Sunday Reads: Apple’s next big thing

Hello, Quartz members, and welcome to Sunday Reads!

It’s been a busy week: Silicon chip ka-ching machine Nvidia doubled its sales, but saw its stock fall slightly, OpenAI is raising more billions, and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is now worth $1 trillion. Kamala Harris seems to be tipping the scales in her favor as the presidential race heats up, and the founder of telegram, Russian Pavel Durove was arrested in France for not curtailing criminal business on the platform. Oh yeah, and the Kelce brothers, Travis and Jason, signed a $100 million, three-year podcast deal with Amazon.

But it’s Sunday, and time to shift your gaze to some hand-selected reads. Here are some of our favorite Quartz stories from the week, plus a sneak peek at one story coming next week to get your day started.

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5 things we especially liked on Quartz

🍎 What’s under the Apple tree? On Sept. 9, Apple will give the first official look at its iPhone 16, new models of its watches, and, potentially, the latest AirPods, in what’s become an annual ritual eagerly awaited by tech aficionados and investors. Top billing goes to the iPhone 16. Rocio Fabbro walks us through Apple’s bushel of new offerings.

💉 Slimming down the price of Ozempic: A wave of off-brand and generic versions of popular weight loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound is pushing down prices for the mainstream brands, as online pharmacies and telehealth services compound their own versions. Bruce Gil explains how Big Pharma is reducing the prices of its weight-reducing drugs.

🥬 Holding on to cheap eats: America’s two largest grocery chains want to merge, but federal antitrust regulators are saying no way. Kroger’s plan to buy Albertsons for $24.6 billion is facing a court challenge, as the Federal Trade Commission says the combined 5,000-store operation would reduce choice and raise prices for consumers. Francisco Velasquez has the details.

🏘️ Homeowners are locked-in no more: Recent data shows that homeowners with pandemic-era or earlier low-rate mortgages who need to move are finally giving up those 3% loans, and buying the homes they now need. In a sign that the so-called “lock-in effect” is easing, the percentage of homeowners with mortgages under 6% dropped to 86% in the first quarter, from a record 93% a year earlier. Roccio Fabro unlocks the story.

🛒 Americans keep on shopping and they’re not dropping. New quarterly earnings reports and other data show that U.S. consumers are still spending. They’re just doing it a lot more cautiously — and with a preference for big-box retailers. As Francisco Velasquez reports, smart spending and increased competition for consumer dollars are helping to drive down inflation to the point where the Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates next month.

1 sneak peek

💍 Locking up your love online: Tech-savvy couples are finding they can lock in their love online with blockchain-powered features like a secure repository for wedding photos, gifts, and digital mementos, and even exchange vows (not legally binding, of course) commemorated with an NFT, those blockchain-powered certificates. Visit qz.com on Monday morning, when Vinamrata Chaturvedi walks us down the aisle of hi-tech wedding solutions.

What we’re watching this week

Monday: It’s Labor Day, and the markets are closed.

Tuesday: Intel unveils its Next-Generation Core Ultra chip, promising breakthroughs in computing and AI performance.

Wednesday: Dollar Tree reports earnings before the bell.

Friday: Big Lots reports earnings before the bell, and it’s the start of New York Fashion Week.

Thanks for reading! Here’s to the week ahead, and don’t hesitate to reach out with comments, questions, feedback, joy, or this week’s specials at your favorite supermarket. Sunday Reads was brought to you by Peter S. Green.