This is the news from Tuesday 27 October. Read the latest news
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Anthropic files for IPO, an OLED iPad mini and PHP2Shell attacks
Today in 30 seconds
- Anthropic files for an IPO on Nasdaq under the ticker ANT
- Apple’s new iPad mini gets an OLED screen and a US$699 price
- Google AI Overviews now appear on over 80% of searches
- PHP2Shell attacks now take over real servers, so update PHP today
- Google Ads explains AI review summaries, and Australia is included
- Google Discover tests switching off clicks to AI summary sources
- ChatGPT tests a new ad link, and some ads come through Amazon
- Vercel makes pnpm installs faster with no setup
- Claude Code finds a cryptominer on a hot Mac
- The iTunes Store is making a comeback with pop stars
Good morning. Anthropic wants to sell shares on the stock market. Apple has started its big week with a new iPad mini. And AI Overviews now sit on most Google searches. Grab a coffee. There’s a lot to get through.
Anthropic files for an IPO on Nasdaq under the ticker ANT
Anthropic, the company behind Claude, filed to go public on Monday 26 October. It plans to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker “ANT”. The share count and price range are not set yet.
The filing shows US$16.3 billion in revenue for the first half of 2026, up from US$1.2 billion a year earlier. The operating loss shrank to US$693 million. The net loss was US$80.7 billion, which TechCrunch says comes mostly from accounting changes tied to convertible debt. About 1,900 customers now spend more than US$1 million a year. The seven co-founders will control 50.1% of the voting power.
Why it matters If you build on Claude, nothing changes today. The filing does not mention changes to products, prices or the API. Going public means Anthropic must report its numbers every quarter, so you will know more about the company you rely on.
I use Claude every day, so I’ll read the next filings with interest. Big money brings pressure, though. Keep a second AI provider tested and ready, whoever you use.
Apple’s new iPad mini gets an OLED screen and a US$699 price
Apple has announced a new iPad mini with an 8.5-inch OLED screen and the A20 Pro chip. Pre-orders open on 28 October, and it ships on 6 November. It starts at US$699, which MacRumors says is US$100 more than the last model.
It is 5.4 mm thin and rated IP67, which makes it Apple’s first water-resistant iPad. Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 come from Apple’s N1 chip. The front camera now sits on the long edge for video calls. There is still no ProMotion, so the screen stays at 60Hz.
The iPad is just the start. Apple’s Greg Joswiak promised “an exciting week”. New M6 iMac and MacBook Pro models are expected on Tuesday, and the touchscreen MacBook Pro on Wednesday.
Why it matters A small, sharp tablet is a popular reading device. Check your site at tablet width, around 744 pixels wide in portrait. Menus and tables often break there.
Google AI Overviews now appear on over 80% of searches
AI Overviews now show on “over 80%” of Google searches, Search Engine Roundtable reports. It bases this on recent data from Semrush, SE Ranking and seoClarity. The figure was about 50% in June last year.
The numbers vary by tool. SE Ranking found AI Overviews on 82.5% of US brand searches. About a month ago, seoClarity measured over 62% of queries, with a range of 55% to 84% by industry.
Why it matters For most searches, the AI answer now sits above your link. Clicks will keep shifting. Write pages that answer one question clearly, with your brand name and facts near the top. That is what AI answers pick up and cite. My guide on how AI search finds your site explains the basics.
PHP2Shell attacks now take over real servers, so update PHP today
The PHP2Shell flaws are now confirmed as exploited in the wild, BleepingComputer reports. A researcher at Perplexity saw a working remote code attack on a honeypot running Apache mod_php with PHP 8.4.26. Until now, most activity was scanning and broken exploits.
The fixed versions are PHP 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36 and 8.2.35. A third flaw, CVE-2026-115560, has no patch yet. PHP’s advice is to set session.upload_progress.enabled=0 until a fix ships. BleepingComputer says this also blocks possible PHP2Shell attacks.
Why it matters WordPress and WooCommerce run on PHP. Updating WordPress does not update PHP. Ask your host which PHP version your site runs, or check Tools, then Site Health, then Info. If it is older than the versions above, update now. My PHP2Shell explainer walks through every step.
Google Ads explains AI review summaries, and Australia is included
Google has published a help page about AI review summaries in Search ads, Search Engine Roundtable reports. The summaries pull online reviews from across the web and show them inside the ad. Google says they are positive only.
They appear in Search campaigns, in every position on Google.com. They run in English in the US, Australia, the UK and India. Sensitive categories, such as pharmaceuticals, are left out.
Why it matters Your ads may now quote what customers say about you on other sites. Good reviews across the web help your ads as well as your Maps listing. Ask happy customers for a review this week.
Google Discover tests switching off clicks to AI summary sources
Google may be testing a Discover change that stops people tapping the sources button on AI summary cards. Damien Andell spotted a flag named “disable_aio_sources_button_tap”. Search Engine Roundtable could not reproduce the test.
Today, that button opens a small feed of the articles behind the summary. With the flag on, nothing opens.
Why it matters For publishers, that button is a path back to their articles. If the test sticks, Discover traffic could fall further. Watch your Discover report in Search Console this month.
ChatGPT tests a new ad link, and some ads come through Amazon
Some ChatGPT ads now show a “Learn more” link with an arrow, Search Engine Roundtable reports. Brodie Clark spotted the new format. It does not show on every ad.
Juozas Kaziukėnas found that some of these ads pass through Amazon’s click tracking. He says they appear to be “served by Amazon DSP”, which is Amazon’s ad buying platform. Little is public about how this works.
Why it matters ChatGPT ads are growing up fast. If you sell online, you may soon buy ChatGPT ads through tools you already use. Watch for it, but test with a small budget first.
Vercel makes pnpm installs faster with no setup
Vercel now reuses the pnpm lockfile check between deployments. Average install times dropped 14% for Pro deployments with a restored build cache. In Vercel’s example, an install fell from 2.8 seconds to 135 milliseconds.
The change works on all plans. It applies automatically, with no settings to change.
Why it matters Faster builds mean faster fixes when something breaks. If you deploy to Vercel with pnpm, your builds just got quicker for free. Check your next build log for the cached result.
Claude Code finds a cryptominer on a hot Mac
A Reddit user asked Claude Code to build a temperature monitor for a Mac that ran too hot. While checking the sensors, Claude found a cryptominer called xmrig. It was using about 1,175% CPU, roughly 12 cores, and the chip hit 112°C.
Claude then added, without being asked, “your Mac is running a cryptominer that I didn’t put there.” Some Redditors found the denial suspicious. 9to5Mac thinks it is more likely a quirk of training. Nobody knows yet how the miner got onto the Mac.
Why it matters A hot, loud computer is a warning sign. Open Activity Monitor and sort by CPU if your Mac runs hot for no reason. And check what any AI tool tells you, even about itself.
The iTunes Store is making a comeback with pop stars
The iTunes Store is becoming a place for pop music releases again, the Financial Times reports via 9to5Mac. Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Charli XCX and Doja Cat have all released iTunes-only tracks.
In September, Ariana Grande released a live version of “Petal” only on iTunes. It climbed from number 15 to number 6 on the charts. Experts are split on whether it will last.
Why it matters Buying a download still beats a stream for chart points and fan loyalty. For creators, it’s a reminder that owning the sale beats renting the audience. The same goes for your own website and email list.
Quick hits
- iFixit gave the iPhone Duo 5 out of 10 for repair and found possible causes of screen failures. 9to5Mac
- Apple raised US trade-in values for iPads and most Macs, with MacBook Pro now up to US$1,435. MacRumors
- Gemini 4 Argon is now the default model for new AlphaEvolve experiments in Gemini Enterprise. Google Cloud
- Kali Linux 2026.3 adds six tools, including the dalfox XSS scanner and rustscan. BleepingComputer
- Microsoft is reportedly offering voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 staff. TechCrunch
- Galaxy Buds On, Samsung’s first clip-on earbuds, launch in South Korea today. Android Authority
- OnePlus Buds Clip are open-ear earbuds that work in either ear, with 40 hours of battery. Android Authority
You're all caught up
That's today's web, tech and SEO news. The next edition lands tomorrow morning, around 3 am Melbourne time.That was the news from Tuesday 27 October. A newer edition is waiting for you.
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That’s you caught up. If you’re not sure your PHP is patched, my site updates service can check and update it for you. And if AI Overviews are eating your clicks, my SEO service can help you get cited instead. Have a great Tuesday.
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