Apple’s Smart-Home Push Finally Gets a Date
Apple’s Smart-Home Push Finally Gets a Date
Apple’s smart-home plans had reportedly been gathering dust while the company’s upgraded, AI-powered Siri slipped behind schedule. One report says Apple had hoped to launch its home hub in 2025, but pushed it back as the Siri work was delayed.
That bottleneck appeared to ease last month, when the AI-enhanced Siri launched in beta, according to reporting that cast the release as the trigger for Apple’s next move into connected-home hardware.
Now Apple has put a date on that move: October 13 at 9 a.m. ET in New York, under the inviting but pointed slogan, “Welcome home.” The branding has sharpened expectations that this will be less a routine product refresh than an attempt to give Apple a more visible command post in the home.
Reports broadly agree on the likely lineup: a new smart-home hub with a display, a refreshed HomePod Mini and a faster Apple TV. The Verge’s preview describes the hub as a possible HomeView, built around a six-inch square touchscreen that could sit on a countertop or mount to a wall; unlike an iPad, it would reportedly have no App Store and could use voice or facial recognition to tailor calendars, contacts and other information to the person in front of it.
The two accounts also point to an ecosystem play beyond Apple’s own boxes. Apple is reportedly working with LG on devices including a video doorbell, thermostat and indoor camera, while another report says smart locks may also be in the mix. Whether every rumored device appears on stage remains unclear. But after Siri held up the timetable, Apple now appears ready to make the home its next hardware battleground.
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