Apple Home Hub With Siri AI in Employee Testing, Could Debut in October [Gurman]

Apple’s long-awaited smart home hub is now being widely tested in employees’ homes and could be introduced as early as next month, according to latest newsletter from Mark Gurman.

Known internally as J490, the device is expected to serve as a hub for the home, bringing together connected-device controls, video calls, intercom capabilities and media alongside Apple services and apps. It will feature a new operating system built around Siri AI and sync with an iPhone for setup and other tasks.

The roughly square display is said to come in versions that either sit on a stand, resembling a HomePod mini cut in half, or attach to a wall. The device is described as most similar to an Amazon Echo Show, but with a considerably smaller screen. Its interface reportedly combines elements of iOS, tvOS and watchOS, with its own home screen, widgets and clock faces.

A front-facing camera will use facial recognition to identify who is looking at the display and personalize what appears, including apps, notes, calendar appointments, news, music and podcasts. Gurman notes that Apple is able to provide this recognition without a standard Face ID-level depth sensor.

Siri AI is expected to be central to the experience. Users will reportedly be able to search information across their devices and accounts, find a particular photo, play a song or podcast someone previously sent them, and carry out more precise tasks in apps including Notes, Reminders and Calendar.

Apple had planned to debut the device as far back as 2024 but couldn’t launch it until Siri’s new AI capabilities were ready. Those capabilities finally arrived this month with Siri AI in iOS 27.

The timing follows earlier reports that the home hub hardware was already finished while Apple waited for Siri AI, alongside refreshed Apple TV and HomePod mini models. Apple has also reportedly been reworking its retail stores ahead of the new home device’s arrival.

The device also fits into a broader strategy outlined by John Ternus during his first keynote as CEO. Ternus described the iPhone as an “intelligent personal hub” for the AI era, and Gurman says his presentation was convincing enough that many inside Apple thought he was about to introduce the company’s upcoming home hub.