❯ Apple will unveil a smart home hub with a display on October 13, alongside a new HomePod mini

Apple's next big thingAccording to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple will launch new smart home products on October 13, centered on a home hub with a 6-inch screen. It will also release the first HomePod mini update since 2020 and its first new Apple TV since 2022, all built around the new Siri AI.

A shrunken iMac G4The hub is about as thick as an iPhone and has no battery, so it must be plugged in. The standard version recalls the 2002 iMac G4, with the screen on a half-dome base. It can tell household members apart by voice or face, and its software blends Apple Watch, Apple TV and iPad interface elements for controlling appliances, video calls and checking schedules.

A bet on SiriAmazon and Google have sold smart displays for years; Apple is entering now on the strength of the new Siri’s AI. It is also the first launch event since new CEO John Ternus took over and began pushing a faster product cadence. If the new Siri disappoints, the device will struggle to win over homes that already own rivals.

▪ SIGNALApple is years late to home screens, betting that AI makes the category genuinely useful for the first time rather than just a tablet in the kitchen.