Gurman Reports Apple Is Launching New ‘Smart Home’ Products on October 13

The useful part

13, marking a critical product expansion for the company under new Chief Executive Officer John Ternus. At the center of the strategy is a smart-home hub code-named J490, according to people familiar with the matter. Apple also plans to announce the first update to the HomePod mini since that device's 2020 debut and its first new TV set-top box since 2022.

How it works

• Users can manually tilt the display forward or backward.
• [...] Because the device is intended to remain stationary, it has a single FaceTime camera on the front and no rear camera.
• The hub is about as thick as an iPhone, and its display is surrounded by a quarter-inch, black bezel reminiscent of older iPads.
• The device lacks a battery, so it has to be plugged in at all times, and there are no volume or power buttons.
• The product comes in Apple's standard gray aluminum finish and includes a USB-C port for power.

What to take from it

[...] The home hub will take the form of a roughly 6-inch square display, with versions that can be mounted on a wall or placed on a countertop, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the products haven't been announced. The screen sits above a metal, round base with multiple rings of perforated speaker holes and connects to it through a polished metal arm. As is so often the case, Gurman seems to know many details about the device, but yet doesn't know its name, or price.

Details worth keeping

Mark Gurman, reporting for Bloomberg (gift link): plans to make its long-delayed push into the smart-home market on Oct. The product has microphones and speakers in its connected base.