Apple to Unveil HomeView, New Apple TV 4K and HomePod Mini as iPhone Duo Retail Plans Take Shape

For the Apple TV 4K, Gurman reported in his Power On newsletter that Apple has tested built-in microphones for Siri interactions and a new Siri Remote with a built-in speaker. The microphones would allow users to issue Siri commands directly to the set-top box rather than speaking into the remote or a paired HomePod. The current Siri Remote offers only a basic Find feature, while a built-in speaker would make it easier to locate between couch cushions. Gurman expects the new Apple TV 4K and a second-generation HomePod mini to be available on October 30, while the HomeView smart display is expected to ship in mid-November.

The HomePod mini 2 is expected to use Apple's S10 chip, an upgrade from the current S5 chip, according to Gurman. That would bring Siri AI features to an Apple Home product for the first time and allow the speaker to extend HomeView throughout a house, with voice control and music playback able to sync with the display. The new model is also expected to add Apple's N1 networking chip as a Thread and Matter radio and to support Wi-Fi 7, compared with Wi-Fi 4 on the current HomePod mini. It will come in pink, green and blue in addition to midnight and white. The 9to5Mac report said pricing remains unclear and that its author expects pricing to stay the same; the current HomePod mini rose from $99 to $129 in June during a wave of memory-related price increases. The new HomePod mini is expected in stores on October 30 alongside the new Apple TV 4K.

Apple's HomeKit security-camera system is also gaining Apple Intelligence features with iOS 27, according to Engadget. The video summary feature can generate descriptions of clips captured by home security cameras, group related clips across multiple cameras into a single event, search recordings with natural language queries, and group similar videos to reduce notifications. It requires at least a second-generation HomePod, HomePod mini or Apple TV 4K running the latest operating system, along with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone, nominally an iPhone 15 Pro or later. The larger barrier is iCloud+ storage. A single AI-enabled camera requires the 2 TB iCloud+ plan at $9.99 per month. A second camera requires the 6 TB plan at $29.99 per month. A setup of three to five cameras requires 12 TB of iCloud storage, which costs $59.99 per month and can add more than $700 to annual household costs, in addition to a family's existing iCloud storage. The feature is optional, and users can enable it for selected cameras. Apple has said supported cameras and iCloud+ features may change over time.

On the tablet side, Bloomberg's Gurman reported that a new iPad mini with an OLED display will be considerably more expensive than the current model, with a price closer to $799. The current iPad mini starts at $599 with 128 GB of storage. The next model is expected to feature a new chassis with thinner bezels, an upgraded speaker system and an A20 Pro chip, the same processor expected in Apple's high-end iPhone 18 Pro models. It remains unclear whether the OLED panel will match the iPad Pro's tandem OLED technology, and reports conflict on whether it will support 120Hz ProMotion. The new iPad mini is expected to be announced at a media event later this month alongside new OLED MacBook Pros.

Apple is also preparing a major retail push for the iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone, which is set to launch on October 23 with preorders beginning October 16, according to Gurman. The Fifth Avenue store in New York City is expected to have more than 150 demo units across hands-on stations and in-store fixtures. The Apple Park Visitor Center will have nearly 100 units, while stores including Michigan Avenue in Chicago, the Grove in Los Angeles and the Upper West Side in Manhattan will each have roughly 30 to 40 units. Some smaller stores will have around 20 units, which is still unusual given the device will come in only two colors. Apple has designed a new MagSafe stand that can hold an unfolded iPhone Duo alongside two standard iPhones, likely the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. Some demo units will be placed without security tethers along store sides so customers can test StandBy mode and other features, and some stores will get a fixture showing the iPhone Duo opening and closing so it is impossible to miss.

Editor's Summary

Apple is preparing a Tuesday 'Welcome home' event that is expected to introduce the HomeView smart display, a new Apple TV 4K and a second-generation HomePod mini, with the TV and speaker due around October 30 and HomeView in mid-November. Reports also point to higher costs for HomeKit AI camera summaries, a more expensive OLED iPad mini later this month and an extensive retail demo program for the foldable iPhone Duo ahead of its October 23 launch.