Apple Confirms October 13 Event as Smart Home and Fall Hardware Plans Take Shape

Apple has set October 13 for its next product launch, an event expected to center on smart home hardware. The Apple October 13 event will take the form of press releases and hands-on time for select media in New York City, rather than a traditional keynote.

Smart home lineup in focus

The long-rumored smart home hub is widely expected to appear, alongside refreshes of the Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini. Apple has not confirmed which products will be announced, and pricing and availability remain unknown.

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A second launch may follow

MacRumors has heard that a second product launch could land in the final week of October, with October 27 floated as a possible date. Bloomberg has corroborated that report. New Macs and an iPad mini refresh may be part of that round. Between the two events, iPhone Duo pre-orders are scheduled to begin next week.

Three years of the 80% charge limit

Since 2023, Apple iPhones have offered an optional 80% charge limit intended to extend battery lifespan. Juli Clover has used the setting across an iPhone 15 Pro Max, 16 Pro Max and 17 Pro Max. After 12 months, her iPhone 17 Pro Max reported 97% capacity at 277 cycles.

AT&T cellular issue hits iPhone 18 Pro Max

Some iPhone 18 Pro Max users on AT&T have lost cellular service. AT&T urged those users to update to iOS 27.0.1 immediately. The update was released on September 28, but it does not resolve the service issues for affected users. Those devices must be replaced. US iPhone 18 Pro Max models use a Qualcomm modem rather than Apple’s C2, though the exact cause of the problem and any link to the modem remain unknown.

Lighter OLED MacBook Pro and touch gestures

Rumors point to a high-end MacBook with a touchscreen OLED display. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has said the OLED MacBook Pro will be significantly lighter, though not much thinner than current models. The macOS 27.2 beta has added touch-specific gestures and a Dock animation.

LG smart home accessories

Apple is partnering with LG on smart home accessories. LG-branded doorbells, smart locks and cameras will carry tighter integration with the Apple ecosystem.

Full Disk Access changes target AI risks

Apple has announced changes to Full Disk Access on macOS, citing risks posed by AI agents. The company pointed to developer misuse of the permission and warned that the risks will grow as AI agents become more autonomous. AI agents such as Meta’s Muse and OpenAI’s Dots have raised broader privacy concerns.