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Apple has sent out invitations for Tuesday, and around the event the picture of the connected home is filling in: a doorbell, lock and thermostat from LG, new classifications in the iOS 27.2 code and a trademark that fits a smart home hub. On top of that, a MacBook Pro with a touchscreen is moving closer, the Mac is gaining share in a shrinking PC market, and Apple is said to be ordering fewer components for the iPhone 18 Pro.
The week from October 5 to 11 was shaped by two dates. On October 13, Apple will show new devices for the home, and around October 27 new Macs and an iPad with an OLED display are expected to follow. Almost everything that came up over these seven days feeds into one of the two dates. Beyond that, Tim Cook explained his handover to John Ternus, a known piece of spyware surfaced in a new version, and Apple One became more expensive in Switzerland.
🔥 Story of the Week: Apple's Home Takes Shape
On Thursday, Apple sent out invitations for October 13 in New York. The "Welcome home" event starts at 3 p.m. CEST in the Tribeca neighborhood, and the short teaser shows an embroidered Apple logo. A smart home hub with a display, a new HomePod mini and a new Apple TV 4K are expected.
More revealing was what Apple does not build itself. According to Bloomberg, LG is making a doorbell, a lock, a thermostat with a sensor and three cameras for Apple's smart home platform. The devices carry the LG brand, LG builds and supports them, and Apple does not appear in the certification filings with the FCC and UL. They are expected in a few months, not on Tuesday. The report comes from Mark Gurman, whose information on Apple's product plans is regularly confirmed; there is no document so far that links Apple to the devices.
On Wednesday, FCC filings showed the first images of the lock, thermostat and sensor: the thermostat comes with Thread and a 60 GHz radar, the lock with NFC and Ultra Wideband. Shortly afterwards, images of the cameras and the doorbell followed from a small account on X – without a document, but with the same device names as in the filings.
Then there was Apple's own code. In iOS 27.2, Apple lists devices from Schneider Electric with the same status as LG, a thermostat and a temperature and humidity sensor. The same developer, pdfu, also found proximity control for Home accessories and setup without power: accessories are said to pair via NFC before they are mounted and connected.
On Friday, a trademark called "HomeView" that is tailored to a smart home hub was added. It was filed by a Home Services LLC from Delaware, and the list of goods names smart home hubs, touchscreens, cameras and voice control. There is no proof that Apple is behind it, but the list of goods fits remarkably well. Taken together, the week shows how Apple Home is becoming a platform for third-party hardware.
| Finding | Origin | Type of evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Seven LG devices for Apple Home | Bloomberg, FCC and UL filings | Filings, Apple not named |
| Images of lock, thermostat, sensor | FCC filings | Certification documents |
| Images from cameras and doorbell | Post on X | No document |
| Schneider with LG status | Code from iOS 27.2 | Code finding |
| Proximity control, setup without power | Code from iOS 27.2 | Code finding |
| "HomeView" trademark | Trademark Register | Applicant not Apple |
What Will Reach German-Speaking Countries
So far, the LG devices are only certified in the US, and the lock's dimensions match the two most common US backsets. The first version is therefore tailored to American doors, not to the euro profile cylinders common in German-speaking countries. I therefore expect the LG lineup to reach Germany, Austria and Switzerland only with a dedicated European version at the earliest.
Anyone who doesn't want to wait has alternatives that already work in Apple Home today. Matter locks from Nuki, for example, can be added here, and Schneider offers its Wiser room thermostat in Germany via Matter. In Switzerland, there is a Matter thermostat from Feller, a Schneider subsidiary.
📰 What else mattered
Cook explains why he left before the iPhone Duo. In an interview with The Independent, Tim Cook said the transition had begun years ago. Ternus took over eight days before the iPhone Duo was unveiled so that he could start with the wind at his back – that is how Cook explains the timing of his handover. He does not intend to interfere, and his focus is on government policy worldwide. A day later, Bloomberg reported on the next reshuffle: Steve Smith will lead acquisitions under CFO Kevan Parekh, while Adrian Perica moves to the services business under Eddy Cue.
DarkSword returns in a new version. Security firm iVerify has analyzed a new variant of the DarkSword spyware targeting unpatched iPhones. Apple has already closed the vulnerabilities it relies on – devices missing the updates are at risk.
Siri AI on the iPhone is still months away in the EU. According to Gurman, the launch of Siri AI on iPhones in the EU is still months away: around five months after the launch of iOS 27 in mid-September at best, possibly longer. The European Commission rejects any exemptions. Siri AI is already available in Switzerland as well as on Mac and Vision Pro.
Safari is watching Google's ads for Chrome. Since beta 2 of iOS 27.2, Safari detects banner ads for Chrome and the Google app on Google's pages and records whether they are shown, accepted or dismissed. Beta 3 also brought a redesigned reading view in Apple Books and code for filters for suggestions in Messages.
Apple One gets more expensive in Switzerland, but not in Germany. Family and Premium now cost CHF 33.90 and CHF 42.90 in Switzerland, and existing subscribers pay the new price from their next renewal. In Germany and Austria, prices remain at €19.95, €25.95 and €34.95 for Individual, Family and Premium.
Masimo gets $184 million in interest. A US federal judge awarded Masimo interest on the damages from the patent dispute. Together with the $634 million from the verdict, that comes to around $818 million. Nothing changes for users, as the patent expired in June 2022.
💡 Rumor of the Week: The MacBook Pro with Touchscreen Is Coming at the End of October
According to Bloomberg, Apple is set to unveil new Macs and an iPad on or around October 27, with a video presentation and hands-on sessions for the press. At the center is a MacBook Pro in 14 and 16 inches with an OLED display, touchscreen and Dynamic Island, powered by the M5 Pro and M5 Max. Alongside it come an entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro and an iMac with the M6, as well as an iPad mini with an OLED display.
The information once again comes from Gurman, who has been naming October for new Macs since August. That is consistency, but not independent confirmation. For a long time, the device went by the name MacBook Ultra in the rumors.
Two findings support the picture from another angle. The macOS 27.2 code contains touch gesture recognition for Photos, Notes, Safari and Quick Look. And Counterpoint has significantly raised its forecast for OLED notebooks: plus 50 percent this year instead of the 33 percent expected in April, then plus 24 percent in 2027. Notebooks with mini-LED are expected to decline by 38 and 60 percent this year and next.
📊 Number of the Week: 9.5 Percent
That was Apple's share of the global PC market in the third quarter according to IDC, up from 8.5 percent a year earlier. The reason is not growth but a slower decline: Mac shipments fell by 11.3 percent, the overall market by 20.1 percent. This puts Apple in fourth place.
| Shipments | Q3 2026 | Change year over year |
|---|---|---|
| Total PC market | 62.7 million. | -20.1 % |
| Mac | 5.9 million. | -11.3 % |
| Apple's share | 9,5 % | Previous year 8.5 % |
No relief is in sight. For 2027, TrendForce expects higher notebook prices and fewer shipments, because the processor, memory and SSD now account for 68 percent of the component costs of a $900 notebook. In Germany, Apple already raised Mac prices on June 25, for example the 13-inch MacBook Air from €1,199 to €1,399.
👎 Flop of the Week: Fewer Components for the iPhone 18 Pro
According to Nikkei Asia, Apple has cut component orders for the iPhone 18 Pro in October to at least 15 percent below its original plans. Apple has reportedly been planning more cautiously since early September, and the report cites prices and the separate launches of the Pro models and the iPhone Duo as reasons. One supplier expects something similar for the Duo.
The report is based on sources in the supply chain, two of whom cite the lower limit of 15 percent. Component order volumes are not sales figures, however. In Germany, the iPhone 18 Pro starts at €1,449 and the Pro Max at €1,599 – €150 more than their predecessors in each case, while the increase in the US was $100.
🔭 What's Coming Next Week
"Welcome home" begins on Tuesday, October 13, at 3 p.m. CEST. I expect Apple to also show surround sound with four HomePods there, as hinted at by the beta code for Apple TV and HomePod.
On Wednesday, October 14, at 6 p.m. CEST, Judge Edward Davila will hold a hearing in San José in the case against OpenAI, in which Apple most recently rejected the objections to its expert reports. On Friday, October 16, pre-orders for the iPhone Duo open at 2 p.m. CEST, and they can be prepared starting Monday. On the same day, the Everest drama Tenzing premieres on Apple TV.
💬 My Take
The report cites two reasons for the more cautious planning for the iPhone 18 Pro: prices and the separate launches. I consider the prices to be the weightier of the two. Anyone interested in a Pro model in September saw a €150 increase in Germany, and five weeks later the iPhone Duo arrives in the Store as the new top model. That leaves the Pro as neither the affordable upgrade nor the device everyone is talking about.
Whether the cut will cost sales or merely prevent full warehouses cannot be said yet. The quarterly results on November 2 only cover the first days of sales for the Pro lineup. The holiday quarter, the first with both devices on sale, will be the telling one.
📚 From Our Archive
Regardless of new hardware, iOS 27 has already brought AI summaries for camera events, natural language search and 4K recording to the Home app – all the new features of the Home app in iOS 27.
Anyone who doesn't want to wait for the Mac lineup at the end of October will buy from the current range, and which Mac is worth it depends mainly on what it will be used for.
A week full of suppliers, filings and code thus ends two days before the event at which Apple itself will speak. Would you put an LG lock on your front door if it sets up like an Apple accessory – or would only a device built by Apple itself do for you? Tell us in the comments who you would trust with your front door.
Until next Sunday, Apfelpatient wishes you a relaxing read and a good start to the week.
