Siri is Also Holding Back Apple’s Smart Home Hub
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Rumors of an Apple home hub that could rival Google’s Nest and Amazon’s Echo have been circulating for years. A few months ago, those finally started solidifying into something that sounded like it would happen soon. However, recent developments suggest we may have to wait a bit longer for Apple’s home control center to materialize.
We heard reports of a “giant iPad” for the home and a HomePod with a screen as far back as 2021, which is likely when Apple started seriously planning such a device. Even so, the more reliable reports said the work was very preliminary and a product wouldn’t be ready for a few years.
Rumors began heating up last year that the arrival of such a device was getting closer. In July, code references to a new ‘Home Accessory’ hinted at something that wasn’t a HomePod or an Apple TV, and more signs of a new homeOS operating system appeared in September. By November, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said a wall-mounted smart Home Hub could arrive as early as March.
According to several reports, the device is expected to feature a seven-inch display with a thick bezel and be designed to be mounted on a wall or propped up on a tabletop. It will run HomeOS, have a rechargeable battery, and have a built-in camera for video apps like FaceTime. It will also run Apple apps like Calendar, Reminders, and Notes and support Apple Intelligence.
While March isn’t over yet, it already looks like that prediction may have been premature. Or, at the very least, Apple may have been shooting for early 2025 in its most optimistic estimates. It’s now a safe bet that this won’t come until later this year — at the very earliest.
Gurman already revised that estimate in mid-February after reports that Apple was having serious trouble smartening up Siri into the more powerful context-aware voice assistant it promised at last year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).
By all reports, the home hub hardware is nearly ready to go, but it lacks the necessary brains to meet Apple’s objectives. The new home hub was expected to set itself apart by relying on Apple Intelligence, since it would be primarily interacted with using voice commands. The problem is that if Siri isn’t ready to handle more sophisticated requests on the iPhone, then putting it on a home hub would be a disaster.
That’s even more true following Amazon’s Alexa+ announcement last month, which promises to significantly improve its entire Echo lineup. Although it has yet to roll out beyond an early preview, and Amazon will prioritize Echo Show owners over its smart speakers, the company has pulled well ahead of Apple in this area.
Gurman initially believed that Siri’s new capabilities would merely be pushed off to iOS 18.5, which suggested there was still hope for Apple’s home hub to arrive in the next few months. However, Apple candidly admitted last week that we won’t see this until at least iOS 19 — and possibly not in the first few releases. The whole thing could end up not happening until 2026.
That doesn’t mean the home hub isn’t still on track, but it’s going to take Apple a bit longer to perfect it. In this week’s Power on newsletter, Gurman said that select Apple employees are already testing the unit in their own homes to provide feedback. That’s good news as it will give Apple more time to refine the process, but it’s still unclear where Siri stands in all this.
Ultimately, this comes down to Apple taking its time to get things right. The last thing the company needs to do is risk pushing out a half-baked product, so hopefully by the time the home hub arrives, it will be worth the wait.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]
