Apple to Unveil Three Smart Home Devices October 13, Bloomberg Says

Key Points

1. Apple plans a smart display hub, new HomePod mini and Apple TV on October 13.
2. It would be the first major hardware push under CEO John Ternus, who took over September 1.
3. The launch tests whether Apple can close its gap with Amazon and Google at home.

The latest:

Three new smart home devices are scheduled for an October 13 unveiling, led by a 6-inch square touchscreen hub built around facial recognition, Bloomberg News reported. All three run upgraded processors designed to handle on-device AI models behind Apple’s rebuilt Siri. The event would be the first significant hardware launch since John Ternus became chief executive on September 1, 2026.

Details:

• The hub: The centerpiece is a smart display hub known internally as J490, a 6-inch square touchscreen offered in countertop and wall-mount versions, according to Bloomberg. It is Apple’s most direct entry yet into a display category where it has had no comparable product.
• How it works: Bloomberg reported the hub uses facial recognition to identify whoever approaches it, then automatically surfaces that person’s contacts, messages, calendar appointments, notes and preferred app layout. Profiles switch dynamically as different household members walk up to the screen.
• Privacy feature: A visitor mode is designed to limit what the device shows when guests are present, per Bloomberg. Apple has not detailed how the facial data is stored or processed, and no pricing has been disclosed for any of the three products.
• HomePod mini: A refreshed HomePod mini is part of the lineup, the first update to the smart speaker since 2020, Bloomberg reported. That leaves a six-year gap between generations of a product Apple positioned as its entry-level smart home device.
• Apple TV: A new Apple TV set-top box is also planned, the first new model since 2022. Bloomberg did not report a separate feature set for the box beyond the shared processor upgrade tied to Apple’s AI work.
• The AI layer: All three devices carry upgraded processors to support on-device AI models powering Apple’s revamped Siri, according to Bloomberg. The company has framed the assistant overhaul as a multi-year effort to catch up with rivals in artificial intelligence.
• Competitive gap: Apple has trailed Amazon and Google in smart displays and home hubs, despite treating the connected home as a strategically important category. The October lineup is its broadest simultaneous attempt to close that distance.
• Leadership timing: Ternus became CEO on September 1, 2026. A three-product launch six weeks into the job puts an early marker on how his tenure intends to compete in hardware categories Apple has under-served.

Background:

Apple’s smart home range has centred on the HomePod line and Apple TV, without a dedicated display product. Rivals built their positions in the category around screen-equipped assistants years earlier.

Between the lines:

The pattern in Bloomberg’s account is Apple bundling its Siri rebuild into hardware rather than software updates alone: a shared processor upgrade across all three devices makes the assistant’s performance dependent on buying new units. Facial recognition that switches profiles on approach is also the clearest consumer-facing test yet of whether on-device AI can justify a category Apple entered late.

What’s next

The October 13 date is the first checkpoint: whether Apple confirms the event, and whether pricing, availability and the facial recognition data handling are disclosed at launch rather than left to later documentation.