Apple's 2026 Smart Home Lineup: New Apple TV, HomePod, and Home Hub - MacRumors
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Apple's 2026 Smart Home Lineup: New Apple TV, HomePod, and Home Hub

Now that Siri AI is ready to launch in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 Golden Gate, Apple can finally introduce new smart home products built to work with the smarter version of ‌Siri‌.


Apple has multiple new home devices in development, several of which are rumored to launch before the end of the year. We're waiting on a new version of the Apple TV 4K, a smart home hub, a new HomePod, and a new HomePod mini.

Home Hub

Similar to an iPad in design, but with a 7-inch square display. There will be a wall mount option or a speaker base option. The speaker base has a hemispherical dome, similar to the base of the iMac G4. The device will have a built-in camera for video calls, facial recognition, and presence detection. It'll run apps like Safari, Calendar, Photos, and Home, and it will integrate with ‌Siri‌ AI. Rumors suggest it could be priced around $350.

Apple TV 4K

The next ‌Apple TV‌ 4K will have the same form factor as the current model, but it's expected to have an A17 Pro chip or better that supports Apple Intelligence and ‌Siri‌ AI. There are no ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features on the ‌Apple TV‌ right now, so a more powerful chip will bring quite a few changes. It could also get more RAM and Apple's N1 networking chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread.

HomePods

Apple is expected to refresh both the ‌HomePod‌ and the ‌HomePod mini‌, but we're not expecting new form factors.

The speakers will get new chips that are faster and could support ‌Siri‌ AI via the iPhone like the Apple Watch. A faster processor could bring improvements in sound quality, and an upgraded Ultra Wideband chip could bring connectivity improvements and new features.

The ‌HomePod mini‌ is expected to get new colors.

Cameras

Apple is designing its own security camera, and it could launch as soon as this year. HomeKit Secure Video cameras are getting several upgrades in ‌iOS 27‌, including 4K video recording, AI summaries, and the option to stitch video from different cameras together for tracking a single event across rooms.

All of these features would be ideal for an Apple-created camera, so it's not hard to imagine the update is meant for Apple hardware. A 2026 launch isn't a sure thing for the camera, and it could come at a later time.

The ‌Apple Intelligence‌ Home app features require an ‌Apple TV‌ or ‌HomePod‌ to serve as a hub, and Apple's upcoming home hub will likely also serve as a hub for accessories like cameras.

Launch Timing

With so many home devices planned for the end of the year, we could get them alongside the new iPhone models at Apple's September event, or Apple could do a second home-centric event around the October timeframe. Apple often holds two fall events. The second event is typically for iPads or Macs, but there's no reason it couldn't be home products this year.

So far, we haven't heard concrete rumors on when Apple will debut its smart home devices, but as we get closer to fall, we should hear more.

Related Roundups: Apple TV, HomePod

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Top Rated Comments

8 weeks ago

I'm skeptical Apple is going to launch security cameras. Everyone who wants cameras has them and people who have invested in a brand like Eufy/UniFi aren't going to dump their system to buy Apple cameras. The market is already flooded with cameras and it doesn't really fit into their current product ecosystem.
I do not agree at all. Speaking as someone who just helped my parents purchase a new security camera system literally last month, it is an absolute mess out there.

There are some cameras that are completely home compatible through and through, you have others that are somewhat home compatible but still require either an app download or a subscription service, you have some that require some type of plug-in or additional tweaking to become home compatible, and of course there are those that are not home kit compatible at all.
And then on top of all of this, you have the massive company which is ring, which has tons of name recognition but is a privacy disaster.

There is absolutely room for Apple to come in and do what they did with AirPods back in 2016, create a product that is just dead simple to use, dead simple to set up, and dead simple to understand.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TFrank2 Avatar
8 weeks ago
One of these days we're going to see an actual announcement post and not a "rumored to launch on X date" post 🤣
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
8 weeks ago

I do not agree at all. Speaking as someone who just helped my parents purchase a new security camera system literally last month, it is an absolute mess out there.

There are some cameras that are completely home compatible through and through, you have others that are somewhat home compatible but still require either an app download or a subscription service, you have some that require some type of plug-in or additional tweaking to become home compatible, and of course there are those that are not home kit compatible at all.
And then on top of all of this, you have the massive company which is ring, which has tons of name recognition but is a privacy disaster.

There is absolutely room for Apple to come in and do what they did with AirPods back in 2016, create a product that is just dead simple to use, dead simple to set up, and dead simple to understand.
Agreed. I would very much like a security camera that:

- is usable without a subscription, or at least works with my existing iCloud sub
- doesn't come from some shady foreign company doing anyone knows what with the data
- plugs right in and works with my existing tech

While I haven't been delighted lately with either Apple's software quality or its leadership, I still would trust a camera from them more than the existing options, and I wouldn't have a problem paying more for it, either. I'd take a reliable $99 Apple camera over a dodgy $25 one from some Amazon company any day.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BMox81 Avatar
8 weeks ago
Ah another one of these threads. It’s been a while….
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rchaser Avatar
8 weeks ago
The problem with Apple’s AI strategy is that It doesn’t leave the consumer much choice. Yes, I know I can “turn it off”, but no one really knows FULLY what that means.

Maybe I don’t want AI integration into all of my devices.

This sentiment can come off as a “fear of the future” or a “fear of change”…it’s not that. It IS fear of malicious intrusion and perverse incentives. Now more than ever, CE companies come off as predatory MORE THAN personal electronics manufacturers.

The game has changed.

Not a fun predicament…
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
8 weeks ago
I've had a smart home for a couple of decades, but everything now is made for surveillance. Everything phones home with no control for the user. No chance I'll adopt any new smart devices unless they operate locally.

That means no Apple smart home devices.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)