After finally making Siri a half-decent assistant in this year's round of major OS updates, it looks like the smart home is going to Apple's big area of focus in the coming months. Reliable Apple insider Mark Gurman revealed earlier this week that the company's long-awaited home hub could arrive later in October, and in the debut episode of his new Power On podcast, he predicted that a security camera may follow. As well as the home hub device, which will be the centrepiece of the whole Siri-led smart home push, Gurman claims that Apple will also launch more powerful versions of the HomePod mini and Apple TV, which will both support the new Siri AI ecosystem. But the camera is arguably more interesting, as much for what it can't do as what it can. The Bloomberg reporter says the camera device is a companion product to Apple's also as-yet unannounced smart home display, which the company is referring to internally as J490.

Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Creator Playbook Mashable Selects In My Bag Look Up Say More AI at School Safety Net Versus Trending Now Back to School Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age All Series New Apple smart home devices will reportedly launch on Oct. 13. Timothy Beck Werth is the Tech Editor at Mashable, where he leads coverage and assignments for the Tech and Shopping verticals. Tim has over 15 years of experience as a journalist and editor, and he has particular experience covering and testing consumer technology, smart home gadgets, and men's grooming and style products. Previously, he was the Managing Editor and then Site Director of SPY.com, a men's product review and lifestyle website. As a writer for GQ, he covered everything from bull-riding competitions to the best Legos for adults, and he's also contributed to publications such as The Daily Beast, Gear Patrol, and The Awl. Apple's new CEO John Ternus debuted a new generation of iPhones in September, and he's reportedly gearing up for the company's next big launch under his leadership.

Apple's long-awaited Home Hub will reportedly arrive on October 13th, according to Bloomberg's reliable Apple whisperer Mark Gurman. The Echo Show-like device, rumored for a couple of years, will be at the center of Apple's expansion into smart home technology and be a key launch for Apple's newly minted CEO, John Ternus. Gurman predicted that a home hub device with a display, camera and microphone was nearly ready, and such a device recently appeared in macOS Tahoe 27.6 under the code-name J490 as well. The home hub will supposedly be in the form of a 6-inch square display, with both countertop and wall-mounted versions, according to Gurman's sources, who asked not to be identified. It may resemble the 2002 iMac, the one with a pivoting display that sat on a half-sphere base.

A smart display from Apple that would compete with Amazon's Echo Show or Google's Nest Hub has been rumored since 2022, but may finally launch soon. Dubbed J490 inside Apple, the device is currently being widely tested in employees' homes ahead of a release, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported last night. The new device would reportedly either sit on a stand like a sliced-in-half HomePod Mini or attach to a wall. It will look like an Echo Show with a smaller display and offer pervasive Wi-Fi connectivity, an advanced display, a camera, microphones and an interface that looks "like a mashup of iOS, tvOS and watchOS," Gurman wrote. More controversially, it would feature facial recognition through the camera systems to identify who is looking at the screen and personalize the contents "including apps, notes, calendar appointments, news, music and podcasts," according to the report.

Creator Playbook Look Up Back to School Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Mashable Selects Say More Trending Now Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age Switch Off Mashable Voices Safety Net Versus All Series Alex Perry is a tech reporter at Mashable who primarily covers video games and consumer tech. Alex has spent most of the last decade reviewing games, smartphones, headphones, and laptops, and he doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon. He is also a Pisces, a cat lover, and a Kansas City sports fan. You can almost taste it. In a handful of hours, Apple is holding its big annual September event .

Look Up Trending Now Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age Creator Playbook Say More Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Switch Off Mashable Voices Mashable Selects Safety Net Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List All Series The latest iPhone Ultra rumors and leaks: Everything we know about Apple's first foldable Will its first foldable phone be its next big hit? Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car. His ultimate goal is to know something about everything. Alex Perry is a tech reporter at Mashable who primarily covers video games and consumer tech. Alex has spent most of the last decade reviewing games, smartphones, headphones, and laptops, and he doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon.

Creator Playbook Trending Now Say More Look Up Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Switch Off Mashable Voices Mashable Selects Safety Net Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List In My Bag All Series We expect Apple to announce the device next week. Alex Perry is a tech reporter at Mashable who primarily covers video games and consumer tech. Alex has spent most of the last decade reviewing games, smartphones, headphones, and laptops, and he doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon. He is also a Pisces, a cat lover, and a Kansas City sports fan. All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers.

Mashable Voices Look Up Trending Now Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Say More Mashable Selects Safety Net Creator Hub Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Switch Off In My Bag All Series The latest iPhone Ultra rumors and leaks: Everything we know about Apple's first foldable Will its first foldable phone be its next big hit? Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car. His ultimate goal is to know something about everything. Alex Perry is a tech reporter at Mashable who primarily covers video games and consumer tech. Alex has spent most of the last decade reviewing games, smartphones, headphones, and laptops, and he doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon.

Apple has laid off employees in its Vision Pro and Siri teams as it shifts focus to smart glasses and next-gen AI tech, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported. The cuts are said to affect around 200 workers, with 100 cuts in the Vision Pro division and another 100 in the Siri and software divisions. The Vision Pro layoffs are focused largely on gaming and immersive video teams, according to the report. The Siri cuts, meanwhile, are aimed at teams working on the old version of the Siri assistant, as the new Siri AI system requires personnel with a different type of expertise. Apple acknowledged that it was making cuts and realigning teams based on a changing product mix. "While we will create new roles as part of this change, it will also impact a limited number of existing roles," the company said.

We typically expect Mark Gurman at Bloomberg to have the latest tips on Apple tech, but today he's sharing info about OpenAI's planned move into hardware. After reporting a wave of details last month about the smart speaker in development at the AI company, today he's got additional insights about the device. Sources told Gurman that the product would have a ring-shaped design about the size of a hockey puck. The form factor is meant to be battery-powered and portable, so a user could easily carry it around with them. It reportedly has components that will be able to move on their own, which seem intended to make the product more lifelike and engaging.