Apple to Unveil 6-Inch Smart-Home Hub as October 13 Launch Nears
Updated
Updated · Macworld · Oct 5
Apple to Unveil 6-Inch Smart-Home Hub as October 13 Launch Nears
3 articles · Updated · Macworld · Oct 5
Summary
Apple is expected within days to introduce its first dedicated smart-home device — a hub combining a HomePod-like speaker with a roughly 6-inch screen, possibly as soon as October 8 or at an October 13 event.
Siri AI is expected to power the device, letting it answer questions, pull information from messages and email, and handle natural-language smart-home control in a bid to compete with Amazon's Echo Show and Google's Nest Hub.
The bigger challenge may be positioning: Apple must explain why users need a separate home screen when iPhones, iPads and HomePods already handle recipes, media and HomeKit controls.
That pitch is complicated by Apple's history in the category — the original HomePod emphasized audio over smart-home utility — and by expectations that Apple's version will cost more than established rivals.