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Tech News
Apple is said to be preparing to release its long-rumored smart home hub device around mid-October, alongside a refreshed HomePod Mini. The report suggests both products could debut close together in the same timeframe.
Apple plans to release its smart home hub, internally codenamed J490, on October 13, according to Bloomberg. The device reportedly has a 6-inch display with a design echoing the iMac G4, and will arrive alongside an updated HomePod mini in new colors and a new Apple TV 4K featuring Siri AI support.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports Apple will reveal its long-rumored smart home hub alongside a new HomePod mini and an upgraded Apple TV on October 13th. The hub reportedly has a 6-inch tiltable display on a round metal base, resembling the iMac G4, with a separate wall-mounted version, USB-C power, and a gray aluminum finish. All three devices are expected to highlight Apple's revamped Siri AI assistant.
According to a Bloomberg report, incoming Apple CEO John Ternus wants the company to release products on a more frequent schedule than its traditional fall and spring events, and to move faster and experiment more to keep pace in AI. Bloomberg also reports Ternus is weighing flatter management layers, and that Apple's hardware engineering unit recently cut several engineering program manager roles, following earlier layoffs on the Siri and Vision Pro teams.
MacRumors found images and code within Apple's software revealing a refreshed HomePod mini in green, pink, light blue, white and black. The design appears largely unchanged from the original, which has been sold since 2020 without a hardware update.
MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris found images inside Apple's code showing a HomePod mini in five colors, including three new ones — green, pink, and blue — alongside existing white and black options. The same leak also revealed a fourth-generation Apple TV 4K that appears to keep its current external design, with no other specifications disclosed.
Details and images found in Apple's own code by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris suggest Apple is preparing a HomePod mini 2 in new muted color options, an iPad mini 8 with a repositioned front camera and A20 Pro chip, and an updated Apple TV 4K that looks similar to its predecessor. The leak follows Apple's recent launch of the iPhone 18 Pro and folding iPhone Duo.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman outlines Apple's near-term product roadmap, saying six devices should ship before year's end, including touchscreen MacBook Pro models, an updated non-touch 14-inch MacBook Pro, a refreshed iMac with an M6 chip, a HomePod mini 2 and Apple TV 4K with Siri AI, and an OLED iPad mini. The long-rumored HomePad smart display remains unconfirmed for this window, with Gurman calling its timing still fluid. He also previews a first-half-2027 wave covering an iPhone Air 2, an OLED iPad Air, and mostly iterative chip upgrades across iPhone, MacBook Air, MacBook Neo and iPad Pro lines.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is working on a privacy-focused home security camera and automation device that uses AI to analyze surroundings rather than recording video footage. This hardware will connect to a new subscription-based home security and monitoring service slated to arrive in 2027.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports Apple is making major layout changes to its retail stores this fall, including reorganizing the Avenues sections and adding new accessory bays. While Apple was expected to release only a refreshed HomePod mini and Apple TV 4K, the scope of these store changes suggests the long-rumored smart home hub with a display may launch at the same time.