Apple news from October 2026

After a historic September, Apple simply kept going in October. In one month we got a smart display for the home, a new Apple TV and HomePod mini, the foldable iPhone Duo in stores, an OLED iPad mini and, to close it out, the first MacBook Pro with a touchscreen. iOS 27.2 arrived in between. Here’s the overview.

October 13: HomeView, Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini 2

On October 13, Apple introduced three products for the home, not with a classic keynote but with press releases and videos. The biggest newcomer is HomeView, a 7-inch smart display that recognises who is standing in front of it and is built entirely around Siri AI. It costs $299 and ships from November 13. Just not here: Apple is not bringing HomeView to the European Union for now, because Siri AI on the iPhone isn’t available in the EU yet. We wrote a separate article about it.

The new Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini 2 are coming to Europe. The Apple TV 4K gets an A19 chip, Wi-Fi 7, microphones for hands-free Siri and a new Siri Remote you can locate with Find My. It did get a lot more expensive: $299 in the US and €349 in Italy. A nice touch is that you can pair it with four HomePods for surround sound. The HomePod mini 2 is finally refreshed after almost six years, with an S10 chip, a top that lights up in the colours of your music (Sound Glow) and five colours. It costs $149 and has been in stores since October 30. The Apple TV follows on November 13.

iPhone Duo in stores, with teething problems

The foldable iPhone Duo opened for pre-orders on October 16 and has been in stores since October 23. Stock was tight: store staff were told to discourage customers without a pre-order from coming in on launch day. Apple released iOS 27.1 specifically for the Duo, an update only for this device, and showed more than fifty apps already optimised for the folding screen.

Unfortunately it wasn’t entirely smooth. Shortly after launch, some buyers reported the inner display cracking along the hinge, sometimes after only a few openings. Apple confirmed that a small number of units are affected and that those users can get a replacement through AppleCare. Apple hasn’t said what causes it. If you ordered a Duo there’s no need to panic, but keep an eye on it during the first few days. Curious how it feels in the hand? Read our iPhone Duo hands-on.

iOS 27.2: a new Apple Music and smarter Messages

iOS 27.2 arrived for all iPhones on October 26, along with updates for iPad, Mac and Apple’s other devices. The most visible change is Apple Music: the red icon has been replaced with a black and white design, and the accents inside the app are now blue. Messages now recognises when someone suggests an appointment and offers to add it to your calendar. The Apple TV app gets profiles per family member, the USB-C Apple Pencil now works on the iPhone Duo, and the Home app can automatically lock a smart lock once the door is closed.

The new Siri AI features in this update are still not available in the Netherlands and the rest of the EU, and the redesigned Health app that was in the betas didn’t make the final release. iOS 27.2 does include important security fixes, so install it as soon as you can via Settings, General, Software Update.

OLED iPad mini, now water resistant

On October 26, Apple announced the new iPad mini, which it calls the biggest update ever. The display grows to 8.5 inches and is now OLED, with an optional nano-texture finish against reflections. Inside is the A20 Pro from the iPhone 18 Pro. It’s also the first iPad with an official IP67 rating for water and dust, partly because the speaker holes are gone. Sound now comes through the display itself. The front camera now sits on the long edge.

Less fun: the display stays at 60 Hz, so no ProMotion, and the price goes up again. In the US the iPad mini now starts at $699. Orders are open and deliveries start on November 6. Dutch pricing and details are in our article on the new iPad mini.

Touchscreen MacBook Pro, M6 for iMac and MacBook Pro

October 28 brought the biggest news of the month: the first Mac with a touchscreen. The new MacBook Pro has an OLED display Apple calls PROLED XDR, and you can simply touch it. The Mac also gets a Dynamic Island for the first time, the glowing Apple logo on the back returns after ten years, and the speakers are improved. According to Apple, touch doesn’t cost any battery life, and you can turn it off if you don’t want it. The new models still use the M5 Pro and M5 Max.

It isn’t cheap. The 14-inch model starts at $2,899 in the US and the 16-inch at $3,399, about $400 more than a comparable mini-LED MacBook Pro, which stays on sale. A fully loaded model with 16 TB of storage runs up to $14,549. A day earlier, the base 14-inch MacBook Pro and the iMac got the new M6 chip, but not much else. The M6 MacBook Pro starts at $1,999 and the iMac went up $200 to $1,499. All new Macs and the iPad mini are available from November 6. More details and Dutch pricing are in our articles on the touchscreen MacBook Pro, the M6 MacBook Pro and the M6 iMac.

Also this month

The Mac Studio with M5 Ultra can now be ordered with 512 GB of memory, for a hefty $22,299. South Korea fined Apple the equivalent of $15.5 million and ordered it to let developers link to external payment options. Apple disagrees and is considering legal action. The education price of the MacBook Neo also went up, to $649.

Looking ahead: November

On Monday, November 2, Apple reports its results for the fourth fiscal quarter. It will be the first earnings call with John Ternus as CEO. On November 6 the new MacBook Pros, the iMac and the iPad mini hit stores, followed on November 13 by the Apple TV 4K and, outside Europe, the HomeView.

That was the Apple news from October 2026. Next month, a new overview.