Apple May Finally Launch Its Smart Home Screen on Oct. 13
Apple will reportedly introduce its long-awaited smart home hub on October 13, with Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman named as the source for the date. News outlets sharing the report on September 30 call the device the HomePad or Home Hub. If correct, it would end almost two years of delays. Engadget
The first model is described as a small, 6-inch square screen. It would come in two types, one for a table or counter and one for a wall. It has a screen, camera and microphone. The idea is simple, like one remote control for your whole house.
That description matches earlier Bloomberg reporting that Apple was getting ready to announce the device as early as March.
Inside Apple, the product uses the code-name J490. That internal name showed up in macOS Tahoe 27.6. J490 has come up in smart-home reports since 2024.
The software is the key part. The hub will run a system that mixes parts of Apple's other systems. It is expected to show off the new, smarter Siri. Work on that new Siri has held up the whole project.
The hub was first planned for 2024 but was delayed by problems with Apple Intelligence, Apple's AI tools. It was then planned for spring 2025 and delayed again so Apple could finish the new Siri, according to March reporting from Bloomberg. Bloomberg
The October date follows earlier clues. Gurman wrote about an intelligent personal hub plan in a September 20 newsletter. On July 28, MacRumors reported, citing Gurman, that Apple planned to release a new smart home hub between October and early next year. Reports on September 21 from MacRumors and 9to5Mac narrowed that to October. Reports on September 30 set October 13.
The launch is expected to include three products, not one. Apple will reportedly launch the hub along with a HomePod mini and Apple TV next month. All three will show off the new Siri. The Verge
Apple is already working on a second version with a larger, 9-inch screen on a moving robotic arm. Bloomberg earlier reported Apple plans to build that HomePod with screen and tabletop robot in Vietnam. The same reporting described more home devices for next year, including a screen to control home appliances and act as a central hub. Bloomberg
The background is HomePod. Apple said the first HomePod works as a home hub, giving remote access and automatic routines through the Home app on iPhone or iPad. The 2023 HomePod connects to and controls devices that use Matter, the common language that lets smart devices from different brands work together. It also works as a home hub when you are away. Earlier Apple language described HomePod as a smart home hub for HomeKit accessories, including lights, air quality monitors and door locks. HomeKit is Apple's system for running those devices.
The broader context here is how it all fits together. Apple has used iPhone as the main control, with Apple TV and HomePod helping smart gadgets connect to the home network and run automatic routines. A fixed screen with camera, microphone and a Siri-led system would give that setup a place that is always on. For installers, the questions are setup, telling family members apart by voice, how much work is done on the device itself versus over the internet, and what happens when three hubs run routines on the same home network.
In my view, the delay says more about software than hardware. Screens, wall mounts and microphones that hear across a room are now standard parts. A helper that reliably follows home commands is not. I watched my own children try voice control early and then go back to the phone when the first command failed, and shared rooms still leave little room for error. If Apple waited for Siri, it waited for the right reason.
Worth flagging for readers, treat October 13 as a reported plan, not a finished launch. Gurman has a strong record on Apple timing, but dates tied to unfinished software can still move. If the hub ships as described, the short-term effect is less about sales and more about giving Matter, HomeKit and the new Siri one clear place to show what they can do. Over time, that is how the home gets easier to run.
