Apple Smart Home Hub October 2026 Release Date and Siri AI Launch

MW Contributor · 2026-10-02T20:38:23+08:00

Apple will launch its long-delayed smart home hub on 13 October, together with an updated HomePod mini and a new Apple TV 4K, according to Bloomberg News. The launch marks the first major new product category under chief executive John Ternus, who took over on 1 September. The hub, code-named J490 internally, will be Apple's first smart display and its answer to Amazon's Echo Show and Google's Nest Hub. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, citing people familiar with the plans, reports a square display measuring about six inches diagonally, though some reports have cited seven inches. Bloomberg said the screen sits in quarter-inch black bezels, giving the device a footprint close to two iPhones placed side by side. It is about as thick as an iPhone and is finished in gray aluminium. Apple has built two versions. The first sits on a table, with the screen attached to a hemispherical speaker base reminiscent of the iMac G4 through a polished metal arm that tilts forward and backward. The base carries speaker hole perforations and a rubber bottom for stability. The second version mounts flat on a wall using a new magnetic system, with a thin square base holding the speakers and microphones. Reports disagree on whether the device carries an internal battery. Bloomberg's original description mentioned a built-in rechargeable cell, while later reporting and leaked details point to a USB-C powered device without one. Both models are said to carry a front-facing 1080p camera for FaceTime calls, user authentication and recognition of different household members. Inside, the hub is expected to run on an A18 chip or newer with at least 8GB of memory, the minimum Apple requires for Apple Intelligence. Reports also point to Apple's new N1 wireless chip, which would let the device act as a Matter hub and Thread border router for connected home products. The hub runs a new operating system that Apple has referred to as Charismatic internally. It is expected to ship as homeOS, built on tvOS with elements drawn from watchOS and iOS, and recent reporting indicates it will arrive as a variation of tvOS 27. Filings for the homeOS trademark reportedly began in October 2024 through what appears to be a shell company, with the name registered in Liechtenstein and applications pending in the United States and elsewhere. The interface mixes the Apple Watch with the iPhone's StandBy mode. Round icons sit on a customisable home screen with widgets for weather, home controls, photo slideshows and calendar events. Apps are said to open in a two-panel iPad-style layout, with a software dock at the bottom and a swipe-up app launcher. A Widget Gallery suggests widgets from a linked iPhone, and a Smart Stack rotates through them during the day. Widgets pulled from an iPhone only display content when the primary user is at home. There will be no dedicated App Store at launch. Reported pre-installed apps include Safari, Apple News, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Notes, Calendar, Photos, Home, Messages, Reminders and FaceTime. Multiple units in one home can work as room-to-room intercoms, play video such as recipe tutorials in the kitchen and act as an AirPlay receiver. Recognition is the hub's standout feature. Sensors detect how close a person stands and change the display accordingly, showing a clock or the temperature when a room is empty and switching to thermostat controls as someone approaches. The device is reported to distinguish one person from another, support hand gestures for control at longer range and trigger HomeKit automations such as lights switching on when someone enters a room. A Face ID-like camera works alongside voice recognition, with secondary authentication available through an iPhone. A visitor mode hides personal information, and a rumoured Mac-style edge light around the screen lets the device identify people in the dark. The launch has slipped repeatedly. Apple first targeted spring 2025, then spring 2026 and then September 2026. Each delay traced back to the same problem. Siri AI, the upgraded assistant the device depends on, was not ready. Bloomberg reported the hardware had been finished for months while Apple waited on the software. "Apple is about to debut its revamped push into the smart home, built around Siri AI," Gurman wrote on X in July. The software has now arrived. Apple announced on 14 September that Siri AI had begun rolling out in beta as part of its 2027 software releases. It is currently available in English, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish to follow next month. Availability is uneven by region. Apple says Siri AI will not be available initially in the European Union on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, and will not be available in China mainland while it works through regulatory requirements. Malaysia sits outside those restricted markets, and Siri AI works in English, though Apple has not confirmed local support for the assistant on the hub. The hub is expected to be priced around $350 in

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October 2, 2026 at 8:38 pm
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Apple will launch its long-delayed smart home hub on 13 October, together with an updated HomePod mini and a new Apple TV 4K, according to Bloomberg News. The launch marks the first major new product category under chief executive John Ternus, who took over on 1 September.
The hub, code-named J490 internally, will be Apple’s first smart display and its answer to Amazon’s Echo Show and Google’s Nest Hub. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, citing people familiar with the plans, reports a square display measuring about six inches diagonally, though some reports have cited seven inches. Bloomberg said the screen sits in quarter-inch black bezels, giving the device a footprint close to two iPhones placed side by side. It is about as thick as an iPhone and is finished in gray aluminium.
Apple has built two versions. The first sits on a table, with the screen attached to a hemispherical speaker base reminiscent of the iMac G4 through a polished metal arm that tilts forward and backward. The base carries speaker hole perforations and a rubber bottom for stability. The second version mounts flat on a wall using a new magnetic system, with a thin square base holding the speakers and microphones. Reports disagree on whether the device carries an internal battery. Bloomberg’s original description mentioned a built-in rechargeable cell, while later reporting and leaked details point to a USB-C powered device without one.
Both models are said to carry a front-facing 1080p camera for FaceTime calls, user authentication and recognition of different household members. Inside, the hub is expected to run on an A18 chip or newer with at least 8GB of memory, the minimum Apple requires for Apple Intelligence. Reports also point to Apple’s new N1 wireless chip, which would let the device act as a Matter hub and Thread border router for connected home products.
The hub runs a new operating system that Apple has referred to as Charismatic internally. It is expected to ship as homeOS, built on tvOS with elements drawn from watchOS and iOS, and recent reporting indicates it will arrive as a variation of tvOS 27. Filings for the homeOS trademark reportedly began in October 2024 through what appears to be a shell company, with the name registered in Liechtenstein and applications pending in the United States and elsewhere.
The interface mixes the Apple Watch with the iPhone’s StandBy mode. Round icons sit on a customisable home screen with widgets for weather, home controls, photo slideshows and calendar events. Apps are said to open in a two-panel iPad-style layout, with a software dock at the bottom and a swipe-up app launcher. A Widget Gallery suggests widgets from a linked iPhone, and a Smart Stack rotates through them during the day. Widgets pulled from an iPhone only display content when the primary user is at home. There will be no dedicated App Store at launch. Reported pre-installed apps include Safari, Apple News, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Notes, Calendar, Photos, Home, Messages, Reminders and FaceTime. Multiple units in one home can work as room-to-room intercoms, play video such as recipe tutorials in the kitchen and act as an AirPlay receiver.
Recognition is the hub’s standout feature. Sensors detect how close a person stands and change the display accordingly, showing a clock or the temperature when a room is empty and switching to thermostat controls as someone approaches. The device is reported to distinguish one person from another, support hand gestures for control at longer range and trigger HomeKit automations such as lights switching on when someone enters a room. A Face ID-like camera works alongside voice recognition, with secondary authentication available through an iPhone. A visitor mode hides personal information, and a rumoured Mac-style edge light around the screen lets the device identify people in the dark.
The launch has slipped repeatedly. Apple first targeted spring 2025, then spring 2026 and then September 2026. Each delay traced back to the same problem. Siri AI, the upgraded assistant the device depends on, was not ready. Bloomberg reported the hardware had been finished for months while Apple waited on the software. “Apple is about to debut its revamped push into the smart home, built around Siri AI,” Gurman wrote on X in July.
The software has now arrived. Apple announced on 14 September that Siri AI had begun rolling out in beta as part of its 2027 software releases. It is currently available in English, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish to follow next month. Availability is uneven by region. Apple says Siri AI will not be available initially in the European Union on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, and will not be available in China mainland while it works through regulatory requirements. Malaysia sits outside those restricted markets, and Siri AI works in English, though Apple has not confirmed local support for the assistant on the hub.
The hub is expected to be priced around $350 in the United States, above the reported $129 price of the updated HomePod mini and more than double the Echo Show 8 at about $140 and the Nest Hub at around $100. Malaysian pricing has not been announced. The current HomePod mini sells for RM599 on Apple’s Malaysian online store, and Apple has not confirmed whether the smart home hub will be available in Malaysia at launch, as the company does not always release new product categories locally on day one.
The HomePod mini update will be the speaker’s first since its 2020 debut. It keeps the spherical design while gaining faster internals to support Siri AI, and it is expected in five colours, including new green and pink options. The current Malaysian model sells in white and orange. The new Apple TV 4K will be Apple’s first set-top box since 2022, with an upgraded processor for the same assistant features. Both devices are already sold officially in Malaysia.
More smart home products are expected to follow, including an indoor security camera focused on privacy and positioned against cameras from Ring and Nest. Reporting differs on its timing, with some pointing to 2026 and others to 2027. A more expensive hub version with a motorised arm that follows a person around a room remains in development and is not expected this month. Production of the range has reportedly shifted partly to Vietnam, with BYD assembling the hardware.
Apple has not confirmed the launch date, the products, their specifications or their pricing. The 13 October date also falls alongside pre-orders for the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable phone, which open on 16 October.
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