset launched at the Android Developer Summit. It has a 1200p Micro-OLED display at 120Hz, a 95 degree field of view, Bose audio and Gemini built in.

Processing happens on a phone-sized puck, so the glasses stay at 95 grams. Meta's smart glasses weigh 69, by TechCrunch's count. You can also plug in a laptop or console over USB-C and use Aura as a big virtual screen.

Prices start at $1,279, or $1,099 at the launch price through December, and shipping starts by mid-November. Google Play apps and games run on it.

The cable and the puck make this a stopgap for most people. Still, your clients may eventually ask about Android apps on their face, and your existing Android work already points there.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What can AI agents do in Keynote, Pages and Numbers on macOS 27?

On macOS 27, Pages, Keynote and Numbers support Model Context Protocol, so outside AI agents can read content, make edits and run actions inside them. The apps also get a built-in AI assistant in beta, running on Apple and OpenAI models. The update lands in November 2026, free for existing Creator Studio subscribers, and new subscribers pay $12.99 a month.

How much does the touchscreen MacBook Pro cost?

Apple launched the touchscreen MacBook Pro on 28 October 2026 in 14 and 16 inch, from $2,899 and $3,399. A maxed out 16 inch costs $14,549. It has a PROLED XDR display and a hinge that steadies the screen when you touch it, and sales start on 6 November.

What is new in Google DeepMind Genie 4?

Genie 4 is DeepMind's world model. It now generates music, ambient sound and character dialogue together with the scene, and you steer it with plain language while it runs. It is a research preview for trusted testers, Google AI Ultra subscribers get it in Project Genie, and early partners get it through the Gemini API and Google AI Studio.

Did OpenAI and Anthropic refute the Exponential Time Hypothesis?

Both labs claim their models refuted the Exponential Time Hypothesis, a computer science assumption from 1999 that some logic problems need exponential time. The claims are not confirmed yet. The hypothesis' authors, Russell Impagliazzo and Ramamohan Paturi, are being asked to check them together with MIT's Ryan Williams.

Which AI tools does the Aokigahara infostealer target?

Aokigahara, analysed by Check Point Research on 23 October 2026, steals authentication, session and config files for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Codex, ChatGPT Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, GitHub Copilot and Gemini CLI. It also collects Git credentials, SSH files and AWS, Azure and Google Cloud credential files.

How much does Xreal Aura cost and when does it ship?

Xreal Aura is a wired Android XR headset with a 1200p Micro-OLED display at 120Hz and Gemini built in. It starts at $1,279, or $1,099 at the launch price through December, and shipping starts by mid-November 2026. The glasses weigh 95 grams because processing happens on a separate puck.