Apple’s next big launch is not an iPhone. The company is set to enter the smart home category on October 13 with its first-ever smart display, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The device, code-named J490 inside Apple and widely referred to as the “HomePad,” will arrive alongside a refreshed HomePod mini and a new Apple TV 4K.All three products are built to showcase Siri AI, the overhauled assistant Apple released with iOS 27 last month. The hub is Apple’s most direct answer yet to Amazon’s Echo Show and Google’s Nest Hub, and one of the first big launches under John Ternus, who took over as CEO in September.It is still unclear whether October 13 is an announcement or a sales date. Apple Stores have reportedly received boxes marked “Do Not Open Until October 8,” pointing to new in-store displays. Apple has not commented, and pricing, including for India, is yet to surface.
Apple’s smart home hub takes its design cues from the iMac G4
The countertop model has a roughly 6-inch square screen with rounded corners and quarter-inch black bezels, much like older iPads. It is about as thick as an iPhone and is held up by a polished metal arm on a round aluminium base lined with rings of speaker holes. The look recalls the 2002 iMac G4, and the screen tilts forward and backward by hand.There is no battery, so it stays plugged in over USB-C, and there are no volume or power buttons. A single front-facing camera handles FaceTime calls and recognition. It comes in Apple’s standard grey aluminium finish with a rubberised bottom to keep it steady on a table.A wall-mounted version swaps the round base for a thin square one that sits flat below the screen and houses the speakers and microphones. Apple is also developing a larger model with the display on a robotic arm.
HomePad can recognise each family member and adapts to them
Personalisation is the big draw. Using its camera and microphones, the hub identifies who is standing in front of it or speaking, then pulls up that person’s messages, calendar, notes and preferred widgets. When someone else walks up, the screen switches over, and a visitor mode hides personal data from guests.Bloomberg says the face recognition is less secure than Face ID, so users can require confirmation on their iPhone before sensitive information appears.Apple expects households to buy more than one. The hubs can control lights and thermostats, work as intercoms between rooms, play music and podcasts, and cycle through iCloud photos. Employees are already testing them widely at home.
Siri AI is why Apple’s home hub took this long to arrive
The hub runs a new operating system built around Siri AI. It mixes iPad-style two-panel apps such as Messages with Apple Watch-like icon grids, plus clock and photo faces similar to the upgraded StandBy mode on the iPhone Duo. Calendar, Photos, FaceTime, Notes, Reminders, Music and Podcasts are among the built-in apps, and users can rearrange apps and widgets with a long press.Apple had planned a home display as early as 2024 but held it back until Siri could carry the product. Users will be able to ask it to find a song someone shared weeks ago, pull up a specific photo, or complete tasks inside Notes and Calendar.
HomePod mini and Apple TV 4K get faster chips for Siri AI
The HomePod mini gets its first hardware update since its 2020 debut. The design stays, but a faster processor lets it run Apple’s newer AI models, and green and pink join the colour options.The Apple TV 4K, last refreshed in 2022, follows the same playbook with an unchanged exterior and a quicker chip. Leaked data also points to Apple’s N1 wireless chip with Wi-Fi 7 support and a revised Siri Remote.At his first keynote as CEO last month, Ternus pitched the iPhone as the ideal AI device. The home hub carries that pitch to the kitchen counter and the living-room wall, a space Amazon and Google have had largely to themselves for nearly a decade.