Apple will launch its smart home push on 13 October, Bloomberg reports

Apple plans to launch its long-delayed range of smart home devices on 13 October, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The launch would be a key product expansion for the company under John Ternus, who became chief executive on 1 September.

At the center of the plan is a smart home hub code-named J490. Apple will also announce the first update to the HomePod mini since the speaker’s 2020 debut, as well as its first new Apple TV box since 2022.

According to 9to5Mac’s account of the report, the hub has a 6-inch display and a design inspired by the iMac G4. Earlier Bloomberg reporting described a second version that attaches to a wall with magnets.

The hub runs a new operating system built around Siri, Apple’s voice assistant. It also recognizes faces, so it can show each person their own widgets, calendar, and music, AppleInsider reported this month, citing Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Apple has been testing it in employees’ homes.

The device is about 18 months late. Apple had been expected to launch it in March 2025 but put it on hold after its upgraded Siri slipped, and that assistant only arrived this year as Siri AI.

Once on sale, the hub will compete with Amazon’s Echo Show and Google’s Nest Hub, the two leaders in smart displays.

Staff inside Apple had expected Ternus to unveil the hub at his first keynote this month, Gurman wrote earlier. Instead, Ternus described the ideal AI device as the iPhone.