Apple HomeView Smart Hub to Ship in Mid-November Per Gurman

Apple's long-rumored smart home hub will be called HomeView and will ship around mid-November, roughly a month after its unveiling at an October 13 'Welcome Home' event, MacRumors reported citing Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

The A18-powered device has a 6-inch square screen, a FaceTime camera, and microphones and speakers in a connected base. Two form factors are planned: a countertop model with a metal speaker base in space gray, silver, starlight and pink, and a wall-mounted version with a flat square base in space gray and silver only. HomeView 'will primarily use voice as the input method, with Siri AI as the centerpiece of the user experience,' Gurman wrote in his Power On newsletter, with users viewing content from across the room. The hub will run Apple apps and not have an App Store, though 9to5Mac reported users may be able to project third-party app widgets from a nearby iPhone.

The hub 'will follow the launch of the new Apple TV 4K and new HomePod mini models,' per Gurman. Both refreshed products are expected to ship October 30, roughly two weeks ahead of HomeView itself.

Apple could also unveil a range of LG-branded smart home devices developed in collaboration with the company, including a doorbell, smart lock and thermostat, according to the reporting. HomeView lands in a stretch where Apple's AI direction has shifted visibly, including last week's acqui-hire of Huxe, an audio app built by the former NotebookLM team.