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Apple October 13 event: time, how to watch, what's coming

The Apple October 13 event starts at 9am ET (7am in Mexico City). How to follow it, and the smart home lineup reports expect, which Apple hasn't confirmed.

Source-based. Written from the documents, reporting and reviews linked in the text. Nothing here was tested hands-on by The Ruling Desk. How we work

The current Apple TV 4K, a black square box, next to its silver Siri Remote on a white surface
Photo: Dillan Payne / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Apple's October 13 event, teased with the line "Welcome home," starts on Tuesday at 9:00am ET in New York, which is 7:00am in Mexico City. Apple has confirmed the date and little else. The lineup comes from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who reported on September 30 that Apple plans to show a smart home hub, a new HomePod mini and a new Apple TV 4K that day, and 9to5Mac lists the same three products for the Apple October 13 event.

Key takeaways

  • Confirmed by Apple: an event on Tuesday, October 13, at 9:00am ET, with the tagline "Welcome home." Marketing chief Greg Joswiak posted the teaser on October 8.
  • Reported, not announced: a smart home display often nicknamed "HomePad," a HomePod mini 2 and a new Apple TV 4K. This lineup is not confirmed by Apple as of Oct 9, 2026.
  • Whether you can watch live is unclear. The invitation describes an in-person "Apple Experience" for the press, and Apple's events page showed no stream for it on October 9.
  • A second launch, with a touchscreen MacBook Pro and an OLED iPad mini, is reported for around October 27.

Apple October 13 event: date, time and place

Apple's head of worldwide marketing, Greg Joswiak, posted the teaser on X on October 8: "Welcome home. October 13." Both 9to5Mac and Engadget report that the invitation sets it in Tribeca, New York, at 9:00am Eastern, and Engadget quotes the invite's wording: "We look forward to welcoming you to an Apple Experience."

Here is 9:00am ET on Tuesday, October 13, in other time zones. Mexico City no longer changes its clocks, while New York is still on daylight time, so the gap is two hours.

CityLocal time
New York (ET)9:00am
Los Angeles (PT)6:00am
Mexico City7:00am
Bogotá8:00am
Buenos Aires and Santiago10:00am
Madrid3:00pm

Can you watch it live?

As of October 9, whether the Apple October 13 event will stream is an open question. The invitation went to the press, and 9to5Mac says it's unclear whether Apple will post a full video at 9:00am ET. When we checked Apple's events page on October 9, it still showed September's iPhone event and had no stream or calendar link for October 13.

The wording matters because Apple has used it before. Its March 4 "Apple Experience" in New York, London and Shanghai also started at 9:00am ET, and MacTrast noted at the time that it didn't appear to include an online stream. If October 13 follows that pattern, the news may arrive as Newsroom posts and product pages rather than a keynote video. If Apple adds a stream, it would appear on that events page.

What Apple is expected to announce

Gurman wrote in his October 4 newsletter that "Apple is planning to hold an event" on October 13. Everything below comes from his reporting and other outlets, not from Apple. 9to5Mac expects all the new home products to debut the same day.

The HomePad smart home hub

This would be Apple's first smart home display. Bloomberg reports a roughly 6-inch square screen, code-named J490, that can sit on a counter or mount on a wall, and that recognizes household members by voice or face, with a nearby iPhone as a fallback. Engadget's report puts the screen at seven inches, so treat the size as unsettled.

Macworld's summary of the report describes a countertop design that recalls the iMac G4, a separate wall model, Apple's own apps such as FaceTime, Music and Calendar, and no App Store, at least at launch. "HomePad" is a nickname from the press; Gurman didn't report the real name or the price.

HomePod mini 2

The current HomePod mini launched in 2020 and hasn't been updated since. Gurman reports the same design with faster hardware for Apple's newer Siri, and new colors, according to Macworld's account of his report.

An orange HomePod mini, the current model, on a wooden shelf in a store
The current HomePod mini, on sale since 2020. Photo: AzureSaturn / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

A new Apple TV 4K

Bloomberg reports a new Apple TV box, Apple's first since 2022, with a faster processor to run the new Siri. Like the HomePod mini, it's expected to keep its current look. No chip, storage or price has been reported with any confidence.

What happens next

Expect the answers on Tuesday morning: names, prices, and release dates, none of which Apple or the reports have given. If you're weighing an Apple TV or HomePod mini purchase this week, waiting a few days costs you nothing.

Apple's fall isn't done after that. Bloomberg reports a second launch on or around October 27, and 9to5Mac's summary lists 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with OLED touchscreens and M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, an OLED iPad mini, and M6 versions of the iMac and entry 14-inch MacBook Pro. That event is also a report, not an Apple announcement. September's event brought the iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro, and our gadgets coverage will follow both October dates.

Bottom line

The event itself is real: Apple confirmed October 13 at 9:00am ET, 7:00am in Mexico City. The HomePad, HomePod mini 2 and new Apple TV 4K are a reported lineup, not confirmed by Apple as of Oct 9, 2026, and so is any detail about screen size, colors or chips. Don't count on a live video either; check Apple's events page Tuesday morning, and expect prices and dates only once Apple posts them.

FAQ

What time is the Apple event on October 13?

It starts at 9:00am ET on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. That's 6:00am in Los Angeles, 7:00am in Mexico City and 10:00am in Buenos Aires.

Will the Apple October 13 event be streamed?

Apple hasn't said. The invitation describes an in-person "Apple Experience" for the press, and as of October 9 Apple's events page listed no stream. Apple's March 4 event with the same format didn't appear to have one.

What is the Apple HomePad?

It's the nickname for Apple's reported smart home display: a roughly 6-inch square screen for home controls, FaceTime, music and widgets, which Bloomberg reports can stand on a counter or mount on a wall. Apple hasn't confirmed the device or its name.

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