Two dates for Apple announcements in October, the result of three years of the 80% charging limit on the iPhone, a lighter MacBook Pro with an OLED touchscreen, a network outage in the iPhone 18 Pro Max, iFixit disassembles the Apple Watch 12 and Ultra 4, the delay of Siri AI in Europe, a tool that deletes Apple Intelligence and recovers 12GB, a leak revealing that Apple planned for 16GB of memory in the iPhone 18 Pro, the Z Fold 8 drops to its lowest price, Google scales back free Gemini models, visual ads in ChatGPT while generating images, and other exciting news on the sidelines…
Two dates for Apple announcements in October
According to Bloomberg, Apple will unveil three home products on Tuesday, October 13: a smart home hub with a square screen that sits on a table or mounts to a wall, a new version of the HomePod mini with additional colors and an N1 chip with Wi-Fi 7, and an Apple TV 4K with an A19 or A19 Pro chip and 12GB of memory to support Siri AI.
MacRumors has learned from several sources that Apple is preparing for a second round of announcements in the last week of October, most likely for Mac devices: a MacBook with an OLED screen, a 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M6 chip, and an iMac with an M6 chip. Also expected this month is an iPad mini with an OLED screen and an A20 Pro chip, in addition to the launch of the iPhone Duo on October 23.
15 years since the passing of Steve Jobs
October 5 marked the fifteenth anniversary of the death of Steve Jobs at the age of 56. Tim Cook wrote that Steve changed the world and changed his life forever, and John Ternus wrote that the way he taught them to care about every detail and every experience continues to guide the company’s work.
The result of three years of the 80% charging limit on the iPhone
Julie Clover from MacRumors published the result of her third year with the charging limit set at 80%. After 12 months and 277 charge cycles, the battery capacity of the iPhone 17 Pro Max remained at 97%, compared to 94% for both the iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 15 Pro Max after their first year. After 36 months, the iPhone 15 Pro Max dropped to 88%.
The author suggests that the vapor chamber cooling in the iPhone 17 Pro Max is the biggest factor, and believes that sacrificing 5% of the battery daily is generally not worth this difference, and that a 90% or 95% limit might be a better compromise.
iFixit disassembles the Apple Watch 12 and Ultra 4
iFixit gave both watches a 4 out of 10 for repairability. In the Series 12, Apple added rubber adhesive with a pull tab that makes it easier to remove the battery, increasing the score by one point over the previous generation, but replacing the screen now also requires removing the battery. As for the Ultra 4, it remained at the same score as its predecessor because accessing the battery still requires removing the glued-on screen. For comparison, Google’s Pixel Watch 5 received a 9 out of 10.
MacBook Pro with an OLED touchscreen
Mark Gurman said that the first MacBook Pro with a touchscreen might be announced in October and could be delayed until November, in 14 and 16-inch sizes. He added in his newsletter that the device will be significantly lighter after Apple re-engineered and miniaturized its internal components. The rumored specifications include an OLED screen, a Dynamic Island, M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, and a thinner design, and it might carry the name MacBook Ultra with a higher price than current models.
The third beta version of macOS 27.2 supports these expectations: Dock icons grow when long-pressed as in iOS, and touch-recognition tools have been added in Safari, Photos, Notes, and Quick Look. These additions might also be intended for the Sidecar feature, which now supports full touch.
Serious network outage in the iPhone 18 Pro Max
Apple confirmed that a number of iPhone 18 Pro Max users on the American AT&T network lost cellular service entirely—no calls, no messages, and no data. The affected devices cannot be fixed by a software update and must be replaced, which suggests a hardware defect. Apple describes the number as small, but thousands of complaints have appeared on support forums.
Apple released the iOS 27.0.1 update and a network settings update to prevent the issue from occurring on healthy devices. Neither Apple nor AT&T have revealed the cause so far. It is worth noting that the American version of the phone runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon X80 modem, while international versions run on an Apple C2 modem, and the problem has not appeared on any other model or network.
iPhone Duo approaches: Opening up apps and new features
Apple announced that developers can now submit their apps optimized for the foldable iPhone Duo to the App Store. Existing apps work automatically, but filling the entire internal screen requires building the app with the iOS 27.1 SDK, otherwise black borders will appear. Pre-orders begin Friday, October 16, and the phone will be available on October 23.
Two features for the phone were revealed, found within the code: Quick Look displays documents on two side-by-side pages when the phone is opened like a book, and a new button on the lock screen to turn Focus mode on and off without unlocking the device.
John Ternus makes product design a top priority
Since taking over as CEO of Apple last month, John Ternus has been visiting the design studio several times a week, sometimes more than once a day, according to Mark Gurman. Tim Cook used to visit the studio at most about one hour per month.
Ternus is an engineer by trade, and he leaves financial matters to CFO Kevan Parekh and supply chains to COO Sabih Khan, to focus on engineering and design.
Siri AI may be delayed in Europe by at least five months
Mark Gurman said that the delay of Siri AI on the iPhone and iPad in the European Union by about five months is the best-case scenario, and the wait could be longer while Apple negotiates compliance with the EU’s digital rules. He believes that Apple is withholding the update to pressure the European Commission. The feature is available to Europeans on Mac devices only.
Release of the third beta version of iOS 27.2
Apple released the third developer beta of iOS 27.2, iPadOS 27.2, macOS 27.2, watchOS 27.2, tvOS 27.2, and visionOS 27.2 on October 5, followed by the second public beta the next day. The update features a redesigned Health app with Insights and Longevity tabs and a Health Age feature, and adds French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish to Siri AI.
This update also sees the return of the suggested actions feature in the Messages app, along with a settings screen that allows disabling each type individually, such as adding to Calendar, Reminders, or Notes, and an option to hide unused suggestions after 30 days. The update is expected to be released shortly after the launch of the iPhone Duo.
New Apple TV: Apple Intelligence and surround sound with four HomePods
The tvOS 27.2 code adds an option called “Improve Siri & Apple Intelligence,” and a framework for displaying messages via Siri, which suggests that the upcoming Apple TV will support Siri AI and smart replies to messages received on the connected iPhone.
Additional evidence appeared regarding connecting four HomePods to an Apple TV 4K for surround sound: front-left, front-right, rear-left, and rear-right. Someone found code related to this in the speaker’s system, and Aaron Perris found two new codes in macOS 27.2 for four speakers in a room. It is not clear whether the feature requires new speakers or the new Apple TV.
Apple’s bill in the Masimo case rises to about $818 million
Federal Judge James Selna ordered Apple to pay $184 million in additional interest on top of the $634 million judgment in favor of the medical company Masimo, bringing the total to about $818 million before post-judgment interest. The judge rejected Masimo’s request to calculate interest at 7%, which would have raised the amount to $243 million.
The case dates back to a jury verdict in November 2025 that features in the Apple Watch, including heart rate notifications, infringed on a patent for pulse oximetry. The patent expired in June 2022, so the judgment concerns past sales and does not affect current watches.
Apple financial results on November 2
Apple will announce its financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2026 on Monday, November 2, and they will be discussed by new CEO John Ternus and CFO Kevan Parekh in a call with investors. The quarter covers the period from June 28 to September 26, so it includes the launch week of the iPhone 18 Pro but does not include the iPhone Duo. Apple expected revenue growth between 9% and 11% year-over-year, or between $111.7 and $113.7 billion compared to $102.5 billion in the same quarter last year.
Tim Cook sells Apple shares worth about $63.9 million
Tim Cook, the former CEO and current Executive Chairman of the Board, sold 191,753 shares on October 2 at prices between $330.66 and $334.50 per share. The sale came a day after 374,541 restricted stock units vested as part of his compensation, and was part of a pre-arranged trading plan he adopted in May. Apple withheld 199,038 shares to cover taxes, and Cook still owns more than 3.2 million shares.
Apple overtakes Samsung in European carrier sales
According to Counterpoint Research, Apple’s share of phone sales through carriers in Europe rose from 33% to 37% in the second quarter of 2026, while Samsung fell from 39% to 34%, making Apple the leader in this channel. Carrier sales fell by only 4%, compared to 11% in the open market and 8% in the market as a whole. The reason is that the memory price crisis hit cheap phones, a category that carries little weight in carrier sales, which focus on high-end devices and contracts.
Tool deletes Apple Intelligence from Mac and recovers 12GB
An open-source tool called RemoveMacAI has spread, which disables Apple Intelligence in macOS 27, deletes its downloaded models, and prevents them from being re-downloaded, recovering about 12GB or more. The need for it arose because Apple removed the full disable option in macOS 27. The tool works via a configuration profile without disabling System Integrity Protection (SIP), and includes a command to undo the changes.
The trade-off is the loss of all AI features: Siri AI, Writing Tools, Genmoji, summaries, and Clean Up. The developer warned that some keys the tool relies on have had their support officially discontinued by Apple and might stop working in a future release. He does not recommend the tool, and its use is at the owner’s own risk.
Apple tightens Full Disk Access controls in macOS
Apple announced in a developer blog post that it will add new controls to the Full Disk Access permission in macOS, the permission that opens files, mail, messages, and browsing history to an app. Apple says some developers use it in ways that put users at risk without their full knowledge, and that granting it will require a very explicit action from the user.
The announcement came days after a journalist’s report stating that Meta’s Muse app on the Mac read his private messages, which Meta denied, and after a report about a vulnerability in the ChatGPT app for Mac.
Gemini reduces models available to free users
Starting October 9, free users in the Gemini app will be limited to the 3.5 Flash-Lite model, losing 3.6 Flash and 3.1 Pro. AI Plus subscribers at $4.99 per month are limited to the Flash-Lite and Flash models without Pro.
In return, AI Pro subscribers at $19.99 get the Deep Think feature that was exclusive to the Ultra plan, and the app adds low, medium, and high effort levels for each model. Google has not yet clarified the position of its new Gemini 4 Argon model in these plans.
Miscellaneous News
◉ Leaker Instant Digital said on Weibo that Apple initially planned to equip the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo with 16GB of memory, without specifying when that was. Both Pro models were released with 12GB of memory, and the foldable phone is expected to carry the same capacity. The most likely explanation is the global memory shortage crisis and rising prices.
◉ A new logo for the Apple Music service appeared in the third beta of iOS 27.2 and macOS 27.2, the same logo Apple used last month in the Apple Music Hall announcement. The official website and web player still use the old logo, and the new one is expected to be rolled out with the release of the updates this month.
◉ YouTube announced an adjustment to the Shorts recommendation system to prioritize original content and limit the reach of clips copied from other creators without any addition. Channels that re-upload others’ content will not get the same reach as before. YouTube did not specify a clear threshold for what counts as a sufficient addition, and did not mention a date for implementation, but the change seems to be already in effect.
◉ Apple raised the price of the Apple One Family plan in 12 European countries, including Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Belgium, and Denmark, and the price of the Premier plan in Spain, Portugal, and Switzerland only. The increase in Spain and Portugal is 2 euros per month for both plans. The new price is effective immediately for new subscribers and upon the next renewal for existing ones, and the Individual plan has not changed. This is at least the third round of increases this year.
◉ Apple quietly increased the number of alias addresses in iCloud Mail from three to nine, and for iCloud+ subscribers, increased the number of custom domains that can be linked to mail from three to ten. The second change is documented on the support page, while the first is visible on iCloud.com without an official announcement.
◉ Starting November 9, Green Dot Bank will require identity verification for any balance addition to an Apple Cash card, after the requirement was previously limited to those exceeding $500 in total. Apple hints at supporting transfers from a bank account in the future, as currently, top-ups are only possible with a debit card or prepaid card. The service is available in the United States only.
◉ OpenAI will begin testing a visual ad format later in October that appears during image generation in ChatGPT, with specific advertisers in the United States. The company says the ads will be clearly labeled, remain separate from the generated image, do not affect the assistant’s answers, and do not appear in sensitive conversations. ChatGPT has 1.2 billion weekly users.
◉ Anthropic launched the Claude for Google Workspace add-on in a public beta for all paid subscribers, placing the assistant in a sidebar within Docs, Sheets, and Slides. In Docs, it corrects and rewrites without ruining formatting; in Sheets, it writes formulas and builds tables; and in Slides, it creates slides with existing templates. There is a workflow that shows edits to the user before they are applied.
◉ Nvidia is releasing a version of DGX Spark with 64GB of memory for $4,999, which is $1,000 more expensive than the price of the 128GB version at launch, due to the memory crisis.
◉ Uber is acquiring the corporate catering platform ezCater for $2.3 billion in cash.
◉ According to a leak published by Dealabs, the upcoming Fitbit Edge band from Google will be sold for 179 euros in Europe and 159 pounds in the UK. It features a 1.34-inch AMOLED screen, a battery that lasts seven days or two days with the always-on display, weighs 17.7 grams, and supports ECG, oxygen measurement, and the Gemini assistant. The band is compatible with the iPhone, unlike Pixel Watch watches. The release date is unknown.
◉ A few months after its launch, the price of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 on Amazon dropped to $1,549 instead of $1,899 as part of Prime Big Deal Days offers, the lowest price the phone has recorded. The Z Fold 8 Ultra model dropped by $400, with the possibility of combining the discount with a trade-in credit of up to $815.
◉ The Dynamic Island on the iPhone 18 Pro displays three live activities together, but the third is always a system activity like Now Playing or navigation, not another app.
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