Apple reportedly plans to unveil an all-new smart home hub as part of the "Welcome home" product launch it announced for Tuesday, October 13.


Our image above is just a rough concept based on rumored design details, so be prepared for the device's actual appearance to be different.

The device will likely be unveiled in a press release shared on the Apple Newsroom website at around 9 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, as that is when Apple's private "Welcome home" experience in New York begins. At the experience, invited reporters and content creators will likely receive hands-on time with the home hub.

The hub is said to be designed for managing smart home accessories in the Apple Home app, home security monitoring, digital photo galleries, calendar appointments, music playback, FaceTime video calls, and more. As a user approaches the hub, or moves away from it, the size of the interface elements will reportedly adjust.

The device will be ideal for the kitchen, bedroom, and living room, and it will reportedly have multi-user support for families.

The hub reportedly has a 6-inch square display, and an A18 chip or newer for Apple Intelligence, with Siri AI expected to be a tentpole feature. A new operating system — potentially named "homeOS" — will feature clock faces, widgets, and more. There will be a tabletop version of the hub with a speaker base, plus a wall-mounted version.

Some of the preinstalled Apple apps that will apparently be available on the new platform include Calendar, Camera, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Apple News, Reminders, Notes, and the new Siri app with Siri AI conversation history. Do not expect third-party apps at launch, though, as the device reportedly lacks an App Store.

The device is often referred to as a "HomePad" in rumors because of expectations that it will be sort of a HomePod-iPad hybrid, but perhaps Apple will opt for a straightforward "Apple Home" name, or perhaps it will go with "HomeView" based on trademark filings that are potentially linked to the company. We will soon find out.
This article, "Apple's All-New Home Hub Will Be Revealed October 13: What to Expect" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple reportedly plans to unveil a new HomePod mini as part of the "Welcome home" experience it announced for Tuesday, October 13. We expect the new HomePod mini to be announced in a press release shared on the Apple Newsroom website at around 9 a.m. Eastern Time on that day, and hands-on photos and videos should surface shortly afterwards.


The second-generation HomePod mini is rumored to feature a newer chip that enables Siri AI support (at least with a nearby iPhone), along with improved sound quality, Apple's N1 chip with Wi-Fi 7 support, a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, and new color options, including pink and green. No major design changes are expected.

Coincidentally, the original HomePod mini also debuted on October 13 back in 2020, so there has been a six-year wait for a new model. The current HomePod mini is powered by the S5 chip that debuted in the Apple Watch Series 5 in 2019.

In June, the HomePod mini received a price increase. In the U.S., it now costs $129, up from $99.
This article, "Apple Announcing HomePod Mini 2 Next Week With These New Features" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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After a nearly four-year wait, a new Apple TV is finally expected to be announced as part of Apple's "Welcome home" launch on Tuesday, October 13.


We expect the new Apple TV to be announced in a press release shared on the Apple Newsroom website on Tuesday, and then selected reporters and content creators invited to Apple's "Welcome home" experience in New York that day will likely share hands-on photos and videos of the device. The experience begins at 9 a.m. Eastern Time.

The fourth-generation Apple TV 4K is rumored to be equipped with an A19 or A19 Pro chip. This chip upgrade would result in the Apple TV having 8GB to 12GB of RAM, and this will reportedly enable Siri AI support on the device. The current Apple TV, announced in October 2022, has an A15 Bionic chip and 4GB of RAM.

The new model is also expected to be equipped with Apple's N1 chip with support for Wi-Fi 7, which would enable faster speeds and lower latency compared to the current Apple TV's Wi-Fi 6, when the device is used with a Wi-Fi 7 router. The N1 chip also supports Bluetooth 6.0, whereas the current Apple TV supports Bluetooth 5.0.

A leaked image of the new Apple TV did not reveal any external design changes compared to the current model. However, the accompanying Siri Remote is expected to be revised in some way, as a new version was referenced in Apple's software code.

In June, the Apple TV 4K received a price increase amid surging memory chip costs. In the U.S., for example, the device now starts at $199, up from $129.
This article, "A New Apple TV 4K is Finally Coming on Tuesday" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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