Apple is going to make a bigger play for the smart home using Siri AI, with updates to the HomePod mini, a new Apple TV, and the rumored Home Hub arriving between October and early 2027.
Apple has long been rumored to be working on a swathe of new smart home hardware, with Siri AI at the heart of the company’s renewed home push. As Siri AI becomes a bigger figure in its main operating systems, including iOS 27, Apple is ready to capitalize on using it in the smart home.
According to Bloomberg on Tuesday, Apple is using Siri AI as the anchor point for the next wave of smart home releases. This includes hardware arriving between October of 2026 and early in 2027.
The list consists of three devices. The simplest and smallest upgrade is the HomePod mini, which will cost consumers $129 and have a better chip for supporting Siri AI.
A new Apple TV is expected, which is described as “new” instead of refreshed by unidentified sources. The $199 price will include a better chip, again for Siri AI.
Home Hub
The third, the Home Hub, is an all-new piece of kit that has surfaced in rumors. It’s described as having a roughly seven-inch-square screen, and will act as a central point for smart home functions.
That list of capabilities includes FaceTime video conferencing, an intercom system, and home security monitoring. Its handling of the smart home will cover everything from audio playback on connected HomePods to dealing with smartlocks.
Users will also be able to use it for accessing calendars and itineraries for the day ahead, and view personal photos. In its downtime, it will have customizable clock faces, similar to the Apple Watch.
A big feature will be facial recognition. The hub will be able to recognise users looking at the display, changing what information is presented to them.
The same system will also take into account how far away the user is. A person near the screen will see a lot more information, while far-away eyes will see less information but with a scaled-up UI for readability.
Two versions of the Home Hub are on the way. The initial, codenamed J490, will take the form of a screen on a half-dome base, like half a HomePod mini.
The second and later release, codenamed J491, will fulfill the same tasks, but will instead be designed to attach to a magnetic system. Think of it like MagSafe but for attaching it to plinths or a wall mount, for example.
To Apple, it imagines there being multiple Home Hub units throughout a home, instead of just one single unit.
Late because of Siri
The timing of the launches is for a good reason. Apple was waiting on Siri AI to be ready.
Back in March, it was claimed that the products would launch later in 2026, with Siri being the cause of the delay. Apple already had plans to bring smart home hardware out in Spring 2025, but Siri’s development troubles led to it being postponed.
It is also thought that the lack of discussion of Apple TV and HomePod-related changes during WWDC is a clue to the launch. Apple crowed about the Siri AI during the event, but limited it to only operating systems where hardware that supports it exists.
Since the current HomePod and Apple TV won’t support Siri AI, it couldn’t be talked about.