Report: Apple “HomeView” smart home hub will ship in November, available in four colors, A18 chip

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported today that the Apple Home Hub – expected to be announced on October 13 as part of Apple’s “Welcome Home” event experience – will be called HomeView. The brand would obviously partner alongside the company’s existing HomePod brand for smart speakers.

Gurman also reported on some other news regarding the device, including the news that while it will be announced on Tuesday, it likely won’t be released until mid-November…

The Home Hub will feature a similar design to the iMac G4, a floating screen sitting atop a speaker base. Gurman says it will be powered by an A18 chip. There will also be a wall-mounted version with a square base.

The HomeView with speaker base would be available in four color options: space gray, silver, starlight and pink. The wall model will only be offered in monochrome silver or space gray.

The device will primarily use voice as its input method, with Siri AI as the centerpiece of the user experience, with users “viewing” content from across the room. It will run Apple apps and won’t have an App Store, although users can project third-party app widgets from a nearby iPhone.

Along with the HomeView unveiling, Apple is also preparing hardware updates for the Apple TV set-top box and HomePod mini. It’s also partnered with appliance makers like LG to prepare a range of smart home accessories, all meant to work well together, including smart thermostats, door locks and doorbells.

Apple is expected to officially announce its new smart home initiative on Tuesday. Stay tuned for complete coverage of all announcements.