The digital transformation comes for us all. Just ask the auto industry.

As automakers develop smarter, more connected vehicles, the storied manufacturing companies face new technical challenges—including cybersecurity.

Zoom in: In 2020, more than 90% of all new cars in the US were connected, according to ABI Research. By 2030, the majority of new cars sold in the US could be EVs, which have even more points of connection.

Experts worry that automakers’ cybersecurity capabilities could struggle to keep pace with the explosion of connectivity.

“People want to do the right thing, but the rate at which the industry is moving toward EVs—we are in no way shape or form ready to absorb this at scale across the board,” David Chaddock, director of cybersecurity at consulting firm West Monroe, told us.

Automotive cybersecurity in 2022 is akin to where software security was around the time Bill Gates published his “Trustworthy Computing” memo at Microsoft in 2002, Chris Valasek, director of product security at the GM-owned self-driving car company Cruise, told us. The industry is aware of its importance but has not yet developed all the standards needed to mitigate risk.

Zoom out: “The runway is way too short for what we need to get it right,” Chaddock said. “It doesn’t mean that it’s not possible, but it’s going to take a big cultural, mental, financial shift to get us where we need to be at scale in the next five [years].”

Keep reading this story on-site.—GD

Ever since Amazon reimagined the grocery store from the ceiling down with its computer-vision-based “Just Walk Out” checkout and the pandemic gave online grocery shopping a major boost, traditional grocers have been feeling the pressure to bring high-tech experiences to IRL stores by adding things like smart carts and robots to their aisles.

With a new slate of grocery tech offerings called Connected Stores, Instacart aims to help grocers compete with the e-comm behemoth through a one-stop shop of features like electronic shelf tags and mobile self-checkout, to connect the online and brick-and-mortar experience, David McIntosh, Instacart’s VP of platform growth and technology, told Retail Brew.

• The company is opening its first Connected Store in partnership with Good Food Holdings’ Bristol Farms store in Irvine, California, in the coming months.

While Amazon has enough $$ to outfit stores with cameras, McIntosh noted that’s not doable for most of Instacart’s grocery partners.

“We want to arm the industry with these capabilities and tools. We want to enable all of our retail partners,” he said. “We want to be the antidote to Amazon.”

Big picture: The new tech also helps Instacart—often dubbed a “pandemic darling” for cashing in on the Covid-driven online shopping surge—establish its presence in brick and mortar. The company expects 65% of all grocery purchases to continue to occur through 2026, McIntosh said.

Read the full story from Retail Brew here.—EC

Ah, autumn. A time for lumpy gourds, crisp air, and new Apple device releases.

Last week, we inquired as to whether you all were planning to purchase the new iPhone 14, replete with new features including satellite connectivity capabilities in the US and Canada.

By the numbers: A little over one-fifth (21%) of you said yes, while the remaining 79% said nope. We had about 2,100 readers weigh in.

• For its part, Apple is reportedly expecting strong demand for the device. In August, it was reported that the company bumped up its initial order volume for the phone by just under 6%, from 90 million units to 95 million.

So far, consumers seem to be opting for the more expensive Pro models. That’s contributed to an expectation of record-high average selling prices for the iPhone in the coming months, with Counterpoint Research projecting the average new iPhone selling price to hit $892 in September and $944 in December, per the Financial Times. As it stands, the record is $873.

Anyway, FWIW, here’s The Verge’s review of the new phones, which opens with this one-two punch: “The iPhone 14 is good. You probably shouldn’t buy an iPhone 14.”

This week’s poll: Would you ride in an electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle—aka eVTOL, aka air taxi…aka flying car—if given the chance?

Yes
No
IDK

Stat: The valuation of the micromobility company Bird has plummeted so far that its co-founder and former CEO’s modest home $22 million mansion is now worth more than his stake in the company.

Quote: “Competition just has too much momentum, and we haven’t executed well enough. So we expect that bottoming. The business will be growing, but we do expect that there continues to be some share losses.”—Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, speaking at a conference in early September

Read: AI could soon help smartphone cameras do to DSLRs what they did to point-and-shoot digital cameras.

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Catch up on the top Emerging Tech Brew stories from the past few editions:

• Why self-driving car company Cruise is bringing chip design in-house
• Why Revel sees an opportunity in selling energy back to NYC’s grid
• As John Deere digitizes, some experts worry about cyber risks