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Four new products on a single Tuesday, and two of them remain out of reach here. Apple has rearranged its home, and the week that followed showed piece by piece how much of it actually arrives in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In between: a new Mac date, a courtroom with a surprising turn and a delivery date in January.
The previous issue was all about the "Welcome home" invitation. Since Tuesday, it has been clear what Apple means by that: a smart home hub with a screen, its own accessories, a new HomePod mini and a new Apple TV 4K.
Things got interesting afterwards. Almost every day brought a clarification about which device gets Siri AI, which doesn't, and where. Alongside that, Apple opened pre-orders for the iPhone Duo, and the Mac round at the end of October got a much more concrete roadmap.
🔥 Story of the Week: Two of Four New Products Come to Germany
On October 13, Apple unveiled four new products at once. Two of them can be bought here: the HomePod mini 2 for 169 euros from October 30 and the Apple TV 4K with A19 for 349 euros from November 13.
The two devices that carry the new concept are missing. HomeView, the hub with a 7-inch display, a speaker base and facial recognition for up to six people, costs 299 dollars in the US. Apple doesn't sell it in the EU at all, because Siri AI isn't available on iPhones in the EU. HomeView is only offered in eight countries where Siri AI runs on it in English – Switzerland isn't among them either.
The Apple Home Collection with cameras, video doorbell, lock, thermostats and sensors from LG and Schneider Electric launches in December starting at 39.95 dollars. It will only be sold in the US and Canada, with the cameras and doorbell also available in the UK.
Siri AI: One Week, Many Footnotes
How far Siri AI extends on the new devices only became clear after the event. On the Apple TV 4K, Siri AI runs as a beta from tvOS 27.2, and on the second and third generation as well. The HomePod mini 2 gets Siri AI only with a later update, the first HomePod mini not at all – Apple has explicitly confirmed this.
| Device | Siri AI according to Apple | In Germany, Austria, Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| HomeView | yes, as a beta | not on sale |
| Apple TV 4K (4th generation) | yes, as a beta from tvOS 27.2 | no |
| Apple TV 4K (2nd and 3rd generation) | yes, as a beta from tvOS 27.2 | no |
| HomePod mini 2 | with a later update | no |
| HomePod mini (2020) | no | no |
| HomePod (2nd generation) | not announced | no |
The same limit applies everywhere: English, eight countries, no German-speaking country among them. Siri AI isn't mentioned at all in the German press release for the Apple TV 4K.
What Still Arrives Here
The most tangible gain lies in a combination. For the first time, the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K sets up surround sound with four speakers that calibrates itself to the room. Front and rear each need a pair of the same model; the first HomePod mini and the first-generation HomePod are excluded. In the second beta of tvOS 27.2, the feature still ran on the third-generation Apple TV 4K, but at launch Apple requires the new model.
The larger HomePod gets something too. Apple's US product page now lists Sound Glow, surround sound with Apple TV and audio from any iPhone app for the second-generation HomePod. According to a footnote, addressing it with just "Siri" applies only in English in Australia, Canada, the UK and the US. On October 16, the German product page still showed the old state.
I expect the remaining features to arrive with the next HomePod software and the German page to follow suit. That changes little about the overall picture: in this country, the home hubs for Apple Home remain HomePod and Apple TV. At 349 euros, the new Apple TV 4K sits well above the previous model, which last cost 229 and 299 euros.
📰 What Else Mattered
Apple vs. OpenAI has changed direction. First, the court partially granted expedited discovery, then OpenAI in turn accused Apple of an engineer taking more than 100 files on an unreleased device with him after returning to Apple. Apple rejected this, saying it investigated on the very day of the notice and found nothing. At the hearing on October 14, OpenAI then voluntarily committed not to use the trade secrets claimed by Apple, thereby backing down. No decision has yet been made on the preliminary injunction itself.
The TIME profile delivered two headlines. John Ternus dismisses early foldable smartphones as cheap and poorly made and points to an Apple patent from 2011. In the same piece, marketing chief Greg Joswiak says Apple doesn't feel threatened by OpenAI.
The iPhone Duo is almost on par with the 18 Pro in benchmarks. In Geekbench 7, it scores 3,986 and 11,067 points, trailing by only 0.9 and 4.1 percent. Apple's own case, on the other hand, was a letdown: it holds on with adhesive strips, while the product page only mentions magnets.
iOS 27.2 beta 4 has removed the new Health app again. After 27 days in testing it's gone, and according to Apple's release notes it was never part of the final 27.2. The recorded data is retained. New instead is a black-and-white app icon for Apple Music.
The App Store is getting stricter rules against nude image apps. Apple has extended guideline 1.2 to non-consensual intimate imagery, including AI-generated content, introduced a new rule against bait-and-switch with 2.5.19, and extended bans to alternative distribution channels.
Apple is restructuring its legal department. Former Meta lawyer Scott Tucker is taking on a newly created role for global litigation. There is plenty to do: in the Taptic Engine case, Apple wants to overturn the 5.7 billion dollar verdict, or alternatively obtain a new trial.
Apple is close to the top of the global smartphone market. According to preliminary IDC figures, Apple shipped 57.3 million iPhones in the third quarter, Samsung 57.8 million – a gap of 500,000 devices in an overall market that shrank by 22 percent. In China, the market fell by 15.4 percent, while Apple was only slightly down.
💡 Rumor of the Week: The MacBook Pro with Touchscreen Is Said to Arrive on November 6
The Mac round has a roadmap. According to Bloomberg, Apple is inviting media to an all-day event on October 28 in Los Angeles. Expected there are the MacBook Pro with OLED touchscreen, Dynamic Island and M5 Pro or M5 Max, an entry-level MacBook Pro and an iMac with M6, as well as the iPad mini with OLED.
The MacBook Pro with touchscreen is said to go on sale on Friday, November 6, with stores rearranging their tables from the evening before. The pattern matches 2024, when Apple unveiled the MacBook Pro on October 30 and shipped it on November 8. The report comes from Mark Gurman, who has consistently reported the October date for the new Macs for weeks – but that is not independent confirmation.
For the iPad mini, on the other hand, there is hard evidence. A French environmental data sheet from Apple shows a new Smart Folio with its own model number, dated September 9. The refresh rate remains open: according to Gurman, Apple has tested 60 and 120 hertz.
📊 Number of the Week: 94
That's how many days lie between the iPhone Duo's sales launch on October 23 and the delivery date Apple gives for new orders. Pre-orders opened on Friday at 2 p.m., and within half an hour the online date jumped to January 25, 2027, in Germany as well as in the US – for all configurations.
Apple itself describes demand as truly exceptional. In-store pickup looks somewhat different: individual slots keep opening up there because Apple restocks inventory in between. On Monday, a Chinese business newspaper reported that Apple had ordered around 30 percent more Duo units, but fewer than ten million devices in total.
👎 Flop of the Week: A HomeView Repair Costs Almost as Much as the Device
For a HomeView repair, Apple charges 279 dollars without AppleCare+ in the US; with AppleCare+ it's 39 dollars. With a device price of 299 dollars, that equals around 93 percent – for any kind of damage.
| Device | Launch price | Repair without AppleCare+ | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| HomePod (2018) | $349 | $279 | approximately 80 % |
| HomePod mini (2020) | 99 dollars | 79 dollars | approximately 80 % |
| HomeView | $299 | $279 | approximately 93 % |
Even with the speakers, a repair was hardly cheaper than buying new. For a device with a display, camera and wall mounting that is exposed to considerably more damage, the same logic carries more weight. For buyers in this country, that's theoretical for now.
🔭 What's Coming Next Week
Friday, October 23: The iPhone Duo goes on sale. It ships with iOS 27.1, a version that Apple is releasing without any public testing phase. Around the same day, the next status report on the production of documents on the US commission is due in the Epic case.
Wednesday, October 21: On Apple TV, "Where's Wanda?" starts its second season, and "Slow Horses" airs its season finale. All dates for the month are in the October overview.
Sunday, October 25: Germany switches to standard time, the US not until November 1. For the Mac events on October 27 and 28 in Los Angeles, there are therefore only eight instead of nine hours between California and Central Europe.
💬 My Take
"Exceptional" is no substitute for a number. A delivery date 94 days after launch says two things: many people want the device, and Apple can't build it nearly as fast. The wording doesn't reveal how large each share is.
That's why I consider in-store pickup the more realistic route than ordering online. Anyone who hasn't ordered by October 23 should keep an eye on the Apple Store app rather than resigning themselves to January. How much movement there actually is will only become clear in the week after launch.
📚 From Our Archive
- HomePod Plays Music on Its Own: How to Stop Ghost Touches
- iPhone Duo or iPhone Air: Which one is worth it?
The week showed that in this country, Apple's home consists mainly of speakers and a TV box – and that's exactly where the surround sound Apple now offers comes in.
Would you switch to the new Apple TV 4K for surround sound from four speakers, even though Siri AI doesn't run on it here – or is the box already sitting under your TV enough for you? Tell us in the comments how your living room is set up.
Until next Sunday, Apfelpatient wishes you a relaxing read and a good start to the week.
