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.
Stable build CPH2745_17.0.0.102(EX01) started in India ahead of the announced October 29 date, the first update to move a OnePlus phone from OxygenOS to ColorOS. New rendering engine, an Agent mode in Mind Pilot, face-swap detection on video calls and AI-voice detection on scam calls. No Gulf schedule yet.
Yonhap and ChosunBiz quote Samsung internal tests: about 13,000 in Geekbench 6.5 multi-core versus about 11,000 for Qualcomm’s chip in the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max, plus 15% in Geekbench 7 and 20% in graphics. The numbers are not independent, and there is no thermal or power data.
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.
The new opt-in mode analyses your conversations with unsaved numbers using cloud Gemini models inside Private AI Compute, and checks unfamiliar links before you open them on Pixel 10, Galaxy S26 and Z Fold8/Flip8. It appeared in beta 20261020 and is arriving gradually; you turn it on under Settings > Protection & safety.
Three colours per phone, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the Pro and the 5V variant in the standard model, and a two-path “Glacier” fan OnePlus says keeps temperatures up to 10°C lower. The 9,000mAh battery, 185Hz display and 200MP camera are still leaks; the China launch is Thursday, October 29.
Display units in Huawei stores in China reveal the Kirin 9025, a chip never seen before, plus a curved 6.8-inch screen, 12GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. Pre-orders are open and the launch is Tuesday, October 28; price and availability outside China are still unannounced.
Samsung Japan has published the list of phones and tablets getting One UI 9 between October and November: the S26, S25, S24 (with the S24 FE) and S23 series, Z Fold/Flip 7 through 5, the A57, A55, A54, A36 and A25, and the Tab S11, S10, S9 and A11 families. The same day, the update began reaching the Galaxy S23, Z Fold5 and Z Flip5 in the US.
Safety Korea has published photos of batteries EB-BS958DBY (S27 Ultra) and EB-BS957CBY (S27 Pro), made by China’s CosMX. Rated capacities from the Chinese 3C filing: 5,534mAh for the Ultra and 5,087mAh for the Pro, roughly 5,700 and 5,200 typical, a jump from 5,000mAh in the S26 Ultra, but charging stays at 60W.
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.
A redesign of the YouTube app on Android and iOS: the Subscriptions tab, in the bottom bar since 2017, moves to a top bar inside Home as “Subs” alongside Live, Music and Movies & TV, and the side drawer disappears. With it come Custom Feeds: tap + and describe a topic or mood, and YouTube builds a feed for you; 3 for free accounts and 8 for Premium. The rollout starts in the US in English.
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.
The UAE price we were waiting for yesterday has arrived: Find X10 (12/512GB) at AED 5,199 and Find X10 Pro Max (12/512GB) at AED 6,399. Pre-orders run October 30 to November 5, sales start November 6, and pre-orders include an OPPO Watch S, Enco Air5 Pro and extended warranty. The rest of the Gulf follows from November 27.
Honor announced the Win2 gaming phone in China on October 21 with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, two built-in fans (20,000 and 31,000rpm), a 10,100mAh battery with 100W wired and 80W wireless charging, and a 6.89-inch 2K 185Hz display. Alongside it come the Win RT2 and Win Turbo2 with 12,070mAh batteries and a fan-cooled Win tablet. Prices start at CNY 5,499 (≈Dh3,000); availability outside China is unconfirmed.
