Charles Martin
A leaker with an excellent track record says that Apple is still on track to release its first dedicated smart home controller with an iPad-like screen in the second half of 2025. Here's what to expect from the home hub.
Mark Gurman's Power On newsletter on Sunday is the latest to chime in on a timeline for Apple's Home Hub. According to the newsletter, the new device, still expected in 2025, will be "the first step toward a bigger role in the smart home" and Apple's "most significant release of the year."
Previous reports from long-time Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo have suggested the home hub will enter mass production later this year. It is thought to include a high-quality speaker and camera for FaceTime calls, and could be sold as either wall-mountable or with a standalone base as desired.
Apple is thought to also be bringing out supplementary smart home accessories, such as dedicated indoor security cameras and a doorbell that can use Face ID, also according to the newsletter.
Rumors suggest previously said that the device will sport an A18 chip and at least 8GB of RAM, so as to run Apple Intelligence. The expected built-in camera and mic may also double as a security camera itself.
The device is expected to unify the company's push for a much-improved Siri home assistant, use of the Thread and Matter standards for control of smart home devices, and its existing Home software interface. It remains to be seen if Apple will include any iCloud storage offers for security footage.
Rounding up the rumors
The purpose of the device would be to leverage an improved Siri and on-screen widgets to act as a master control for smart home devices, similar to how the Home app on other Apple devices works now.
That said, the home hub is expected to work with nearly any third-party device that supports the Matter and Thread secure communication standards. It would leverage Apple Intelligence and Siri for automation and control, and possibly run on a dedicated "homeOS" with a focus on widget-based controls for individual devices.
Matter is a key standard that will allow the home hub to work with third-party devices.It's unclear if the new device will use the HomePod branding as suggested by earlier rumors, or move to an entirely new name, such as "Apple HomeHub." It would be Apple's entry into a market currently dominated by Amazon's Echo Show and Google's Nest Hub.
Commands could also be given to the device using Siri on existing Apple devices, from the iPhone to the HomePod, so that users who are away or in another part of the home could still control the hub. Apple is also rumored to be launching a new lineup of HomePod minis in the second half of 2025.
A price target for the home hub has not yet been suggested in the various rumors, apart from claims that the base unit would be significantly less expensive than an iPad.
-m.jpg)
Marko Zivkovic
Mike Wuerthele
Christine McKee
Amber Neely
Wesley Hilliard
William Gallagher
14 Comments
This contradicts an earlier rumor speculating a Home controller in the first half of 2025.
We have been over this before. If Apple is going to launch this platform, they need to have the requisite software infrastructure in place. Not just HomePod's OS but also iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, etc. It would be well documented with multiple APIs so third party developers would be able to access the environment.
We know that infrastructure does not exist at this point. Thus, if Apple unveils this infrastructure at WWDC 2025 in June, then it should considered an upcoming release. But until Apple unveils this software backbone, it's just pure speculation. And not just one paragraph in a press release. It would be several APIs, lots of documentation, source code examples, WWDC breakout sessions, etc. And if indeed it's some sort of hardware device, most likely there would be engineering samples/dev kits loaned out to the bigger players for development purposes (under NDA until Apple launches the thing).
Apple cannot just release some sort of Home Control controller or touchpad without adequate and robust software support.
Apple doesn't just upload a press release to PRNewswire and it becomes a done deal.
We will know in June if this is going to happen. If they announce nothing, you can mothball this rumor for another 17 months (until June 2026). It's rather silly to speculate on this now since there is little indication of any meaningful development.
Personally, I think Apple has more than it can handle with Apple Intelligence right now based on the way they have metered out new features. Any sort of home control integration project is likely several years away. Hell, Apple can't even offer synchronized Apple Intelligence feature parity on both iPhones and Macs right now (e.g., Genmoji on Sequoia is still Work In Progress).
It's important to stress that Apple can't just release it and say "Come and get it." It's not 2017 anymore when the HomePod was announced. Today's consumers have far higher expectations on what home control systems should do in 2025. These controllers must support a much larger variety of devices from various manufacturers today than 7-8 years ago. It's not just some smart speaker controlling your Nest thermostat or telling Alexa to add toothpaste to your next Amazon order.
The only thing...ONLY thing...that would interest me in this product would be if it comes with an ethernet jack and functions as an Airport. All the better if it offers a VPN. I'm guessing it won't, so it is not for me. YMMV, and if you want one, help yourself. I've no use for such a thing.