Apple uses a number of methods to keep HomeView users' personal information private, even when a whole household shares the device.
The device recognizes up to six people, giving each their own Home Screen with personalized apps and widgets. Apple says personal content stays private to each user, while shared photo albums and music can remain available to everyone in the household, including guests.
For content from apps such as Messages and Calendar to appear, HomeView must recognize the enrolled user's face, and their paired iPhone or iPad normally needs to be present and recently unlocked.
There is an exception when the paired iPhone or iPad disconnects from Wi-Fi. Personal information may remain accessible if the HomeView still recognizes the user and the paired device was recently connected to the same Wi-Fi network, has an active cellular connection, remains in the same location, and has been recently unlocked.
The HomeView's A18 chip includes Secure Exclaves, which is a protected processing environment that handles camera and microphone data separately from the rest of the system. Apple says isolation features across the chip prevent other components from accessing these environments. According to the company, data processed and analyzed within the Secure Exclaves cannot be accessed by HomeView's software, apps, users, or Apple itself.
Siri requests have their own privacy protections. The HomeView can handle requests on the device or use Private Cloud Compute, Apple's system for processing requests in the cloud. Apple says data processed through Private Cloud Compute is neither stored nor made accessible to Apple or anyone else.
The HomeView also works with compatible smart home cameras to provide end-to-end encrypted recognition of people, familiar faces, pets, packages, and vehicles with a supported iCloud+ subscription.
You can get the Black Apple Watch Ultra 3 with the Black Milanese Loop for $699.97 today on Amazon, down from $899.00.
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If you're shopping for the regular models, you'll find numerous discounts at Best Buy this week. You can get the Black and Natural Apple Watch Ultra 3 for $649.00, down from $799.00, which is over $100 under the current sale price of the Ultra 4.
Best Buy has quite a few Apple Watch Ultra 3 models at this low price tag, with both delivery and in-store pick-up options available this week. If you're looking for a detailed breakdown on the similarities and differences between the Ultra 3 and Ultra 4, you can check out our Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs. Ultra 4 Buyer's Guide.
If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.
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Apple today announcedApple Intelligence features for the Apple TV, bringing a more conversational Siri, personalized entertainment search, and summaries of smart home camera activity to the living room.
Siri AI introduces a full-screen interface for finding movies and TV shows, with results featuring poster artwork from the Apple TV app and suggestions for related content. Users can ask which Apple TV shows won Emmy Awards this year, for example, and then explore recommendations for other award-winning shows.
While watching, viewers can ask follow-up questions about filming locations or whether a show is appropriate for a particular age. Answers appear in a small overlay over the video. Apple says the assistant also offers broader general knowledge and can perform more actions across apps.
Personal context support lets Siri AI find something to watch based on information from a paired Apple Intelligence-enabled device. Apple gives the example of asking Siri to "Play the show Alinda recommended," allowing the assistant to identify a recommendation without the user having to remember the title.
Apple Intelligence also expands the Apple TV's capabilities as a home hub, adding descriptions of activity in HomeKit Secure Video recordings and summarized notifications in the Home app. Siri AI can also control compatible smart home accessories and turn scenes on or off.
Siri AI will be available in beta with tvOS 27.2 on the second-generation Apple TV 4K and later, meaning owners of existing compatible models can also access the assistant. The fourth-generation Apple TV 4K is available to preorder today for $299 in the United States, with availability beginning November 13.
Apple today announced that ADT will offer professional in-home installation of its all-new wall-mounted HomeView smart home hub, confirming our scoop.
ADT technicians will be able to install the wall-mounted version of the HomeView, the new collection of related Apple Home Collection smart home accessories from LG and Schneider Home, and other eligible smart home accessories in "most areas" of the U.S., according to Apple's website. More details are available on ADT's website.
The wall-mounted HomeView is available in space gray and silver. It has the same 7-inch display as the tabletop version, and there are speaker holes on the bottom edge. It can be attached to a wall using three purpose-built mounts from Schneider Home, with options for self-installation or professional installation for an additional charge.
Apple said ADT installation services will be available in the U.S. "starting this fall."
In the U.S., both the tabletop and wall-mounted HomeView models are priced at $299.
Despite featuring an A18 chip and built-in Apple Intelligence support, Apple's new HomeView still depends on a paired Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad for several features.
According to Apple's announcement, Siri requests involving personal context require a paired Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad running the latest software, with Siri AI enabled and set to a supported language. These capabilities include retrieving relevant information from Messages and Calendar, as well as taking action across apps using the user's personal context.
HomeView will still offer several Siri AI capabilities to users whose iPhone or iPad does not support Apple Intelligence. Apple says these users can ask general-knowledge questions, hold natural conversations with Siri, and benefit from improved music discovery. Siri requests on the HomeView can be processed on the device or through Private Cloud Compute.
Customizable Siri voices have more restrictive hardware requirements. Users can only adjust Siri's expressiveness and speaking pace on their paired device, with those preferences then carrying over to HomeView. This requires an iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, or an iPad with an M4 chip or later and at least 12GB of unified memory. The feature is available in English only.
Some of the HomeView's intelligent camera features also depend on another Apple device. Video summaries and natural language searches of HomeKit Secure Video recordings require setup using an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad, along with an eligible iCloud+ subscription.
The HomeView launches on November 13, with both the tabletop and wall-mounted models priced at $299 in the U.S.
Apple today debuted the "Apple Home Collection," an accessory lineup it developed with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric. The collection includes cameras, thermostats, temperature sensors, and a door lock.
All of the home devices are designed to work with the HomeView, Apple's new home hub. Apple says each one is made from premium materials with a minimal aesthetic. The accessories are able to be set up with a single tap from the iPhone, and can be controlled with the Home app and through Siri.
LG Video Doorbell ($249.95) - The Video Doorbell has dual cameras that capture views of visitors and packages. The front camera has a 2.5K resolution and the bottom camera is HD resolution. It has a built-in spotlight and a chime that plays through HomeView, HomePod, or HomePod mini.
LG Outdoor Cam ($299.95) - The Outdoor Cam has low-color night vision and can be angled in multiple positions.
LG Indoor Cam ($199.95) - The Indoor Cam has a privacy-preserving feature that allows it to tilt up when people are in the home so it's not recording, and down when people leave for keeping an eye on the home. The tilt function works based on geofencing, but can also be controlled in the Home app or manually.
LG Floodlight Cam ($399.95) - The Floodlight Cam has dual floodlights that activate when motion is detected and low-color night vision.
LG Smart Deadbolt Lock ($349.95) - The lock has UWB and can unlock automatically when the homeowner approaches, with no tap required. It also supports unlocking via PIN or a hidden backup key slot, and there is detection for whether the door is opened, closed, or has been tampered with. The doorbell and lock can work together as one, letting users see who is at the door and unlocking it if needed.
LG Thermostat ($199.95) - The thermostat supports Adaptive Temperature and in the U.S., heating and cooling can be activated during lower-cost periods for users with a compatible utility plan. The thermostat can read temperature and humidity across multiple rooms using separate temperature and humidity sensors. Sensors are priced at $39.95.
Schneider Electric Thermostat ($199.95) - Also supports Adaptive Temperature and can be used with temperature and humidity sensors. Sensors are priced at $39.95.
Cameras work with iCloud+ plans and users can view live footage and camera activity from the Home app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV 4K, and HomeView.
The Apple Home Collection will be available starting in December, though select accessories will not launch until early 2027.
The new Apple TV 4K announced today is even more expensive than the previous model, with U.S. pricing set at $299.
The new Apple TV 4K only has a single configuration available with 128GB of storage, Wi-Fi 7, and an Ethernet port. The previous model had two separate configurations that were most recently priced at $199 and $249 in the U.S. following an earlier price increase. All in all, the Apple TV 4K's starting price has now gone from $129 to $299 this year.
Apple today announced a new HomePod mini equipped with Siri AI, new colors, and improved audio experiences. The new HomePod mini has an S10 chip that supports advanced computational audio, and Apple says it optimizes dynamic range, loudness, and acoustic performance in real-time.
A Sound Glow feature turns the HomePod mini's top into a "visual canvas" that glows and animates in sync with music, reacting to bass and treble. It uses colors generated from the song's album artwork for a unique experience for each song.
Four HomePod minis can be paired together to create a four-speaker surround sound with the latest Apple TV 4K, which Apple also announced today. The speakers and the Apple TV are able to recognize their position in the room and levels are calibrated to the space. The HomePod mini also works as a speaker for the Mac.
Siri AI will be available in a future software update, and will work when the HomePod mini is paired with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad. It will be able to recognize up to six users by voice and connect to their device for personalized information like Messages.
As with the prior version of the HomePod mini, the new model is able to serve as a home hub and control smart home devices. It supports Sound Recognition and can listen for smoke or carbon monoxide alarms, sending an alert if one is detected.
The HomePod mini 2 comes in pink, green, blue, white, and midnight and will launch on October 30. It's priced at $149 and pre-orders open now.
Apple's new HomeView smart home hub will not be available in the European Union because Siri AI is currently unavailable on iOS in the region, the company said today. Apple said it is "working constructively with the EU in an attempt to find a path forward," but provided no timeline for EU availability. It costs $299 in the U.S. and launches on November 13 in eight countries around the world.
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Apple today announced the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K, with key features including an A19 chip, Siri AI support, an updated Siri Remote that has Find My support with Precision Finding, built in far-field microphones, support for surround sound with four HomePods in front and rear pairs, and more.
The A19 chip in the new Apple TV 4K delivers up to 50% faster CPU performance and up to twice as fast graphics performance compared to the previous-generation model with the A15 Bionic chip, according to Apple. With the A19 chip, the Apple TV likely has an increased 8GB of RAM as well, up from 4GB in the previous model.
The more personalized and intelligent Siri AI powered by Apple Intelligence is now on Apple TV. The new Apple TV 4K has three far-field microphones that allow users to talk to Siri AI in a hands-free manner, but the updated Siri Remote still has a microphone and a Siri button on its side if you prefer to use the assistant that way.
For example, Apple said users can simply ask Siri which Apple TV shows won at the Emmy Awards this year and see poster art pulled directly from the Apple TV app, along with relevant suggestions like "more award-winning comedies."
Siri AI support does not require the new model. According to Apple, it is available in beta on the Apple TV 4K (2nd generation) and later running an upcoming tvOS 27.2 beta. At launch, Siri AI on the Apple TV will be limited to English in the U.S., Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, and the U.K.
Siri AI on the Apple TV requires a paired iPhone or iPad that supports Apple Intelligence for requests that involve a user's personal context.
As for the far-field microphones, Apple explained that "advanced echo cancellation intelligently isolates a user's voice from background sound to deliver crystal-clear 'Hey Siri' or 'Siri' recognition, even while audio is playing."
Far-field Siri is supported when tvOS is set to English, Mandarin Chinese, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Norwegian, or Swedish.
Beyond the microphones and the status light now being centered on the front of the Apple TV 4K, there are no other obvious external design changes compared to the previous model. A future teardown will reveal internal changes.
The updated Siri Remote now supports the Precision Finding feature in the Find My app, making it easier to find. The remote now has a speaker built into it, allowing you to play a sound through the Find My app to help with locating it. The remote's overall design has not changed, and it still has a USB-C charging port.
For the first time, users can create a four-speaker surround sound experience with the new Apple TV 4K and the new HomePod mini 2 and the existing second-generation full-sized HomePod. You can have HomePod mini 2 speakers in front-left, front-right, rear-left, and right-right positions, or you can mix and match HomePod mini and HomePod speakers, so long as the front and rear pairs match. For example, you could have two full-sized HomePods up front and two HomePod mini 2 speakers in the rear.
The new Apple TV 4K can be pre-ordered starting today and launches on Friday, November 13. In the U.S., pricing is set at $299, with only a single configuration available now with 128GB of storage, Wi-Fi 7 support, and a Gigabit Ethernet port. The device is also equipped with a rear HDMI 2.1 port and supports Bluetooth 6.
Apple today announced the "HomeView," an all-new kind of smart home hub featuring a 7-inch Liquid Retina display and Siri AI.
Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing Greg Joswiak said:
Apple HomeView is designed to be shared by everyone in the home yet feel completely personal to each user. It recognizes your face to shift from a household screen to your own experience, fills the room with incredible sound, keeps you connected to the people who matter most with FaceTime, and makes it easy to control your smart home. And it's powered by Apple Intelligence with Siri AI at its core, drawing on personal context from your iPhone to help you find what you need and get more done, all while keeping everyone's information private and secure.
The HomeView features an aluminum design, with the display connected to a domed speaker base by a stainless steel tilting hinge. Apple says it is ideal for a kitchen counter, nightstand, or side table. The 7-inch Liquid Retina display features True Tone and automatic brightness between 0.3 nits and 500 nits, making it ideal for low-light environments.
A custom-engineered acoustic system with two full-range drivers delivers "room-filling" Spatial Audio. A down-firing woofer and two force-cancelling passive radiators are built directly into the base. With Handoff, users can continue listening to audio from their iPhone by placing it in front of the HomeView. It also supports multiroom audio.
The HomeView features faces that display information at a glance, including a Photos face, a "Flow" face that dynamically responds to movement, a Snoopy face that reflects context like the time of day and weather, a Home Modular face that offers instant access to smart home accessories, a Home Camera face that can livestream up to nine video feeds simultaneously, and more.
The HomeView's interface adjusts based on a user's distance, showing larger, simpler information from across a room and richer detail as a user steps closer. The device recognizes up to six people and delivers a personalized experience. Each user has their own Home Screen with apps and widgets. Apple says that personal content remains private, while shared photo albums and music can be enjoyed by all users, including guests.
The device features Siri AI, and used with an Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhone or iPad, Siri AI can take action across apps and surface relevant information from Messages and Calendar, Apple Music playlists, and more. Users can also customize the expressiveness and pace of Siri's voice on their paired and compatible device. Siri AI conversations sync across devices.
Apple also said that "HomeView is the perfect sous chef," with the ability to convert recipes from the web into step-by-step instructions with hands-free timer controls and ingredient tracking. Moreover, the HomeView offers FaceTime and Center Stage, as well as Intercom for sending a quick message in the household.
The tabletop version is available in silver, starlight, rose pink, and space gray, including matching cables. A wall-mounted version is available in silver and space gray only. It can be attached using three mount options from Schneider Home. The wall-mounted version delivers "rich sound" with two custom drivers and computational audio tuned specifically for on-wall placement.
Following a teaser yesterday, Apple's Beats brand has now officially announced its latest collaboration, this time with The Pokémon Company International for a special-edition Beats Pill speaker featuring Pikachu and Mimikyu on the speaker's grill. The Pokémon x Beats Pill launches this Thursday, October 15, and it will be available at the same $149.99 price as other Beats Pill variants.
Aside from the Pokémon artwork, the speaker is otherwise a standard Beats Pill with a gray body and grill, although it does also come with bespoke Pokémon charms including a Poke Ball, the Beats "b" logo, and Pikachu's signature lightning bolts.
"Pokémon Trainers are some of the most passionate in the world, and we saw an opportunity to channel that energy into something fun, unexpected, and created especially for fans," said Chris Thorne, Beats CMO. "This collaboration unites two brands rooted in culture, giving fans a new way to express their love of Pokémon through sound."
Like other Beats Pill models, the Pokémon x Beats Pill features up to 24 hours of battery life, IP67 dust and water resistance, and the ability to wirelessly pair two Beats Pills together in Amplify Mode or Stereo Mode, output lossless audio when connected to a source via USB-C, and charge compatible phones from the speaker's USB-C port.
Sales of the Pokémon x Beats Pill will be limited to the United States, United Kingdom, and China, with availability only through Apple's website in all three countries, Target (online and select stores) in the United States, Argos (online and select stores) in the United Kingdom, and Douyin in China.
The devices will likely be unveiled in press releases shared on the Apple Newsroom website at around 9 a.m. Eastern Time today, as that is when Apple's private "Welcome home" experience in New York begins. At the experience, invited reporters and content creators will likely receive hands-on time with the devices.
Here are some photos shared by guests who have arrived to Apple's space in New York.
Shot on OnePlus 15 https://t.co/CIJfP29N6J
— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) October 13, 2026
Arriving at today's @apple Welcome Home event! https://t.co/y5ZPNGWzcC
— Andru Edwards (@AndruEdwards) October 13, 2026
The new HomePod mini and Apple TV 4K models will reportedly launch on Friday, October 30, while the HomeView is apparently not launching until mid-November.
The all-new HomeView smart home hub will be available in a tabletop version with a speaker base made of metal, as well as a wall-mounted version with a flat, square wall plate. The device is designed for managing smart home accessories, home security, photo galleries, calendar appointments, music playback, FaceTime video calls, and more.
The device will be ideal for the kitchen, bedroom, and living room, and it will reportedly have multi-user support for families.
The hub reportedly has a 6-inch square display, and an A18 chip for Apple Intelligence, with Siri AI expected to be a tentpole feature. A new operating system — potentially named "homeOS" — will feature clock faces, widgets, and more.
The tabletop HomeView will be available in four finishes: Gray, Silver, Starlight, and Rose. The wall-mounted version will be limited to Gray and Silver.
HomeView will have a selection of Apple apps, but no App Store for third-party apps.
HomeView will be accompanied by an "Apple Home Collection" of accessories that brands such as LG and Schneider Electric developed in partnership with Apple. This will include a smart doorbell, deadbolt lock, thermostat, temperature sensor, indoor and outdoor security cameras, and a floodlight camera.
The new HomePod mini is rumored to be equipped with the Apple Watch Series 10's S10 chip, up from the S5 chip in the current version of the speaker released in 2020. A range of new color options leaked, too, including pink and green.
The new Apple TV 4K is rumored to have an A19 chip, Siri AI support, and an updated Siri Remote with a built-in speaker that makes it easier to find. In addition, the device will likely receive an Apple-designed N1 chip with Wi-Fi 7 support.
Apple has launched a new "Switch to Safari" marketing campaign that encourages Chrome users to switch to Safari as their web browser of choice on the Mac.
"Safari is a more powerful and private browser than Chrome," says Apple.
Apple has a new "Switch to Safari" page on its website that outlines more than 10 reasons that Chrome users should switch to Safari, including faster performance for certain tasks, privacy features, and less battery life consumption.
The film will be in the Apple Immersive Video format, meaning it will be a 3D video recorded in 8K resolution with a 180-degree field of view and Spatial Audio.
Apple shared a short video of people reacting to the film while wearing the Vision Pro.
"Watch as they step inside Woldmere Castle and enter the unsettling world created by writer and director Ti West," said Apple.
Repeated glass breakages at BOE's new OLED factory have persisted for roughly six months, potentially hindering its attempt to win iPad display orders from Apple, The Elec reports.
The Chinese display maker apparently only recently begun Apple's panel qualification process. According to the report, the manufacturing difficulties could either postpone orders or prevent BOE from securing them.
A broken sheet of glass can leave production equipment unavailable for between half a day and a full day as workers remove fragments and check the machinery. That makes the issue disruptive even when most substrates pass through the line without breaking.
Sources cited by the publication warned that two or three breakages among 1,000 substrates could still interfere with mass production. The impact extends beyond the loss of the damaged sheet, because other production cannot proceed through the affected equipment during recovery. Sources said these incidents need to be almost entirely eliminated for continuous operation.
The affected facility is B16 in Chengdu, which houses BOE's 8.6-generation OLED production line. BOE continues to operate two lines there, but has yet to identify what causes the glass to fail.
Earlier reports linked BOE's iPad Air plans to its separate B12 facility in Chongqing, while B16 was associated with its effort to supply OLED MacBook Pro panels. The report from August anticipated the launch of new iPad Air models featuring OLED displays in the first half of 2027, with Samsung Display as the primary panel supplier.
BOE's previous work for Apple has also been interrupted by manufacturing and approval problems. In 2022, Apple reportedly halted production of BOE's iPhone 13 displays after discovering unauthorized changes to their design. Reports in 2023 described light leakage around the Dynamic Island cutouts that constrained supply of iPhone 15 panels. In January, a report said Apple had shifted millions of OLED panel orders for the iPhone to Samsung Display after BOE again encountered production difficulties.
Apple's share of worldwide smartphone shipments rose to a third-quarter record of 22% in the third quarter of 2026, despite a decline in its own iPhone shipments, according to preliminary figures from Counterpoint Research.
Apple finished the quarter just behind Samsung, which accounted for 23% of shipments. Across the industry, manufacturers shipped 20% fewer smartphones than a year earlier, taking the July-to-September total to its lowest level since 2012.
Apple's launch plan was a significant factor in its lower shipment volume this year. With no standard iPhone 18 arriving alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in September, Counterpoint said Apple supplied fewer new devices to retail channels than during last year's iPhone 17 lineup launch.
The research firm nevertheless reported a better debut for the iPhone 18 Pro models than for the previous Pro generation, with sales in China and India standing out. Demand for the iPhone 17 also continued to support shipments.
Apple also outperformed the wider market in China. Separate IDC figures reported by Reuters put Apple's shipment decline at 4.3%, compared with a 15.4% contraction for the country as a whole. China's total of 57.9 million units marked its sixth consecutive quarter of annual declines.
Apple took second place in China with a 17.8% share, behind Huawei at 21%. IDC said Apple's newly released iPhones exceeded sales expectations, although the smaller selection of new models reduced its overall shipments.
Counterpoint linked the global downturn to shortages and rising prices for memory chips, which have made phones more expensive to produce. It estimates that smartphone retail prices have risen 20% globally so far this year, with demand for premium smartphones proving to be more resilient than budget devices.
Apple's "Welcome Home" product launch is happening tomorrow. As the name suggests, Apple is going to debut new home accessories, including the long-rumored home hub.
Below, we've listed all the rumors we know about the three devices Apple is set to introduce.
HomeView
Apple's home hub, which will be called HomeView, is a multi-function device designed for all of a home's occupants. It's built around Siri AI, and will have an A18 chip and 8GB of RAM.
Here's what rumors suggest it'll be able to do:
Answer questions with Siri AI
Control smart home devices
Display the time and weather
Display widgets, including widgets from a connected iPhone
Show each user their calendar events and reminders
Play music, podcasts, and audiobooks
Play videos, TV shows, and movies
Show photos, slideshows, and home movies
Support video calls
Show the news
Show messages and emails
Display recipes and instructions when completing tasks
The hub will be able to do anything you might want a home assistant device to do, from giving the next steps of a recipe to suggesting dinner ideas and creating a shopping list. It will rely heavily on Siri AI for voice-based input, but it will also have a 6-inch touch display.
The display is square with bezels around the edges, and there are two models. One version can be mounted on the wall, and the other is attached to a half-dome speaker base with a flexible arm for adjusting tilt. The hub isn't expected to have its own App Store, but it will support Apple apps such as Safari, News, Music, Reminders, Calendar, Weather, Messages, FaceTime, Photos, and Mail.
There will be a presence sensor and a camera in the hub, and it will use a variation of Face ID to determine who is nearby to show customized content. It will display information from a linked iPhone, like email messages, but only after authenticating. The sensors in the hub will be usable in HomeKit scenes and automations, so you can use it to trigger lights and other devices when a person walks into the room.
The interface will be heavily widget-based so you can see information at a glance, and it's likely going to look similar to StandBy mode on the iPhone. You will be able to choose your preferred clock face or idle state, along with a home screen of widget options that you can tap to open a full app. If you have multiple hubs, they'll link together for features like multi-room music and intercom functionality. Rumors suggest that it will have better sound quality than the HomePod mini.
There isn't going to be a built-in battery, and the hub will need to be connected to power via an included USB-C port. The speaker-equipped version is expected in multiple colors, including gray, silver, starlight, and rose. The wall-mounted version will be available in silver and gray.
Rumors suggest the hub could be priced somewhere around $350.
Apple TV 4K
Apple isn't updating the design of the Apple TV, so expect the new model to be the same boring black box. What's changing is entirely inside.
The Apple TV 4K is going to get a lot more powerful so it can support Siri AI, offering many of the same Siri features that are available on iPhone and iPad in iOS and iPadOS 27.
We're expecting an A19 with 8GB of RAM, along with Apple's N1 networking chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. The A19 will bring a major upgrade in performance, both for Siri and for gaming. It has ray tracing, mesh shading, and other features that will improve gameplay graphics.
There will be a new Siri Remote with an included speaker to make it easier to find, and we've seen some signs that Apple is working on its own gaming controller under the Beats brand, but there's no word on whether it's ready to launch.
Apple will likely emphasize Siri AI and gaming capabilities when introducing the Apple TV. Apple raised the price of the current Apple TV to $199 in June, and the new model will be at least that expensive with the processor and RAM upgrades.
HomePod mini
Like the Apple TV 4K, the HomePod mini isn't going to get a new design, but it will have internal upgrades that make it more capable. It's going to get an upgraded S10 chip, second-generation UWB for features like Handoff, and the N1 networking chip with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.
You'll need a nearby AI-capable device for Siri AI processing because the HomePod probably won't be able to handle much on-device, but smarter Siri should make for a better experience. Siri AI on HomePod mini will have the context of Siri interactions on other devices, and it's likely conversations will be saved to a connected iPhone's Siri app.
Siri AI can answer follow-up questions, handle multi-request queries, and access information from your apps. It'll be similar to having ChatGPT or Claude on a speaker. Though design updates aren't expected, the HomePod mini will get new colors. We're expecting white, blue, black, sage, and pink.
HomePod mini pricing went up from $99 to $129 in June 2026, and the new model will likely be priced at $129 too.
LG Accessories
Apple worked with LG to make an LG-branded wired video doorbell, thermostat, smart deadbolt lock, temperature sensor, indoor security camera, outdoor security camera, and floodlight camera that will work with the home hub and the HomeKit platform.
The accessories are part of an "Apple Home Collection" that will be marketed alongside the HomeView. They won't be ready until later this year at the earliest, but Apple could show them off during the announcement.
Announcement Timing
There's no keynote event for the "Welcome Home" product debut, so Apple is probably going to release a video and an accompanying set of press releases. There's an NYC media event that's going to take place at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, October 13, and that could be when all of the announcements happen.
The NYC event will let members of the media get some hands-on time with the new devices to share first impressions.
Pre-Orders and Launch Date
Apple could begin accepting pre-orders just after the new devices launch. The HomePod mini and the Apple TV 4K are going to launch on Friday, October 30.
The HomeView won't be available right away and is expected to ship to customers in mid-November.
Apple's first foldable iPhone, with a book-style design featuring a 5.4-inch outer display and a 7.6-inch inner display with a minimal crease down the middle.
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