Apple’s rumored smart home hub could launch in 2025 featuring a 7-inch screen
Apple is expected to release a smart hub for the connected home later this year, likely in the fall, and the accessory should be equipped with a seven-inch display.
Mark Gurman wrote in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter for Bloomberg that the rumored Apple home hub is basically be a smart display that’s smaller than iPad and more affordable. You’ll be able to use apps on it like Calendar, FaceTime and more, as well as control and manage your connected home.
The device will be “the first step toward a bigger role in the smart home,” filing as Apple’s “most significant release of the year.” It could work as a security camera itself, and Apple might develop companion accessories like a Face ID-equipped doorbell and dedicated indoor security cameras, according to the newsletter.
Rumor: Apple smart home hub may have a 7-inch screen
Earlier, Gurman said an Apple home hub would provide a home screen with customizable widgets. It would apparently be able to display footage from the smart cameras in your house. He predicted the hub would have a built-in FaceTime camera for video calls. Apple might even offer a tabletop base with a speaker as a companion accessory to which the hub could be attached.
It’s unclear whether Gurman is referring to a smart display of sorts that Apple is rumored to have been developing or a HomePod with a built-in screen. It looks like they are the same product, but it’s possible that Apple abandoned the idea of a HomePod with a screen in favor of a more traditional smart display that could be hung on the wall, used in the kitchen or similar.
Reliable Apple analysts Ming-Chi Kuo says a future HomePod might sport a display between six and even inches diagonally. Such a speaker would run Apple’s A18 chip, which powers the iPhone 16 lineup, and use Apple Intelligence, he said on Medium.
Apple’s renewed smart home push
Gurman previously said that Apple was developing a home accessory powered by the Apple TV operating system that should serve as a smart hub for using FaceTime and managing and controlling home appliances. The company is also believed to be working on another home accessory, a tabletop device with a robotic arm and a display said to swivel and rotate to follow the user around the room. Apple Intelligence should play a central role in both of these rumored accessories.
Another device could combine Apple TV and HomePod functionalities into a smart soundbar with audio and video streaming. Gurman also called for an iPad docking accessory that could be placed on a kitchen counter, nightstand, etc.
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