At 8 o'clock, here are the latest news: Apple customer service responds to the issue that iPhones break down after running out of memory; A robbery of one billion yen occurs in Hong Kong; Hangzhou takes the lead in legislating to manage residents' body weight.

Today's Hotspot Guide

mascot for the Spring Festival Gala of 2026, the Year of the Horse, released by China Media Group

Trump announced using tariffs to give bonuses to the US military

On the first day of Hainan's full - closed customs operation, iPhones can get a maximum discount of 2,140 yuan

HarmonyOS Intelligence Mobility User Center responds to the "suspension of publicity for HarmonyOS Intelligence Mobility Grand Hotel"

The largest undersea gold mine in Asia discovered in Laizhou

Trump: About to announce the new chairman of the Federal Reserve

Top 3 Big News

Apple customer service responds to the issue of iPhones breaking when memory is full: It may fail to start, and it is recommended to clean up storage space in a timely manner

On December 18th, the topic "Never use up all the memory on your iPhone" trended on social media. Some netizens shared that their iPhones couldn't boot up when the memory was full, and they encountered error code 1110 during the flashing process. Other netizens commented that when the memory of the iOS system is full, beware of system crashes and data loss.

In response, Apple customer service stated that when there is not enough free memory for the system to run properly due to excessive memory usage, the device may fail to turn on or start. Therefore, it is recommended to clean up storage space in a timely manner. If the phone keeps crashing due to full memory, it is advisable to back up your data before restarting. If the phone can still be accessed normally, you can first connect it to a computer to back up your data, and then perform other operations such as deleting data or restoring the phone to factory settings. (Sohu Technology)

Robbery in Hong Kong: 1 Billion Japanese Yen Stolen

On December 18th, a large - scale armed robbery with knives occurred at a currency exchange store on Queen's Road Central in Hong Kong, attracting wide attention. In the afternoon of the same day, a staff member from the Public Relations Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force responded to reporters, stating that the amount involved in the case was approximately 1 billion Japanese yen. The four victims included a 39 - year - old mainland Chinese man holding a permit to enter Hong Kong and Macau and a 50 - year - old local man, and none of them were injured. Currently, one man has been arrested by the police on suspicion of robbery, while three other men are still at large. (Cailian Press)

Hangzhou Takes the Lead in Legislation: Managing Residents' Weights

On December 18th, the Standing Committee of the Hangzhou Municipal People's Congress held a press conference to announce that the "Regulations on Promoting the Health of All People in Hangzhou" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") have been approved by the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress and will come into force on January 1st next year. Hangzhou has thus become the first city in the country to achieve local legislation focusing on promoting the health of all people. It is worth noting that in popularizing a healthy lifestyle, the Regulations specifically highlight weight management. Through multiple measures and comprehensive strategies, they aim to encourage residents to scientifically manage their weights. (The Paper)

Large Companies/ Major Events

Honda Confirms "Will Suspend Production at Some Chinese Factories": Due to Shortage of Nexperia Semiconductors

Honda revealed on the 17th that due to the semiconductor shortage, it plans to suspend or reduce the production of complete vehicles at its factories in Japan and China from late December to early January next year. Although the North American factories, which had similar situations before, have resumed normal operation, the precarious state of the production system continues. According to Honda, the joint - venture factory with Chinese state - owned giant GAC Group will halt production for five days starting from December 29. The Japanese factories will halt production for two days on January 5th and 6th next year, and the production volume from the 7th to the 9th will also be lower than the original plan. According to Yicai Global, on December 18th, Honda responded to reporters that affected by the supply of Nexperia semiconductors, the joint - venture factory with GAC Group will halt production starting from December 29, while the Dongfeng Honda factory will not be affected. (NBD, Yicai Global)

Trump Announces Bonuses for US Military from Tariffs

On the evening of December 17th, Eastern Time, US President Donald Trump delivered a televised address to the nation from the White House, reviewing the key points of his governance in the 11 months since taking office and previewing the policy direction for next year. In his speech, Trump said that the US economy is improving, but there is still a great deal of work to be done. "Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I'm cleaning it up," he said. "In just one year, we've achieved more than anyone could have imagined." Trump also announced that he will give bonuses to US military personnel, approximately $1,776 per person, and this bonus will come from the revenue of tariff policies. It's worth noting that, different from his previous free - style speeches, Trump's speech that night was a 17 - minute "scripted speech", and his speaking speed was significantly faster than usual. (Yicai Global)

Mascots for CCTV's 2026 Spring Festival Gala of the Year of the Horse Unveiled

On December 18th, China Media Group (CMG) unveiled the mascot images for the "2026 Spring Festival Gala". The four horses named "Qiqi", "Jiji", "Chichi", and "Chengcheng" are lively, lovely, and full of vigor, which are in line with and complement the theme of the gala, "Swift Horses Galloping, Irresistible". The design inspiration for the mascots comes from the classic images of horses in different periods of Chinese history. They are "dressed" in millennium - old patterns such as cloud patterns and mountain - cloud patterns, full of the endless historical beauty and the new atmosphere of the era, and are imbued with the beautiful meaning of achieving success quickly and having a bright future. (CCTV Finance)

Illustration

Red Book Community Structure Adjusted Again

Red Book made a profound adjustment to its community organizational structure a few months ago, aiming for "integration of product, operation, and R & D". A person familiar with the matter said that in the newly divided responsibilities, Yunfan (Red Book username) and Xindao (Red Book username) are each in charge of a part. Among them, the part under Yunfan's charge is named "Live" and reports directly to Conan (Red Book username), the COO of Red Book; the part under Xindao's charge is named "Village" and still reports to Paru, the person in charge of the community business. "In the past, we followed the logic of vertical operation, but now we divide according to different business goals," the aforementioned person familiar with the matter said. (Phoenix Tech)

On the First Day of Hainan's Customs Closure, iPhone Prices Can Be Reduced by Up to 2,140 Yuan

At 10 a.m. on December 18th, a reporter from Jimu News saw at a store selling Apple products in Hailv Duty-Free City that consumers were queuing up to purchase Apple products. The duty-free price of the 256GB version of the iPhone 17 Pro Max is 9,299 yuan. The reporter checked the official Apple flagship store on an e-commerce platform and found that the price of this version is 9,999 yuan, a difference of 700 yuan between the two prices.

The staff member of the store said that currently, duty-free Apple products cannot use national subsidies, but government duty-free consumption vouchers can be stacked. Taking the 256GB version of the iPhone 17 Pro as an example, consumers can receive a consumption voucher worth 300 yuan when spending over 6,000 yuan. With the duty-free price and the duty-free consumption voucher combined, the final price can reach 7,999 yuan, saving 1,000 yuan compared to buying from the e-commerce platform's flagship store. Taking the most expensive 2TB version of the iPhone 17 Pro Max as an example, its duty-free price is 16,859 yuan. After stacking a consumption voucher worth 1,000 yuan when spending over 15,000 yuan, the final price is 15,859 yuan, which is 2,140 yuan cheaper than the official website price. (Jimu News, Yicai)

The Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission Clarifies the Increase of Basic Pension for Urban and Rural Residents, with the Current Minimum Being 143 Yuan

The pension for urban and rural residents will see its eighth increase since the establishment of the system next year. Recently, relevant responsible comrades of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission proposed to raise the basic pension for urban and rural residents when interpreting the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference in an interview with Xinhua News Agency. This is the second time that the central government has clearly stated to increase the basic pension for urban and rural residents after the Government Work Report this year proposed to raise the minimum standard of the basic pension for urban and rural residents by 20 yuan.

In recent years, the pension treatment standards for urban and rural residents in China have been increasing year by year. After the national minimum standard for the basic pension part was raised seven times from the initial 55 yuan per person per month, it reached 143 yuan per person per month in 2025. (Yicai Global)

A Giant Submarine Gold Mine, the Largest in Asia, Discovered in Laizhou

According to the news office of the Yantai Municipal People's Government, a giant submarine gold mine, the only one in China and the largest in Asia, has been newly discovered in the northern waters of Sanshandao in Laizhou. The total proven gold resource reserves in the city have exceeded 3,900 tons, accounting for about 26% of the national total. Both the gold resource reserves and production in Laizhou rank first in the country. (Cailian Press)

Lu Pin, Chairman of Guodun Quantum, the "First Stock in Quantum Technology", Passed Away Suddenly at the Age of 46

On the evening of December 18th, reporters from NBD (National Business Daily) learned from multiple sources that Lu Pin, the chairman of Guodun Quantum, had passed away on the same day.

The police in Hefei High - tech Zone, Anhui Province, issued a police notice stating that at around 13:00 on December 18th, 2025, the police station received a report that a man named Lu (male, 46 years old) had lost consciousness in an office of a company at the intersection of Wangjiang West Road and Kongquetai Road. After receiving the report, the police immediately arrived at the scene for disposal. After on - site confirmation by the 120 emergency medical service, Lu had no vital signs. After investigation by the public security organs, criminal cases have been ruled out. (NBD)

Jensen Huang: Haven't Paid OpenAI Yet

According to Jiemian News, Jensen Huang, the CEO of NVIDIA, revealed on December 17th local time that as part of the plan to invest $100 billion in OpenAI, NVIDIA has not paid "a single cent" to OpenAI yet. In September this year, NVIDIA and OpenAI signed a cooperation intention. NVIDIA plans to invest $100 billion in OpenAI, and the two sides will jointly build a large-scale data center. (Caixin)

Apple Adjusts iOS Rules in Japan: Supports Third - Party App Stores and Payments

Japan has become the first Asian country to break Apple's rules on in - app purchases (IAP) and app distribution in the App Store.

On December 18th, Apple made adjustments to iOS apps in the Japanese region to comply with Japan's "Act on the Promotion of Competition in Specified Smartphone Software." According to the new rules, developers in Japan have several new rights: they can distribute iOS apps through third - party app stores other than the App Store, and can also directly integrate third - party payment tools such as PayPay and LINE within apps, or guide users to external web pages through external links to complete transactions for digital goods and services. The corresponding commission rate for Apple is only 10% - 21%. At the same time, Apple is required to allow apps to be distributed through web sideloading, and only charges a 5% core technology fee for such transactions. This series of adjustments has completely broken Apple's previous exclusive channel pattern in the iOS ecosystem, and its fee rate is far lower than the current standard implemented in the Chinese market. (Yicai Global)

Multiple Banks Halt the Issuance of Co-branded Credit Cards

Recently, China Guangfa Bank announced that due to the expiration of the cooperation agreement, it will stop issuing five co-branded credit cards, including the China Guangfa Flight Master Co-branded Card and the China Guangfa High-speed Rail Master Co-branded Card, starting from February 1, 2026. Since the beginning of this year, banks that have stopped issuing co-branded credit cards include state-owned large banks, joint-stock banks, and regional rural commercial banks.

Among joint-stock banks, Shanghai Pufa Bank has taken the most frequent actions. In May, it stopped issuing 14 co-branded cards, such as those co-branded with Suning.com, Tencent, and NetEase Cloud Music. In November, it added 18 more products to the list of discontinued cards, including the League of Legends themed co-branded card. China CITIC Bank stopped accepting applications and renewals for three co-branded cards, such as those related to QQ Music and Tencent mobile game series, starting from April.

Among state-owned large banks, Bank of China announced in July that it would stop issuing 24 credit card products, including many co-branded cooperation products. Postal Savings Bank of China stopped issuing the China Resources Tong Co-branded Credit Card starting from March due to the expiration of the cooperation. China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China have also cumulatively stopped issuing multiple inefficient co-branded card products this year. (Jiemian News)

BOCOM Securities Responds to APP Removal

On December 17th, the Shanghai Communications Administration announced the removal of 38 apps, including BOCOM Securities' app, from the app stores. In response, BOCOM Securities stated that the company has always attached great importance to user information protection and is committed to providing customers with a safe, reliable, and reassuring experience when using its internet applications. After receiving the notice from the Shanghai Communications Administration in November pointing out the issues, the company quickly carried out rectifications and submitted reports on rectification and self - assessment as required. Regarding the issue of the app being removed from some app stores, the company is actively communicating with relevant parties to understand the situation and striving to resolve it as soon as possible. We fully respect and humbly accept the opinions and suggestions put forward by the regulators and will earnestly take effective measures to ensure that the rectifications are in place. (Caixin, Jiemian News)

HarmonyOS Intelligence Mobility User Center Responds to the "Cessation of 'HarmonyOS Intelligence Mobility Grand Hotel' Promotion"

On December 17th, a widely circulated notice regarding the policy adjustment of HarmonyOS Intelligence Mobility stated that HarmonyOS Intelligence Mobility has decided to uniformly stop the promotion related to the "HarmonyOS Intelligence Mobility Grand Hotel" and remove historical promotional materials from various platforms. The notice pointed out that this adjustment aims to optimize the market business environment and reduce the operating costs of dealers. On December 18th, Jiemian News called the HarmonyOS Intelligence Mobility User Center on Wuzhong Road in Shanghai. The staff member said that free car washing and catering services are still available, but customers need to make an appointment first. The QR code for appointment will be launched soon and is currently in the debugging stage. When the reporter asked if there were any pre - conditions for the appointment, the staff member said, "As long as you can make an appointment, you can come in." When asked about the reason for such a change, the store said, "There are simply too many customers in the store, which affects not only our customers who come to pick up their cars, but also those who come to look at cars and our after - sales customers." (Jiemian News)

Legal Department of XPeng Motors: Reported Cases of "Electricity Theft" Illegal Acts, Some Cases Successfully Solved

36Kr learned that the Legal Department of XPeng Motors issued a statement saying that recently, XPeng Motors found that there were illegal individuals who carried out or participated in "electricity theft" acts through means such as illegal electricity - stealing devices and registering fake user accounts. In response to the above illegal acts, XPeng Motors has officially reported the cases to the public security organs. At present, some cases have been successfully solved, and the main suspects have been arrested in accordance with the law on suspicion of larceny and fraud. Here, XPeng Motors expresses its gratitude to the public security organs for their efficient investigation and to the media for providing case clues. We will continue to cooperate in combating the dark and gray industries in the industry, firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the enterprise, and ensure the service rights and experiences of consumers.

Master Kong Changes Leadership, Wei Hongcheng, Son of the Founder, Takes Over

On December 18th, Jiemian News learned that Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corporation issued an announcement, stating that Chief Executive Officer Chen Yingrang will officially retire after the expiration of his service contract on December 31, 2025. The board of directors has appointed Wei Hongcheng, the current executive director, chairman of Tingyi Beverage Holding Co., Ltd., and the third son of Wei Ing-chou, the founder of Tingyi, as the new CEO, effective January 1, 2026. This personnel adjustment marks the changeover of the core management team at Tingyi. (Jiemian News)

Trump: New Fed Chair to Be Announced Soon

At 9 p.m. on December 17, U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the nation. Trump said that the government has very quickly brought down high prices and claimed that wages are rising much faster than inflation. Trump also said that a new Federal Reserve chair will be appointed soon, and the person is someone who favors low interest rates. (Shanghai Daily, Cailian Press)

Industry insiders respond to rumors of Sony's Huizhou factory closure

On December 18th, in response to rumors that Sony is closing its factory in Huizhou, Guangdong, industry insiders told Yicai reporters that Sony (China) Co., Ltd. transferred the equity of Sony Precision Components (Huizhou) Co., Ltd. to Japanese recycled wafer manufacturer RS Technologies last year, and the transaction was completed at the end of December last year. (Yicai)

Humanoid Robots Start Working in Batches at CATL

Recently, the world's first new energy power battery PACK production line that has achieved large - scale implementation of humanoid embodied intelligent robots was officially put into operation at the Zhongzhou Base of CATL. The humanoid robot "Xiaomo" can now accurately complete complex tasks such as plugging in battery connectors. (Caixin Press)

KKV's Shenzhen Store Claims to Be Forced Out by the Property Owner, Both Sides Respond

On the evening of December 14th, the Shenzhen Joy City store of the lifestyle retail brand KKV posted a notice at the store entrance, stating that the store had suspended services due to the shopping mall's unilateral attempt to force the termination of the contract. The shopping mall unilaterally and forcefully demanded that KKV terminate the contract early on the grounds of business format adjustment and resorted to rough measures such as cutting off water and electricity, making it impossible for the store to continue normal operations.

On December 17th, the parent company of the KKV brand, KK Group, told Jiemian News that the above - mentioned KKV store and the shopping mall signed a cooperation agreement in September 2021, finally reaching a cooperation deal from 2021 to 2027. Since they attached great importance to this cooperation, they later opened the first co - branded store of KKV and X11 at Joy City and invested nearly ten million yuan in operation and multiple IP co - branding resources. Currently, colleagues from both sides involved in the business are in consultation, but no consensus solution has been reached yet. (Jiemian News)

Going Public in Progress

MiniMax

The domestic large model company MiniMax (Xiyu Technology) has obtained the record-filing from the China Securities Regulatory Commission and passed the hearing of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It plans to be listed on the stock market in January 2026. MiniMax was founded in early 2022. If it goes public successfully, it will become the fastest AI company globally to reach an IPO in just four years since its establishment, and will enter the capital market as the "first global AGI stock". Currently, MiniMax has served 212 million users in over 200 countries and regions around the world, with more than 100,000 enterprise customers. It has achieved sustainable profitability through paid subscriptions and model calls. (Sina Finance)

Dapu Microelectronics

36Kr learned that the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Listing Committee announced that Shenzhen Dapu Microelectronics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Dapu Microelectronics") will have its initial public offering reviewed on December 25th.

Youxun Co., Ltd.

36Kr learned that the Shanghai Stock Exchange issued an announcement on the listing and trading of the RMB ordinary shares of Xiamen Youxun Chip Co., Ltd. on the Science and Technology Innovation Board. The A-shares of Xiamen Youxun Chip Co., Ltd. will be listed and traded on the Science and Technology Innovation Board of the Exchange. The company's A-share capital is 80 million shares, of which 15.035656 million shares will be listed and traded starting from December 19, 2025.

The Cutting-Edge of AI

Microsoft May Collaborate with Kimi at the Agent Level to Automate Office Products

After Microsoft Azure announced the integration of the Kimi K2 model at the beginning of this month, the cooperation between the two parties is expected to extend to the application layer. Microsoft may cooperate with Kimi to launch a new Agent function this month to cope with the fierce competition from local manufacturers. It is understood that this cooperation will leverage the Agent capabilities of AI to automate Office products. As of press time, neither party has responded. (Cailian Press)

Elon Musk: AI Will Make Saving Money Unnecessary

Elon Musk, the world's richest man, said on December 17 that although the "Trump Account" to be launched next year is a commendable initiative, he believes that saving money will become unnecessary in the future when "universal high income" becomes the norm. Musk has said on multiple occasions that he believes artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics will eliminate poverty and the need for work, creating a general high - income level. (Caixin Press)

OpenAI's Intensive Collaboration with US Universities

OpenAI has barely established a foothold in many US universities and temporarily overcome the concerns of university management towards artificial intelligence. Its ultimate goal is to make ChatGPT a commonly used assistant for the next generation of professionals in the workplace. According to purchase orders, OpenAI has sold over 700,000 ChatGPT licenses to about 35 public universities for students and faculty to use. In contrast, Microsoft, which usually bundles its Copilot assistant with existing software, has seen a more gradual spread of its AI tools in these schools, and the usage rate among teachers is often higher than that among students. (Sina Finance)

Doubao Large Model 1.8 Released, Seedance Model Synchronously Upgraded

36Kr learned that at the Volcengine Force Prime Conference held today, ByteDance officially released Doubao Large Model 1.8 and the audio - video creation model Seedance 1.5 pro. Evaluation data shows that the Doubao model family has reached the industry - leading level in multimodal understanding and generation capabilities, as well as Agent capabilities.

Meituan Releases and Open-Sources SOTA-Level Virtual Human Video Generation Model LongCat-Video-Avatar

36Kr learned that Meituan's LongCat team has officially released and open-sourced a SOTA-level virtual human video generation model called LongCat-Video-Avatar. Built on the LongCat-Video base, this model follows the core design of "one model supporting multiple tasks" and natively supports core functions such as Audio-Text-to-Video (AT2V), Audio-Text-Image-to-Video (ATI2V), and video continuation. At the same time, it has been comprehensively upgraded in the underlying architecture, achieving breakthroughs in three dimensions: motion realism, long - video stability, and identity consistency.

OpenAI has discussed raising tens of billions of dollars at a valuation of approximately $750 billion

It is reported that OpenAI has discussed raising tens of billions of dollars at a valuation of approximately $750 billion. (Cailian Press)

Investment and Financing

"Hesheng Technology" Completes Pre-A Round of Financing

36Kr learned that the AstraZeneca CICC Healthcare Industry Fund announced today the completion of a Pre-A round of financing for "Hesheng Technology". This round of financing was led by the AstraZeneca CICC Healthcare Industry Fund, with the participation of institutions such as SMIC Juyuan, Hangzhou High-Tech Golden Investment, and Shanghai Zhuopu.

Cool Products

China Energy Engineering Group: Successfully developed photovoltaic panel cleaning robots, automatic photovoltaic panel paving robots, etc.

36Kr learned that China Energy Engineering Group stated on the interactive platform that the company has ventured into industrial robot manufacturing. Currently, it has successfully developed photovoltaic panel cleaning robots, automatic photovoltaic panel paving robots, etc. In terms of hydropower construction, it has jointly developed intelligent equipment such as an integrated intelligent drilling and protection system for inclined shaft excavation.

Compiled | Jingjing