Apple’s smart home hub is now being tested widely in employees’ homes, and it could be introduced as early as next month. The device is codenamed J490 inside Apple and runs a new operating system built around Siri AI.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman shared the details in his latest Power On newsletter. He says the hub fits the “intelligent personal hub” idea John Ternus laid out in his first keynote as Apple CEO this month.
The Apple Smart Home Hub Is a Square Screen That Recognizes Who Is Looking at It
The display is roughly square and comes in two versions. One sits on a stand and resembles a HomePod mini chopped in half, and the other attaches to a wall. Gurman says the closest comparison is an Amazon Echo Show, but with a considerably smaller screen. Earlier reporting pointed to a 7-inch display.
Here is what Gurman says Apple has built into the device:
- Display: Roughly square, smaller than an Amazon Echo Show
- Form factor: Tabletop stand or wall mount
- Hardware: Front-facing camera system and microphones
- Connectivity: Home Wi-Fi, with iPhone sync for setup and other tasks
- Interface: A mashup of iOS, tvOS and watchOS with a home screen, widgets and clock faces
- Software: A new operating system built around Siri AI
The headline feature is facial recognition through the front-facing camera. The hub can identify who is looking at it and personalize what appears, including apps, notes, calendar appointments, news, music and podcasts.
Apple is doing this without a standard Face ID-level depth sensor. Gurman says that gives him confidence Apple could eventually bring facial recognition to the iPhone Duo, which currently uses Touch ID. Apple would still need to solve the security challenges that come with making a phone too easy to unlock.
Siri AI Is the Reason Apple Waited Until Now
Apple had planned to debut the hub as far back as 2024 but could not launch it until the assistant’s AI features were ready. That finally happened this month, when Siri AI launched with iOS 27.
Apple’s pitch is a single screen for connected-device controls, video calls, intercom features and media, with access to Apple services and apps. Gurman says Apple imagines people using Siri on the hub in a few specific ways:
- Looking up information across their devices and accounts
- Asking it to play a podcast or song someone sent them a while ago
- Finding a particular image to display on the screen
- Carrying out more precise tasks in Notes, Reminders and Calendar
- Running more complex searches through the Siri AI app inside an Apple interface
The Home Hub Lands Alongside a New HomePod mini and Apple TV
The hub will not arrive alone, gurman says it joins a new HomePod mini and a new Apple TV set-top box, both with Siri AI, as Apple builds out a bigger presence in the household. Both were already on track for an October launch, and Apple’s retail redesign points to a fall release for the hub as well.
Gurman notes that when Steve Jobs ran Apple, he wanted the company to own the three places people spend their time: at home, on the go and in the car. Under Ternus, the iPhone anchors the mobile piece and the hub gives Apple a bigger role at home.
The car is still unresolved, Apple spent a decade on a self-driving car project before ending it in early 2024, and Gurman says Ternus was one of the biggest voices inside the company against it. Nothing beyond CarPlay has emerged to replace it.
Our Take
I, for one, am excited to get my hands on an Apple smart home hub. For now, the only major competitors are Google with its aging Nest Hub, and Amazon’s Echo products. I also think facial recognition is the feature to watch. A shared screen that changes depending on who walks up to it suits a kitchen or living room, where several people use the same device. Doing it without a Face ID-level depth sensor makes me curious how well it holds up in a dim room.
