Apple Accelerates Smart Home Push with Three New Products Centered on Siri AI
Taylor Wilson
Apple is preparing to launch a home hub, a new Apple TV, and a new HomePod mini — all built around an upgraded Siri AI, with the earliest arrivals expected this fall — marking the company's biggest smart-home bet in years.
What are the three products?
The first is a home hub with a roughly 7-inch square touchscreen that recognizes faces and personalizes the interface automatically.
The second is a new Apple TV set-top box. It looks much like the current model; the key upgrade is a faster processor to run Siri AI.
The third is a new HomePod mini, also centered on a processor upgrade. Apple has already raised prices for the Apple TV and HomePod mini to $199 and $129, respectively.
What makes the home hub stand out?
The headline feature is facial recognition: the device detects who is standing in front of the screen, gauges their distance, then adjusts the display in real time — switching to that person's calendar, notes, and preferred font size.
This means → Apple wants this screen to be a "dashboard that knows you," not just another speaker or media player.
The hub also supports FaceTime video calls, home-security monitoring, and unified control of smart locks, lights, and appliances. It comes in two versions: one sits on a desk atop a half-sphere base (shaped like a halved HomePod mini), the other mounts on a wall via magnets. Apple envisions users placing multiple units around the home.
What exactly is new about Siri AI?
The upgraded assistant is rebranded as "Siri AI." It can pull up personal data and control apps with more precise voice commands.
In plain terms = the old Siri mostly set timers and checked the weather. The new version aims to chain actions across your calendar, notes, and home devices in a single spoken request.
All three products depend on Siri AI being ready — if the assistant isn't finished, the hardware won't ship. Apple also plans a companion iPhone interface for setup and management.
Why has this taken so long?
Apple began work on all three devices in 2024, originally planning to ship them alongside the upgraded Siri. But engineering and quality problems pushed the Siri launch back repeatedly — from spring 2025 to fall 2025, then to spring 2026.
This reflects how much harder it is to upgrade a voice assistant than to iterate on hardware — Apple refused to ship devices before the core AI met its bar.
People familiar with the plans say a further delay remains possible, though unlikely.
Can Apple catch up in smart home?
Apple has been playing catch-up for years. The HomePod has sold in limited numbers since its 2018 debut, and the Apple TV has been on the market for nearly two decades — neither became a meaningful revenue driver.
The three new products put Apple in direct competition with Amazon's Echo Show and Google's Nest Hub — rivals that have dominated living rooms and kitchens for years.
Beyond these three devices, Apple is planning at least two follow-ups: a premium hub with a robotic arm that rotates a larger 9-inch screen, and a home-security camera system aimed squarely at Amazon's Ring. This means → Apple is building smart home as a full product line, not just testing the water with one or two gadgets.
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