Apple to Launch New Siri AI Smart Home Devices This Fall: Report

Apple is preparing its biggest move yet into the smart home, with three new devices built around the revamped Siri AI assistant, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The company has spent years watching Amazon and Google own this category, and the plan now is to enter it properly with a dedicated home hub, a new Apple TV 4K, and a refreshed HomePod mini.

The Apple TV and HomePod mini are the near-term ones, both targeted for this fall, but neither is getting a redesign. They keep the same look as the current models and pick up faster processors, which they need in order to run the new Siri AI features at all. Pricing is expected at $199 US for the Apple TV and $129 US for the HomePod mini.

The more interesting product is the smart home hub, which is expected to land somewhere between October and early next year. It’s a roughly 7-inch square display running a new operating system that borrows from tvOS, watchOS, and iOS, and it handles FaceTime calls, home security monitoring, intercom between rooms, and customizable clock faces in the style of the Apple Watch.

The part that separates it from an Amazon Echo Show is facial recognition. The hub can tell who is looking at it and how far away they are, then change what it shows on screen accordingly. Walk past and you might see the time and temperature. Step closer and it surfaces your calendar, your notes, and the controls you actually use.

It comes in two versions. The J490 sits on a base that looks a bit like a HomePod mini cut in half, meant for a counter or a table. The J491 mounts to a wall using magnets, aimed at kitchens and hallways.

Apple has been working on all three of these since 2024.. The hub was originally targeted for spring 2025, then fall 2025, then 2026, held up each time by the new Siri. None of this hardware makes sense without an assistant that can actually hold a conversation and pull in personal context, and Apple has not been able to ship one.

Gurman also reports Apple is working on a higher-end (meaning pricier) hub with a 9-inch display mounted on a robotic arm that physically moves to follow you around during FaceTime calls or to change its viewing angle. There’s also an in-home security camera in development, code-named J450, alongside a broader connected home security system that would put Apple up against Amazon’s Ring.