Featured: Apple’s ‘Welcome Home’ Launches October 13 and More

After the usual rush of Apple news in September, it looks like October is also about to explode, with not just one but two rounds of Apple product launches this month, sandwiched around the launch of the iPhone Duo.

A first launch on October 13 has been confirmed by Apple and will clearly be focused on the home as rumored, while it looks like a second round a few weeks later will focus on new Macs and perhaps a few other things still in the works from Apple, so read below for all the details on these stories and more!

Featured

Apple product launch announced for October 13: “Welcome Home”

Apple has announced the upcoming launch of a product which will take place on Tuesday, October 13. It appears it will arrive as a batch of press releases, with select members of the media learning about the new products at an “Apple Experience” in New York at 9 a.m. Eastern that day.

We expect Apple’s announcement to focus on new smart home products, including the long-rumored smart home hub, a new Apple TV 4K, and a refreshed HomePod mini.

iPhone Duo pre-orders also start next week, and even that might not be all for October as Woozad heard that there could be another round of product launches in the last week of the month and Bloomberg corroborated the rumor. We’re still waiting for updates for several Mac models that would likely come in the latest wave, as well as a new iPad mini.

Three years of 80% charge limits on iPhone: the results

Since 2023, Apple’s new iPhones have an optional 80% charge limit for those who want to extend battery life. Charging to 80% instead of 100% is supposed to put less strain on the battery, improving its longevity.

For three years, Woozad editor Juli Clover used this setting on her iPhones, starting with the iPhone 15 Pro Maxthen the iPhone 16 Pro Maxand more recently, the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

After 12 months with a maximum charge of 80%, his iPhone 17 Pro Max is at 97% of its maximum capacity with a cycle count of 277, which is pretty good, but we want to know how this compares to other users who have used different charging strategies, so share yours in the thread!

Apple says iPhone 18 Pro Max users suffering from AT&T cellular issue should get device replaced

Since the launch of the iPhone 18 Pro And iPhone 18 Pro Max Last month, a number of US customers with the Pro Max model on AT&T experienced issues with their devices losing cellular service and no way to resolve the issue.

AT&T sent text messages to iPhone 18 Pro Max users last week urging them to update “immediately” to iOS 27.0.1, which was released by Apple on September 28. While this update will not resolve service issues for affected users, it will apparently help prevent the issue from impacting devices that have not yet experienced issues.

Apple and AT&T have not shared details on the exact nature of the problem or its cause, but it is significant enough that affected devices will need to be replaced. Notably, iPhone 18 Pro Max models sold in the United States are the only ones in the iPhone 18 Pro The family still uses a Qualcomm cellular modem rather than Apple’s C2 modem, but it’s unclear if that’s related to the problem.

MacBook Pro with OLED screen would be “considerably lighter”

One of the Mac updates we’re expecting as part of a launch announced October 27 is the long-rumored high-end MacBook with a touchscreen OLED display.

Notably, BloombergMark Gurman of , says these machines will be “significantly lighter” than current MacBook Pro models, although they won’t be much thinner.

We continue to see evidence of the upcoming touch capabilities of these machines, with the latest macOS 27.2 beta adding a new animation when long-pressing Dock icons, similar to that seen on touch-based operating systems like iOS and iPadOS, as well as code for a number of new touch-specific gestures.

LG makes doorbell, lock and cameras for Apple’s Home Hub

In a somewhat unusual development, Apple will partner with LG for its upcoming smart home campaign to be revealed on Tuesday, with the two companies working together on accessories that will be marketed under the LG brand rather than the Apple brand.

Products such as doorbells, smart locks and cameras will be included in the range, and regulatory documents and code leaks have already provided insight into some of these products. Although the products will be marketed by LG, the collaboration with Apple will allow them closer integration and easier configuration within the Apple ecosystem.

Apple announces changes to ‘full disk access’ on macOS due to AI agents

In a post on its developer news website late last week, Apple announced the introduction of “additional controls” for the “Full Disk Access” setting on macOS due to new risks posed by AI agents. This comes amid the rise of always-on AI agents like Meta’s Muse and OpenAI’s Dots, which have sparked privacy concerns.

“Some developers are using full disk access in a way that could put users at risk, by exposing everything on their systems, including files, mail, messages, and even browsing history, without users’ knowledge or understanding,” Apple said.

“As AI agents become increasingly capable and autonomous, the risks associated with this level of access will increase significantly,” he adds.

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