• News
• Top Stories

The Apple HomeView smart home hub is almost here!
Concept art: Cult of Mac

Update: The time for leaks and rumors is over — Apple’s smart home hub is now official. Read more:

Apple wants HomeView at the heart of your smart home

---

Apple appears ready to make a serious push into the smart home market with a new screen-equipped hub dubbed HomeView. It’s reportedly coming at a product launch event on October 13.

The device is for those who want to put the new Siri AI at the center of their home, as well as those who are serious about Apple’s HomeKit smart home accessories. Or both.

Here’s everything we know about Apple’s smart home hub in the days before it is expected to launch.

Apple HomeView smart home hub: The next big thing?

Apple has a long history of not being first to market. It did not make the original MP3 player, smartphone or wireless headphones, but these were all niche products before Apple took the iPod, iPhone and AirPods mainstream. That appears to be the plan with the HomeView smart home hub.

The rival Google Nest Hub offers the Google Assistant and control of compatible smart-home devices. Amazon Echo Show devices take a similar approach, combining Alexa with smart-home controls.

These competing hubs have been on the market for years, but neither is as popular as smartphones, tablets or even basic smart speakers. Apple’s offering might be the breakthrough product the category is missing.

Siri AI will be the star

Every new product category needs an easy-to-understand selling point. And for Apple’s smart home hub, that’s apparently Siri AI. This digital assistant is available on the iPhone and other devices, but the goal of the new device seems to be: Make Siri ubiquitous.

Someone can interact with a hub sitting on a countertop or hanging on a wall simply by talking — without needing to grab another device. The user could, for example, ask Siri to display their calendar, then add an event without ever touching the hub. Or they could use the home hub to look up a recipe.

With Siri AI, the hub can answer questions, play music and control compatible HomeKit and Matter accessories. With its new artificial intelligence upgrade, Siri can understand follow-up requests and context, allowing conversations that feel more natural than issuing a series of rigid voice commands.

The device reportedly runs a new operating system that combines elements of iPadOS, watchOS and tvOS, with the software designed to put an emphasis on Siri AI. It also will support apps and widgets. However, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports being told by inside sources that there won’t be an App Store or a way to add additional software.  

A small screen for the kitchen, bedroom, etc. A wall-mounted version of the smart home hub is also rumored.
Concept art: Cult of Mac

According to details that leaked out before the big reveal, Apple’s smart home hub will be called HomeView, and include a roughly 6-inch square touchscreen. The device is said to be about as thick as an iPhone, with rounded corners and narrow black bezels.

This smallish display will make the device easier to position on a kitchen counter or nightstand. Plus, it’s supposed to quickly show who’s at the front door, what’s on the family calendar, etc., not show movies.

That said, it’ll supposedly act as a digital photo frame when not in use — hence the HomeView name.

The small screen size could also help keep the price down. Even so, Apple’s home hub is likely to cost more than Amazon’s or Google’s versions of a similar size.

Tabletop Apple home hub could be the standout The countertop version of Apple’s smart home hub could soon grace your kitchen.
Concept art: Cult of Mac

Both a tabletop version and one designed to hang on a wall are reportedly on the way.

The tabletop version sounds particularly distinctive. It supposedly uses a round metal base containing speakers and microphones, with a polished metal arm supporting the display. The design reportedly takes inspiration from the iconic iMac G4.

Leaks indicate Apple could release the HomeView in a variety of finishes: silver, space gray, starlight and rose pink. Leaker pdfu found those four colors in Apple’s software code..

The wall-mounted version will reportedly use a thinner base that nevertheless includes speakers and microphones. For this version, Gurman predicts “a flat, square base that sits against the wall beneath the display.” Color options will allegedly only include space gray and silver.

For in-home use only The Apple smart home hub could come in a range of colors.
Concept art: Cult of Mac

Despite the resemblance to an iPad, the HomeView smart home hub reportedly won’t come with a battery. It will need to remain connected to power via USB-C, making it more of a permanent fixture in the home.

And that will allow Apple to cut back a bit on the security. The hub will supposedly employ facial recognition to identify members of the household, allowing the touchscreen to display different information depending on who is using it. However, this won’t be the same as Apple’s traditional Face ID system. It seems a lower level of security is all that’s needed for a device that won’t be used in public, and fewer sensors will help reduce the cost.

The front-facing camera is also expected to support FaceTime video calls.

A non-camera AI-enabled camera?

A remote camera will apparently act as an unusual accessory for the Apple home hub.

“It’s a sensor that cannot actually pull in real video footage,” said Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman during his most recent podcast. “It’s analyzing your environment in your home and around your home, simply using AI.”

The sensors, code-named J450, should pose less of a privacy risk than a standard camera.

“These are little cameras that you can put around your house,” Gurman said. “They have very low frame rate. It looks like a cylinder. It looks like a metal giant chapstick.”

The cameras-that-don’t-capture-actual-video approach sounds similar to Apple’s rumored AirPods with cameras.

• See also: AirPods with cameras are real, and Apple just showed how they’ll work

Future version could go robotic

The first-generation hub reportedly won’t come with a robotic arm. But Bloomberg reports that Apple is working on a more ambitious follow-up device, code-named J595, that could add one.

Reports that Apple is developing a smart home hub that’s essentially an iPad on a robot arm date back to 2024. This design would allow the screen to rotate and tilt to keep facing the user as they move around.

It seems Cupertino is planning a line of products in this category. If the first version is called the Home Hub, perhaps the robotic version will be dubbed the Home Hub Pro.

Apple home hub coming on October 13 Apple’s smart home hub could turn your photos into a screensaver.
Concept art: Cult of Mac

Last week, invitations went out to an Apple Experience on October 13. The exact agenda remains a mystery, but as the event is called “Welcome Home” it’s not difficult to guess that the HomeView smart home hub will appear prominently. But the product apparently won’t reach customers until November. 

• See also: Apple teases new smart-home products with ‘Welcome Home’ event next week

Updated versions of the HomePod mini and Apple TV 4K are also expected.

• See also: 8 hot products to expect from Apple in October