Apple plans to unveil a dedicated smart-home display on October 13 alongside a new HomePod mini and Apple TV, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported, citing people familiar with the company’s plans.
Code-named J490, the hub reportedly has a roughly 6-inch square display and will come in countertop and wall-mounted versions. The tabletop model uses a round speaker base, while the wall-mounted version has a flatter base beneath the screen.
Bloomberg says the device can identify household members through voice or facial recognition and show personalized messages, calendar appointments, notes, contacts, and app layouts.
A visitor mode hides personal information, while an iPhone can provide secondary authentication when needed.
The hub is also designed to control connected products such as thermostats and door locks, handle FaceTime calls, play music, display iCloud photos, and work as an intercom. It has a single front-facing camera, no rear camera, and must remain connected to power.
The new HomePod mini and Apple TV will retain their existing designs but use faster processors to support Apple’s new Siri AI assistant, according to Bloomberg. The HomePod mini is expected in green, pink, blue, white, and black.
Those details line up with images found in Apple’s code that CTRL+PH reported on September 28. The images showed a second-generation HomePod mini with the same spherical design in those five colors and a fourth-generation Apple TV 4K with no visible exterior changes.
Separate code findings pointed to an A19-generation chip for the Apple TV and Siri AI support in HomePod Software 27, although Apple has not confirmed which HomePod models will support it.
The HomePod mini update would be the first since the speaker debuted in 2020, while the Apple TV would receive its first hardware refresh since 2022.
Apple’s Philippine online store currently sells Apple TV 4K from PHP 14,490 but does not list HomePod hardware.
OLED MacBook Pro redesign could be significantly lighter
Apple’s upcoming OLED MacBook Pro models could be significantly lighter than the current versions as part of their first major redesign in years, Gurman separately reported on October 4.
Apple has reportedly reengineered the laptops’ interiors by miniaturizing parts and rearranging components to reduce their weight.
For comparison, Apple’s current 14-inch MacBook Pro weighs between 1.60kg and 1.62kg with M5 Pro or M5 Max, while the 16-inch model weighs between 2.14kg and 2.15kg.
The redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch models are expected to use OLED touchscreens and replace the display notch with a Dynamic Island-style cutout. macOS Golden Gate is reportedly being updated to support touch input and the Dynamic Island, with the laptops currently being tested on macOS 27.2.
The machines have also previously been reported to use a thinner design. Gurman expects them to arrive by November, although Apple has not announced the new MacBook Pro models or confirmed their specifications and release timing.