Apple is having its biggest smart home moment in years. According to Bloomberg reporting cited by MacRumors on October 1, 2026, the company plans to introduce three new smart home products on Tuesday, October 13: a brand-new smart home hub with a square 6-inch display, an updated HomePod mini, and a new Apple TV 4K. The common thread across all three is Siri AI, Apple’s rebuilt generative-AI voice assistant, which suggests Apple finally wants its living-room lineup to feel like one system instead of three separate gadgets.
The short answer
If you are wondering when Apple’s smart home hub is coming out, current reporting points to an October 13, 2026 reveal alongside the HomePod mini 2 and a refreshed Apple TV 4K. All three devices are expected to run Apple’s new Siri AI assistant with Apple Intelligence support, and all three add Apple’s in-house N1 networking chip with Wi-Fi 7. Prices have not been announced yet, so treat any price figures you see online as speculation for now.
What Apple is announcing on October 13, 2026
Mark Gurman at Bloomberg has described a three-device launch, and none of it looks like a routine spec bump. Here is what is reportedly on the table.
1. The Apple smart home hub: the brand-new product
This is the one people have been waiting on for years. The hub is said to feature a square 6-inch display, with versions you can place on a countertop or mount on a wall. Functionally, it is Apple’s answer to the kitchen counter and the hallway wall: you can control smart home devices, make video calls and intercom-style messages, play audio, and run photo slideshows from it.
Apple is also expected to pitch it as an information hub for the kitchen, where you can watch videos and look up recipes with voice commands. Under the hood, the hub is expected to carry an A18 chip or newer for Apple Intelligence, a FaceTime camera on the front, and microphones and speakers built into its connected base. Multiple color options are reportedly coming too.
Design-wise, Gurman has described an iMac G4-style look for the hub, which would be a deliberate nod to one of Apple’s most beloved desktop designs. If Apple gets the industrial design right, this could be the first smart display that people actually want visible in their living rooms rather than hidden on a shelf.
2. HomePod mini 2: same look, new brain
The second-generation HomePod mini is expected to look almost identical to the current model, apart from some new color options including pink and green. The real changes are internal: a newer chip, improved sound quality, Apple’s N1 chip with Wi-Fi 7 support, and a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip.
The most important upgrade is software. The new HomePod mini is expected to support Siri AI, Apple’s reimagined voice assistant built for the generative AI era. If Siri AI delivers on its promise of genuinely conversational, context-aware answers, the HomePod mini finally becomes the smart speaker it always had the hardware to be. For context on how AI assistants compare right now, see our breakdown of Claude vs ChatGPT for small business in 2026.
3. New Apple TV 4K: built for Apple Intelligence
The new Apple TV 4K keeps its existing design but gets meaningful internals: a new chip, likely the A19 or A19 Pro, and a jump to 12GB of RAM from the current 8GB, which is what enables Apple Intelligence and Siri AI support on the box. It also gets the Apple-designed N1 chip with Wi-Fi 7, plus an updated Siri Remote.
The RAM jump is the detail that matters. Twelve gigabytes signals that Apple wants the TV box to run on-device AI features, not just stream video. Expect smarter voice search, better recommendations, and deeper smart home control from the couch.
Siri AI is the real story
Every one of these devices reportedly runs Siri AI, the rebuilt assistant Apple has been rolling out across its platforms. This matters more than any single chip upgrade, because the smart home race is increasingly an AI race. Google has been pushing Gemini into the home with devices like the Nest line, and Amazon has been rebuilding Alexa around large language models.
Apple’s pitch, as with its other products, will likely be that its assistant handles more on-device, with stronger privacy. We covered Google’s latest model push in detail in Gemini 4 Argon explained, and the contrast between the two companies’ approaches is worth watching. If you own an iPhone already, the new Siri AI could make Apple’s home lineup the path of least resistance; Apple keeps tightening the loop between its phone and home products, as seen with the new iPhone Duo price, release date and specs launch.
Price and availability: what we still do not know
As of the October 1 reporting, Apple has not confirmed pricing or on-sale dates for any of the three products. The HomePod mini currently sells for $99, and Apple has historically kept the Apple TV 4K around $129 to $149, but those are existing prices, not announced prices for the new hardware. The smart home hub is a completely new category for Apple, so there is no baseline to project from.
Anyone quoting exact launch prices right now is guessing. The honest answer is that pricing and pre-order dates should become clear on or around the October 13 reveal. We will update this article when Apple confirms the details.
Should you wait to buy?
If you were about to buy a HomePod mini or an Apple TV 4K, waiting two weeks is the obvious move. The current models will likely drop in price once the new ones are announced, and the new models bring Wi-Fi 7 and Siri AI, which are the two features that will matter most over the next few years.
The smart home hub is the harder call. First-generation Apple products sometimes ship with rough edges, and the hub enters a category where Amazon and Google have years of experience. But if you are already deep in the Apple ecosystem with HomeKit devices, the hub’s wall-mount option and intercom features could make it the missing piece in your setup. Our advice: wait for the October 13 announcement, read the first hands-on reviews, and then decide.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Apple smart home hub coming out?
According to Bloomberg reporting cited by MacRumors on October 1, 2026, Apple plans to introduce the smart home hub on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, alongside a new HomePod mini and a new Apple TV 4K. Exact on-sale dates have not been confirmed yet.
How much will the Apple smart home hub cost?
Apple has not announced pricing. The hub is a brand-new product category, so there is no existing price to reference. Pricing details are expected at or after the October 13 reveal.
What can the Apple smart home hub do?
Based on reporting, it will control smart home devices, make video calls and intercom-style messages, play audio, display photo slideshows, watch videos, and look up recipes by voice. It has a square 6-inch display, a front FaceTime camera, and a connected base with microphones and speakers.
What is Siri AI?
Siri AI is Apple’s rebuilt voice assistant for the generative AI era, designed to be more conversational and context-aware than the original Siri, with Apple Intelligence features running across iPhone, home devices, and the new hub.
Does the new HomePod mini support Wi-Fi 7?
Yes, according to reporting, the second-generation HomePod mini includes Apple’s N1 chip with Wi-Fi 7 support, along with a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip and improved sound quality.
Is it worth upgrading from the current Apple TV 4K?
If your current box works fine, the main reasons to upgrade would be Siri AI support and the jump to 12GB of RAM for Apple Intelligence features. If you do not care about AI features on the TV, the current model will likely get cheaper after the new one is announced, making it a solid budget pick.