Apple is preparing to expand its smart home portfolio with a new AI-powered display hub expected to be unveiled on October 13, alongside updated versions of the HomePod mini and Apple TV, according to reports citing people familiar with the company's plans.
The new smart home hub, internally codenamed J490, is expected to serve as the centrepiece of Apple's broader push into connected-home devices. The product is reportedly designed around a roughly six-inch square touchscreen and will be available in configurations that can either sit on a countertop or be mounted on a wall.
A key part of the device is expected to be Siri AI, Apple's next-generation assistant powered by Apple Intelligence. Apple began rolling out Siri AI in September, adding capabilities including personal context understanding, broader knowledge, onscreen awareness and actions across supported applications.
For the home hub, Apple is reportedly building features that allow the device to recognise different household members through facial and voice recognition. When an identified user approaches or interacts with the display, the interface could surface personalised information such as messages, contacts, calendar appointments and notes. A visitor mode is also expected to restrict access to personal information when unrecognised users are present.
Beyond its AI capabilities, the hub is expected to support functions including smart home controls, video calls, music playback, photo displays and household intercom features. The product would give Apple a dedicated screen-based home device as it competes more directly in a category where Amazon and Google already offer smart displays.
Apple is also reportedly planning to introduce an updated HomePod mini and Apple TV alongside the hub. Both products are expected to retain broadly familiar designs while receiving faster processors capable of supporting the computational requirements of Siri AI. The HomePod mini update would be the first since the original model debuted in 2020, while the Apple TV refresh would be the first new set-top box since 2022.
The October launch has not yet been officially announced by Apple. The company did not immediately comment on reports concerning the planned hardware unveiling.
The reported devices would extend Apple's AI strategy beyond its established personal computing products and further into the home. Siri AI is already being integrated across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Vision Pro, while the upcoming hardware could provide a dedicated interface for using the assistant in shared household environments.
If introduced as reported, the smart home hub would represent a new hardware category for Apple and bring its AI capabilities into a market increasingly centred on connected devices, personalised assistants and automated home experiences.
Disclaimer: This article may include information derived from interviews, press releases, public statements, research, company communications and other publicly available or third-party sources. Such material may be summarised, paraphrased or contextualised for journalistic and editorial purposes. All rights in third-party content remain with their respective owners.