In the latest beta of tvOS 18.4, there are new hints of Apple's work on a smart home hub accessory that's rumored to be coming as soon as this year. MacRumors found that Apple has added ChatKit framework to the tvOS code, which is curious as there is no Messages app available on the Apple TV or the HomePod.
The ChatKit framework added to tvOS 18.4 includes reactions and notifications for tapback reactions added to iMessages, like "[person] disliked this" or [person] reacted with [emoji]," which would not be applicable to Apple's current devices that run tvOS.
Both the Apple TV and the HomePod are built on tvOS, and the upcoming smart home hub will be as well. While the Apple TV and HomePod would not work with the ChatKit code features added to tvOS 18.4, Apple's home accessory likely will.
The smart home "command center" that Apple is developing is expected to have built-in Apple apps, and it's possible that one of those apps will include Messages.
It is worth noting that there is a shared codebase for tvOS and iOS, so this addition could mean nothing, but these ChatKit features were already included in iOS and have just been added to tvOS with the tvOS 18.4 beta.
Apple's upcoming device will serve as a central hub for smart home management, but it will also support video calls, viewing photos, browsing the web, listening to music, getting news, and more. It is said to look something like an iPad with an all-display design, but it will be smaller, coming in at only six inches square.
Users will likely be able to set it on a table or mount it on a wall, and the expectation is that there would be multiples throughout the house. It will include some sensors for features like sensing the temperature or detecting nearby people.
There is no concrete word on when Apple's smart home hub will launch, but it could come in the second or third quarter of 2025.
