Apple has another hardware event on the calendar, and the name is doing very little to hide where the company is looking next. Apple’s Senior Vice President of Marketing Greg Joswiak says the “Welcome Home” event will take place on October 13, putting the spotlight squarely on the company’s long-rumored smart home plans.
Three products look like the obvious candidates. Apple is expected to reveal a second-generation HomePod mini, a refreshed Apple TV 4K, and the long-awaited Apple home hub. It could be Apple’s biggest home push in years.
Apple’s home lineup could finally come together
The HomePod mini 2 is expected to keep the familiar design, but a leak datamined from Apple’s own software has already pointed to new green, blue, and sandy pink finishes. A newer chip and support for Siri AI are also rumored. The current HomePod mini dates back to 2020, so the internal upgrade is arguably the more important part.
Apple TV 4K could get a faster processor, 8GB of RAM, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and deeper Siri AI support. Apple’s upcoming home hub is the more ambitious product. Internally known as J490, it is reportedly a small square-screen device that can sit on a stand or mount to a wall, recognize users through its camera, and act as a central controller for smart home devices.
Apple may have another event waiting
October 13 may not be the end of Apple’s launch month. Another batch of hardware is rumored for the final week of October, potentially including the OLED MacBook Pro, also referred to as the MacBook Ultra, and a new iPad mini.
The timing fits new CEO John Ternus’ reported push to launch products more frequently instead of clustering everything into Apple’s traditional windows. Any major change to that cadence is expected to happen gradually, though, and these devices have already been in development for quite some time.
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