Apple’s smart home hub will let owners pick a Photo Face that turns the display into a digital photo frame. The first look at the feature comes from leaked setup screens, ahead of the hub’s expected October 13 launch.
Leaker pdfu posted the setup screens on X, and they show how the Photo Face is configured when the hub is first activated. The same software is said to be coming to the iPhone Duo.
The Photo Face Pulls Its Pictures From iCloud Photos
The setup screens let users choose what appears on the hub’s display. Based on the images, there are three sources to pick from:
- Photo collections from the library
- Memories, the auto-generated sets in Photos
- Shared albums that family or friends contribute to
The photos come from iCloud, so iCloud Photos has to be turned on for the feature to work. Anyone who keeps their library somewhere else will have nothing to show on the screen. Users will be prompted to set up the Photo Face while activating the device.
Setting up Apple’s upcoming Home device includes a new step: creating a Photo Face.
It’s the same Photo Face coming to StandBy on iPhone Duo. That might explain why Apple hasn’t officially made StandBy available in the simulator.
Photo Face requires iCloud Photos. During setup,… pic.twitter.com/Zh3cvAcjPx
— pdfu (@itspdfu) September 30, 2026
Pdfu says the hub’s Photo Face is the same one coming to the iPhone Duo. That could explain why Apple has not made the iPhone Duo’s StandBy mode available in the Xcode simulator yet. The foldable’s StandBy mode is already rumored to get five new faces and a face editor.
The Hub Is Built Around Clocks and Photo Slideshows When Nobody Is Using It
Bloomberg said earlier on September 30 that the hub’s interface is “built heavily” around clock displays and photo slideshows. That makes the Photo Face a central part of the software. Like StandBy on the iPhone, the hub is expected to offer several idle display options.
This is the first image of a home hub face to surface. The hub is expected to have a 6-inch square screen, and it looks similar to an iPad apart from the shape and the base. The rumored iMac G4 inspired design has a half-dome metal base with an arm connecting it to the display.
Earlier rumors say the hub will not have a full App Store. It is still expected to run apps and widgets such as Calendar, Weather, Music, Messages and Reminders. Apple is also reported to be building a widget gallery that syncs iPhone widgets automatically.
The device is also expected to detect when someone walks up to it. It can tell the people in a home apart and show different widgets for each of them. The hub is already in employees’ homes for testing.
Apple is expected to launch the hub on October 13, alongside a new HomePod mini and Apple TV. The iPhone Duo follows with pre-orders on October 16 and a launch on October 23.
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