After years of planning, delays, and restarts, Apple appears to finally be on the verge of making its biggest move into the smart home category.

A new report from Bloomberg indicates the company is nearly ready to launch a device it has quietly developed for nearly three years, and the window to do so is closing fast.

Apple’s Smart Home Hub Is Reportedly Releasing Soon

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman shared in his Power On newsletter that Apple is entering its next big product category with a dedicated smart home hub, and that the launch is imminent. Gurman, who broke news on this product as far back as 2024, said in the latest update that the device’s software is ready and that Apple is preparing for a release in the very near term, placing the window squarely in October.

He also noted that the company’s refreshed Apple TV and HomePod mini are set to launch in the same timeframe as part of a coordinated smart home push. “Apple is about to debut its revamped push into the smart home, built around Siri AI,” Gurman wrote on X. “The long-awaited smart home hub with a screen arrives between the end of year and early next year, while a new Apple TV and HomePod mini are set to launch this fall.”

This marks a significant shift from where the project stood as recently as early 2026, when multiple reports described Apple as struggling with Siri’s accuracy and the stability of new AI features that the hub depends on entirely. Those problems appear to have been resolved, or at least stabilized enough, for Apple to move forward.

Apple’s Smart Home Hub Is Coming This October

The hub itself was originally planned for a spring 2025 launch, but Siri setbacks pushed the timeline to fall 2025, then to spring 2026, then again to the window now being reported. Each delay was attributed to the same underlying cause: the new version of Siri that forms the device’s core was not ready, and Apple chose not to ship the hub without it.

With Siri AI now integrated into iOS 27 and shipping on existing Apple devices, the dependency that caused every prior delay has finally cleared.

Gurman separately confirmed before Apple’s September iPhone event that the smart home hub would not appear on stage that day, but made clear this was not a cancellation signal, writing that anyone who did not see the Apple TV, HomePod mini, Home Display, and new MacBook that day should not worry, saying October remained the target. That framing turned out to be accurate. Apple’s October event, expected to follow the same format as its previous fall hardware announcements, is now the widely expected venue for these products to make their official debut.

What Does Apple Have for This Smart Home Device?

Apple’s smart home hub is reported to feature a 7-inch square display built into a HomePod-like speaker base, running an entirely new operating system based on tvOS that draws interface elements from watchOS and iOS as well. The resulting interface uses round application icons reminiscent of the Apple Watch, and the underlying operating system is listed as tvOS 27 in reports, giving it a clear generational anchor.

Two versions of the device are reportedly in development. The first, internally codenamed J490, places the screen on a half-dome base that looks like a scaled-down HomePod mini sliced in half. The second, codenamed J491, is designed for wall mounting using a new magnetic attachment system, giving households the flexibility to place it in hallways, kitchens, or bedrooms without needing the tabletop base.

Apple is reportedly expecting many households to buy more than one unit, designing the device to function as a distributed intercom and smart home control network rather than a single centralized device.

A built-in facial recognition system reportedly allows the hub to identify who is looking at it and how far away they are, adjusting the size and content of the interface accordingly. This personalization angle goes further than any current smart display from Google or Amazon, both of which offer limited profile-based personalization at best.

Additional features reported across multiple sources include FaceTime video calls, home security monitoring, management of HomeKit smart home accessories, photo gallery display, calendar integration, music playback, and an intercom function that links multiple hubs placed around a home. An advanced indoor security camera, codenamed J450, is also reportedly in development and expected to compete directly with Amazon’s Ring lineup, though it is not confirmed to launch alongside the hub itself.

New HomePod mini, Apple TV to Join Smart Home Hub

The hub is only one piece of the broader October announcement Apple is reportedly preparing. The Apple TV 4K is expected to ship in an updated form with a newer chip, potentially the A19, along with a redesigned Siri Remote and expanded AI capabilities. Reports have suggested pricing around $199 for the refreshed Apple TV.

The HomePod mini refresh, meanwhile, is expected to arrive with a more capable chip and audio improvements, carrying a price around $129 based on earlier reports.

All three devices are expected to arrive as a coordinated family of products rather than staggered individual releases.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Apple Have Any Smart Home Device?

Apple does have smart home adjacent hardware on the market, specifically the HomePod and HomePod mini smart speakers. Both serve as HomeKit hubs, meaning they act as the bridge between Apple’s Home app and smart home accessories when an iPhone or iPad is not at home.

However, neither device features a display, a camera, or the kind of active room sensing and facial recognition described in the hub reports. The upcoming device would represent Apple’s first proper smart home hub, a category that Amazon has owned with Echo Show and Google has competed in with the Nest Hub lineup for years now.

What Happened to the HomePod with Display?

A product sometimes described as a HomePod with a display has been a recurring rumor for years, but the device currently nearing launch is distinct from what earlier leaks described as a larger, more expensive screen-equipped HomePod.

Reports from earlier in the development cycle described a separate, higher-end hub variant, internally codenamed J595, that would include a larger 9-inch display mounted on a robotic arm capable of physically moving to follow a person around a room during FaceTime calls or to adjust viewing angles. That robotic arm version is still reportedly in development but is not the device expected to launch in October. As of the most recent reporting, no confirmed timeline for the robotic arm variant has been nailed down.

Is Siri AI Powering This Smart Home Hub?

Every report covering the hub has described it as being built around Siri AI from the ground up, but Apple has not officially confirmed any of the device’s specifications or features, and no official announcement has been made. What the reports establish is that the hub was repeatedly delayed specifically because of Siri, and that Apple was unwilling to ship the device without the next generation assistant fully functional.

That dependency makes it nearly certain that Siri AI will be the primary interface layer through which users interact with the hub, handling commands, personalization, and smart home automation. Apple has also not confirmed pricing for the hub, though some analyst estimates have placed it in the $250 to $300 range based on the combination of display, speaker, and chip hardware reportedly inside it.