Apple’s Welcome home event takes place on Tuesday, October 13, and the smart home hub is the product everyone is watching. Apple has not named a single product, so everything below comes from earlier reports and details found in Apple’s code.
Greg Joswiak confirmed the date and the tagline in a post on X. The full announcement is in our Welcome home event post.
Three Home Products Are Expected at the Welcome Home Event
Earlier reports point to a launch built around Siri AI, which arrived with iOS 27 in September. The smart home hub was reportedly held back until Siri AI was ready.
Reports point to three products.
- HomePad is a small square display with a front camera and a new operating system built around Siri AI.
- Apple TV 4K keeps the same exterior as the current model, with a much faster chip and Wi-Fi 7 through Apple’s N1 chip.
- HomePod mini 2 keeps the same spherical design and adds Siri AI support and five colors found in Apple’s code.
Apple announced the original HomePod mini on October 13, 2020, exactly six years before this event.
The HomePad Is Reportedly a Square Display With a Front Camera
HomePad is the name used in reports, and Apple has not confirmed it. Earlier launch reports describe a roughly square screen that is smaller than an Amazon Echo Show, with a front camera that can recognize who is looking at it.
Reports mention two versions, one for countertops and one that mounts on a wall. The software is said to borrow from iOS, tvOS and watchOS, and early reports put the price around $350.
A clock and photo interface is also expected. It reportedly includes a Photo Face that pulls from iCloud Photos, similar to StandBy on the iPhone.
The Welcome Home Event Starts at 9:00 a.m. ET in Tribeca
The event starts at 9:00 a.m. ET in Tribeca, New York. That works out to 8:00 a.m. Central, 7:00 a.m. Mountain and 6:00 a.m. Pacific.
The invite does not mention a livestream, and Apple Stores have been preparing for the day, with sealed boxes marked “Do Not Open Until October 8” arriving in stores around the world.
The Full-Size HomePod and iPhone Duo Are Not Part of This Event
The full-size HomePod skips October 13. It has not been updated since 2023, and a version with Siri AI is reportedly coming later.
The iPhone Duo runs on its own schedule, and Get Ready begins on October 12. Pre-orders open on October 16, and the iPhone Duo launches on October 23. Reports also say more launches are planned for the last week of October.
