Apple is planning to make a huge splash into the smart home hardware market. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has just leaked details about the upcoming home hub, and it sounds great.
An AI-Powered, Mountable Wall Tablet
The report says that the wall-mounted display could arrive as early as March 2025 and work with HomeKit, Apple’s smart home platform.
Gurman offered some details about what the display looks like:
The device has a roughly 6-inch screen and looks like a square iPad. It’s about the size of two iPhones side by side, with a thick edge around the display. There’s also a camera at the top front, a rechargeable built-in battery and internal speakers. Apple plans to offer it in silver and black options.
As far as an operating system, the interface will apparently blend watchOS that powers the Apple Watch and the iPhone Standby mode. The OS will include a customizable home screen to add widgets or to highlight smart home controls. It should also be able to act a slideshow display for images.
Along with being able to control compatible devices, the display will also focus on security with alerts and camera footage.
Apple is positioning the tablet to be used mostly by voice with Siri and Apple Intelligence. There won’t be any App Store access, at least for now. But the tablet will offer a number of Apple apps including Notes, Calendar, and FaceTime.
The company will reportedly offer a number of attachments for the home hub, like a base with speakers that can be placed in the kitchen or nightstand.
While the report provided a wealth of information about the home hub, one major detail was missing—a reported price. Gurman only said that the device will be around the cost of competitor’s products. For comparison, the Echo Show 8 is $149.99 while the much more similar Echo Hub is $179.99.
Can the Upcoming Device Make Waves for Apple, Smart Home Fans?
Rumors have persisted for years that Apple wanted to enter into the smart home hardware market. But those reports will apparently turn into reality next year.
After price, the real question for Apple is if the company can make the home hub different enough from an iPhone or iPad to draw in potential buyers. Apple Intelligence might be able to do just that.
While the first features that arrived in October, like Writing Tools and Notification Summaries, were somewhat underwhelming, Apple could have much more up its sleeve for the home.
