First developer betas: Live Rewind and Siri Recap on Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, a redesigned Health app, and new Siri AI languages, none of them Arabic.
A week after the OLED iPad mini, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says Apple is preparing new iPad, iPad Air and iPad Pro models for the first half of 2027, with nothing in the second half. The Air gets OLED (but likely stays 60Hz with Touch ID), the base model jumps to A19 and 8GB to run Apple Intelligence with N1 and C1X, and the Pro gets a vapor chamber and M6.
John Ternus’s first earnings call as CEO: September-quarter revenue of $114.5B (+12%), iPhone $57.6B (+17%), Mac +24%, iPad −10%. What matters to users: no date for Duo supply to catch up, "unprecedented" memory prices, and server-side Siri AI features getting usage limits with paid expansion through iCloud+.
Users report Apple Intelligence reserving 9 to 16GB after the iOS 27 update, even in countries where it does not work. Apple officially says «up to 8GB» for most devices and «up to 14GB» for iPhone 17 Pro, Air and Duo. Turning the feature off does not free the space; the workaround doing the rounds is switching Siri to an unsupported English such as South African, which GSMArena tested successfully.
Omdia: 254.7 million smartphones shipped in Q3 2026, down 20% year on year, the lowest third quarter since 2013. Samsung −5%, Apple flat, Xiaomi −29%, Oppo −39%, vivo −33%. The cause: rising prices from the memory chip crunch. The same day Samsung posted a record KRW 107.4 trillion operating profit, mostly from selling that memory.
Friday roundup: we ranked the 21 stories we published from October 23 to 29 by your interactions (likes ×3 − dislikes + replies ×5 + reads ÷50). The clear winner is the MacBook Pro with the PROLED XDR touch display and UAE prices (28 points), followed by a tie between the Redmi K100 and Apple’s statement on iPhone Duo display replacements.
Chinese leaker Digital Chat Station posted iPhone Air 2 specs on Weibo: a flat 6.55-inch 1.5K+ OLED at 120Hz, a 2nm A20-series chip from the same family as the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo, dual 48MP main and ultrawide cameras, and a larger battery than the first generation. Earlier leaks point to 5.2mm thickness, roughly 3,500mAh, a C2 modem and an N2 wireless chip. Expected alongside the iPhone 18 and 18e in spring 2027. None of it is confirmed.
Apple announced the MacBook Pro with a "PROLED XDR" display, a 2,000-nit, 120Hz Tandem OLED, and the first Mac with Touch, in 14 and 16-inch sizes with M5 Pro and M5 Max, plus a Dynamic Island instead of the notch. UAE pre-orders opened October 28 from AED 11,999; availability is November 6.
After reports of inner displays cracking along the hinge, Apple told 9to5Mac it is aware of an issue affecting a small number of iPhone Duo units and asked affected users to contact AppleCare for a replacement. No recall and no cause given. In the UAE the phone sold for AED 8,499, sold out at several retailers and hit AED 25,000 on resale; here is your guide.
Apple refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro and the iMac with the 2nm, 12-core M6 without raising prices: AED 8,499 for the laptop and AED 6,499 for the iMac. Pre-orders open today, October 28, on apple.com/ae; availability November 6. Tonight at 9 pm Gulf time, the "Pro and Tell" event is expected to bring the first OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro.
Apple announced the biggest iPad mini update ever: 8.5-inch OLED, A20 Pro, 5.4 mm body, IP67 and under-display speakers. UAE pricing starts at AED 2,849 (Wi-Fi) and AED 3,449 (Cellular); pre-orders October 28, availability November 6. Apple also teased a full week of launches.
About ten documented cases on Reddit so far: the hinge turns stiff, there is a pop, and a vertical line appears down the inner display with a horizontal line off it. Apple has not commented, though Apple Stores have replaced most units. The iFixit teardown suspects a hinge support part that does not retract, and still gives the Duo 5/10, its highest score for any foldable.
One day after launch, Khaleej Times quotes Deira sellers saying the iPhone Duo 2TB (official price AED 13,599) is drawing offers of up to AED 25,000, while 256GB units sell at AED 8,000 over the AED 8,499 list price. Shops received only a handful of units, their next delivery is in November, and orders placed on the Apple Store today ship in January 2027.
Friday roundup: we ranked the 15 stories we published from October 17 to 22 by your interactions (likes ×3 − dislikes + replies ×5 + reads ÷50). The winner is the Galaxy S27 returning to a January launch, and engagement was light again this week, so vote more.
Friday is the first sales day for the iPhone Duo in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, from AED 8,499. The review consensus: the best design and the least visible crease of any foldable, but no telephoto, no Face ID, and apps that haven’t adapted yet. In the UAE, Jumbo says it sold out within hours and Eros says some variants are temporarily unavailable, while DigiTimes reports Apple raised its shipment target from 9.7 to 14 million units.
