The launch of Apple’s “Welcome Home” product will take place tomorrow. As the name suggests, Apple will launch new home accessories, including the long-rumored Home Hub.
Below, we’ve listed all the rumors we know about the three devices Apple is preparing to introduce.
HomeView
Apple’s home hub, which will be called HomeView, is a multifunctional device designed for everyone in a home. It is built around Siri AI and will have an A18 chip and 8GB of RAM.
Here’s what rumors suggest he’ll be able to do:
- Answer questions with AI Siri
- Control smart home devices
- Show time and weather
- View widgets, including widgets from a connected iPhone
- Show each user their calendar events and reminders
- Listen to music, podcasts and audiobooks
- Play videos, TV shows and movies
- View photos, slideshows, and home movies
- Video call support
- Show news
- View messages and emails
- View recipes and instructions when completing tasks
The hub will be able to do everything you might want a home assistive device to do, from telling you the next steps in a recipe to suggesting dinner ideas and creating a shopping list. It will rely heavily on Siri AI for voice input, but it will also have a 6-inch touchscreen.
The screen is square with bezels on the edges and there are two models. One version can be wall mounted and the other is attached to a half-dome speaker base with a flexible arm to adjust the tilt. The hub isn’t expected to have its own App Store, but it will support Apple apps like Safari, News, Music, Reminders, Calendar, Weather, Messages, FaceTime, Photos, and Mail.
There will be a presence sensor and a camera in the hub, and it will use a variation of Face ID to determine who is nearby and display personalized content. It will display information from a linked iPhone, such as email messages, but only after authentication. The hub’s sensors will be usable in HomeKit scenes and automations, so you can use them to trigger lights and other devices when someone enters the room.
The interface will be heavily widget-based so you can see information at a glance, and it will likely resemble sleep mode on the iPhone. You’ll be able to choose your preferred clock face or idle state, as well as a home screen of widget options that you can tap to open a full app. If you have multiple hubs, they will be linked together for features like multi-room music and intercom functionality. Rumors suggest it will have better sound quality than the HomePod mini.
There will be no built-in battery and the hub will need to be connected to power via an included USB-C port. The speaker-equipped version is expected in multiple colors, including gray, silver, starlight, and pink. The wall version will be available in silver and gray.
Rumors suggest the hub could be priced around $350.
Apple TV 4K
Apple isn’t updating the design of the Apple TV, so expect the new model to be the same boring black box. What changes is entirely internal.
The Apple TV 4K is going to get much more powerful so it can support Siri AI, delivering many of the same Siri features available on iPhone and iPad running iOS and iPadOS 27.
We’re expecting an A19 with 8GB of RAM, as well as Apple’s N1 networking chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. The A19 will bring a major performance improvement, both for Siri and for gaming. It has ray tracing, mesh shading and other features that will improve gameplay graphics.
There will be a new Siri remote with a speaker included to make it easier to find, and we’ve seen signs that Apple is working on its own Beats-branded gamepad, but it’s unclear if it’s ready to launch.
Apple will likely emphasize Siri’s AI and gaming capabilities when introducing the Apple TV. Apple raised the price of the current Apple TV to $199 in June, and the new model will be at least as expensive with processor and RAM upgrades.
HomePod mini
Like the Apple TV 4K, the HomePod mini won’t get a new design, but it will have internal upgrades that will make it perform better. It will get an upgraded S10 chip, second-generation UWB for features like Handoff, and the N1 networking chip with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.
You’ll need an AI-enabled device nearby for Siri AI processing, as the HomePod probably won’t be able to handle much on the device, but a smarter Siri should provide a better experience. The Siri AI on the HomePod mini will have the context of Siri interactions on other devices, and it’s likely that conversations will be recorded in a connected iPhone’s Siri app.
Siri AI can answer follow-up questions, handle multiple requests, and access information from your apps. It will be like having ChatGPT or Claude on speakerphone. Although design updates are not expected, the HomePod mini will get new colors. We expect white, blue, black, sage and pink.
The price of the HomePod mini increased from $99 to $129 in June 2026, and the new model will likely also be priced at $129.
LG Accessories
Apple worked with LG to create an LG-branded wired video doorbell, thermostat, smart deadbolt lock, temperature sensor, indoor security camera, outdoor security camera, and floodlight camera that will work with the home hub and HomeKit platform.
The accessories are part of an “Apple Home Collection” which will be sold alongside the HomeView. They won’t be ready until later this year, at the earliest, but Apple might show them off during the announcement.
Announcement calendar
There’s no main event for the “Welcome Home” product launch, so Apple will likely release a video and a series of press releases to accompany it. There is a media event in New York that will take place at 9:00 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday, October 13, and that could be the time when all the announcements take place.
The New York event will allow members of the media to familiarize themselves with the new devices and share their first impressions.
Pre-orders and launch date
Apple could start accepting pre-orders right after the launch of the new devices. The HomePod mini and Apple TV 4K launch on Friday, October 30.
The HomeView will not be available immediately and is expected to ship to customers in mid-November.
Gn tech
