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 will introduce.
Home view
Apple’s home hub, which will be called HomeView, is a multifunction device designed for all occupants of a home. It is built around Siri artificial intelligence and will have an A18 chip and 8GB of RAM.
Here’s what rumors suggest it will be able to do:
- Answer questions with the artificial intelligence of Siri
- Control smart home devices
- View time and weather
- View widgets, including widgets from a connected iPhone
- Show each user their own calendar events and reminders
- Play music, podcasts and audiobooks
- Play videos, TV shows and movies
- Show photos, slideshows and home movies
- Supports video calls
- Show news
- Show messages and emails
- View recipes and instructions as you complete tasks
The hub will be able to do everything you could want from a home assistant device, from providing the next steps of a recipe to suggesting dinner ideas and creating a shopping list. It will rely heavily on Siri AI for voice-based input, but will also have a 6-inch touch display.
The display is square with bezels around the edges and two models are available. One version can be wall mounted and the other is attached to a half-dome speaker base with a flexible arm for tilt adjustment. The hub is not expected to have its own App Store, but it will support Apple apps such as Safari, News, Music, Reminders, Calendar, Weather, Messages, FaceTime, Photos, and Mail.
There will be a presence sensor and camera in the hub, and it will use a variant of Face ID to determine who is nearby to show personalized content. It will display information from a connected iPhone, such as email messages, but only after authentication. The sensors in the hub will be usable in HomeKit scenes and automations, so you can use it to trigger lights and other devices when a person enters the room.
The interface will be heavily widget-based so you can view information at a glance, and will likely be similar to StandBy mode on the iPhone. You’ll be able to choose your preferred clock face or idle state, along with a home screen of widget options that you can tap to open a full app. If you have multiple hubs, they will connect together for features like multi-room music and intercom functionality. Rumors suggest that it will have better sound quality than the HomePod mini.
There won’t be a built-in battery, and the hub will need to be connected to power via an included USB-C port. The version equipped with speakers is available in multiple colors, including grey, silver, starlight and pink. The wall version will be available in silver and grey.
Rumors suggest that the price of the hub could be 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 is changing is entirely internal.
Apple TV 4K will become much more powerful so it can support Siri AI, offering many of the same Siri features available on iPhone and iPad in iOS and iPadOS 27.
We’re expecting an A19 with 8GB of RAM, along with Apple’s N1 networking chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. The A19 will bring a major performance upgrade, both for Siri and gaming. It has ray tracing, mesh shading and other features that will improve the graphics of the game.
There will be a new Siri remote with an included speaker to make it easier to find, and we’ve seen some signs that Apple is working on its own Beats-branded game controller, but there’s no word on whether it’s ready for launch.
Apple will likely emphasize Siri’s artificial intelligence and gaming capabilities when it introduces 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.
HomePodmini
Like the Apple TV 4K, the HomePod mini won’t have a new design, but it will have internal upgrades that make it more capable. It will get an updated 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’s AI processing because the HomePod probably won’t be able to handle much on the device, but smarter Siri should make for a better experience. The AI Siri on the HomePod mini will have the context of Siri interactions on other devices, and it’s likely that conversations will be saved to the Siri app on a connected iPhone.
Siri’s AI can answer follow-up questions, handle multi-prompt queries, and access information from your apps. It will be like having ChatGPT or Claude on a speaker. While no design updates are expected, the HomePod mini will have new colors. We expect white, blue, black, sage and pink.
HomePod mini prices increased from $99 to $129 in June 2026, and the new model will likely be priced at $129 as well.
LG accessories
Apple teamed up with LG to make an LG-branded wired video doorbell, thermostat, smart deadbolt lock, temperature sensor, indoor security camera, outdoor security camera, and projector camera that will work with the home hub and HomeKit platform.
The accessories are part of an “Apple Home Collection” that will be marketed alongside the HomeView. They won’t be ready until the end of the year, but Apple may show them off during the announcement.
Announcement times
There is no main event planned for the “Welcome Home” product debut, so Apple will likely release a video and a series of accompanying press releases. There’s a media event in New York that will take place at 9 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, October 13, and that could be when all the announcements happen.
The New York event will allow members of the media to get hands-on with the new devices to share first impressions.
Pre-orders and launch date
Apple could start accepting pre-orders soon after the launch of the new devices. The HomePod mini and Apple TV 4K will launch on Friday, October 30.
HomeView will not be available immediately and is expected to ship to customers in mid-November.
