Welcome to mid-February 2026. If the last two years were about “chatting” with AI, this month proves we’ve entered the Era of Execution. From autonomous “Agentic OS” leaks to the massive $700 billion infrastructure gamble, the digital landscape is shifting from answering questions to owning outcomes.
Here is the state of the titans as of today.
Apple: The “Partnership of the Decade” & Foldable Fever
Apple has officially ended its “AI isolationism.”
- The Gemini Alliance: In a historic shift, Apple has integrated Google’s Gemini models as the backbone for Siri 2.0. This allows Siri to handle complex, cross-app agentic tasks like “Book the flight from my email and sync my hotel check-in with my calendar.”
- iPhone 18 “Fold” Leaks: Supply chain reports for the September 2026 launch are reaching a fever pitch. Rumors point to a 7.8-inch crease-free display using a liquid metal hinge and a reinforced titanium chassis.
- Hardware Shift: To support these local AI models, 2026 is the year 12GB RAM becomes the bare minimum for the base iPhone 18.
Google: “Snow Bunny” & Search 2.0
Google is fighting to prove that being “asset heavy” pays off.
- Gemini 3.5 (Codenamed “Snow Bunny”): Leaked internal tests show this model generating 3,000 lines of functional code in a single prompt. Its new “Deep Think” (System 2 reasoning) mode allows the AI to pause and “reason” before answering, drastically reducing hallucinations.+2
- Search 2.0: Google Search is transitioning into a proactive agent that doesn’t just give links but performs actions—like comparing 50 different laptop models and auto-generating a customized spreadsheet for you.
Microsoft: Windows 12 “Hudson Valley” & The NPU Mandate
Windows is no longer just a window; it’s an agent.
- The Agentic OS: Windows 12 (Hudson Valley) is currently in Canary Build 27000+. It features a floating taskbar and a “state-separated” architecture where the OS core is read-only for maximum security.
- Hardware Barrier: Microsoft has set a strict NPU (Neural Processing Unit) mandate. If your PC doesn’t hit at least 45 TOPS of AI performance, you’ll be relegated to a “Legacy Tier” with limited automation features.
Meta: Beyond the Metaverse to “Vanguard”
Meta is winning the wearable race but losing the privacy PR war.
- “Name Tag” Controversy: Meta is reportedly testing a facial recognition feature for its Ray-Ban smart glasses. Codenamed “Name Tag,” it would allow users to identify people in public based on their Instagram/Facebook profiles.
- Sales Surge: The partnership with EssilorLuxottica sold over 7 million units in 2025, proving that smart glasses are the first “post-smartphone” hardware to go mainstream.
🇮🇳 Special Report: India AI Impact Summit 2026
Starting today, February 16, in New Delhi, the AI Impact Summit is reshaping the Global South’s tech sovereignty.
- Sovereign Models: India is set to unveil its first set of sovereign AI models trained on local datasets, designed to handle the country’s 22 official languages without Western bias.
- Campus Labs: The government is rolling out AI labs across 500 universities, giving students direct access to high-end GPU clusters for research.
Big Tech Snapshot: Q1 2026 Financials
| Company | 2026 Capex (Est.) | Key Strategic Pivot | Stock Sentiment |
| Microsoft | $160 Billion | Agentic OS & OpenAI Integration | Mixed (Concerns over returns) |
| $180 Billion | Gemini 3.5 & Custom TPUs | Bullish (Search dominance holding) | |
| Amazon | $200 Billion | AI Infrastructure & Robotics | Wary (Huge spending spree) |
| Meta | $125 Billion | AI Wearables & Superintelligence | Bullish (Vanguard glasses success) |
The Big Picture: The tech titans are currently spending $650B+ annually on a “winner-takes-all” race for AI compute. While the innovation is mind-blowing, the market is beginning to ask: When does this asset-heavy bet start printing profit?