Apple Smart Home Display Still Coming This Year
Apple remains on track to launch its first smart home device with a screen before the end of the year, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Gurman reiterated that the device will use facial recognition to determine who is standing in front of it and serve up personalized content for that individual user. The description lines up with code found in macOS Tahoe 26.7 earlier this week, which revealed that the smart home hub will support multiple user profiles and use "ambient sensing" to verify identity. Apple is also readying a new Apple TV and an updated HomePod mini as part of the same renewed push into the home, according to Gurman.
Apple's smart home hub has been rumored for years. It is rumored to feature a square, seven-inch display with a front-facing camera, running an operating system closer to tvOS than iOS, with a home screen built around quick-access widgets. Pricing is expected to land somewhere around $350.
Apple originally intended to release the device in spring 2025, then targeted spring 2026, before pushing it back to September because Siri AI was not ready. Gurman reported over the weekend that Apple is rearranging sections of its retail stores to accommodate new smart home products.
Popular Stories
Apple today seeded the fifth beta of tvOS 27 to developers for testing purposes, with the update coming two weeks after Apple released the fourth beta.
The beta can be downloaded and installed through the Settings app on the Apple TV. A free developer account is required.
tvOS 27 has few new features compared to the other 27 software updates, but it does add a redesigned Podcasts app,...
Apple today released the third public betas of tvOS 27 and watchOS 27, giving Apple TV and Apple Watch users a chance to try the new software ahead of its fall launch. There's also a new HomePod Software 27 beta for the HomePod and HomePod mini.
You can sign up for Apple's public beta testing program on the beta website, and then download the updates through the Settings app on each device.
...
Apple today released tvOS 26.6, the sixth update to the tvOS operating system that came out last fall. tvOS 26.6 is available for the Apple TV 4K, and it comes two months after Apple released tvOS 26.5.
tvOS 26.6 can be downloaded using the Settings app on Apple TV. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the new software. Apple TV owners who have automatic ...
