One concept for a future Apple Smart Home Hub.
Apple’s long-rumored Home Hub peripheral is now rumored to be debuting in the second half of 2025, and is allegedly being taken home by select Apple employees for real-world testing.
Various rumors have suggested that Apple will be making a big push into smart home accessories across the second half of 2025, including the existing Home Key feature for a future smart doorbell. Apple is also working with other manufacturers of smart home accessories to ensure HomeKit compatibility.
A new report from Bloomberg reiterates earlier claims that Apple intends to tie the rise of HomeKit accessories into a smart Home Hub, now with a device code name: J490.
The long-rumored accessory is now likely to wait for its debut until the June WWDC developer conference or later to be officially announced. This may coincide with the existing tvOS changing to become the basis of a future homeOS.
In part, this could be due to the recently-announced delay in Siri development — now expected to be a bigger part of iOS and iPadOS 19 along with the next version of macOS, rather than later in the iOS 18 cycle as previously expected.
Testing on the product continues, however. The new report claims that Apple has begun internal testing on the device, including letting select employees take it home and provide feedback.
Apple Home Hub predictions
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has previously claimed that the product will enter mass production in the second half of 2025, likely aiming for a holiday-season debut. The Home Hub is thought to include a camera for FaceTime calls, as well as a high-quality speaker.
To complement the device, Apple may release its own line of indoor security cameras, or partner with existing makers to ensure HomeKit compatibility with more smart home accessories. Ikea, for example, recently filed for FCC clearance on its first Matter-over-Thread supporting temperature and humidity sensor, which would work with its compatible Dirigera hub.
A potential future Apple home robot. Image credit: Apple Machine Learning Research
Currently, there are thought to be two versions of the unannounced Apple Home Hub. This includes the iPad-like device that could be wall-mounted or act as a HomePod audio device with display, and a future Luxo-like robotic arm meant as a tabletop device that could “follow” a user’s movements during a video call, similar to the CenterStage feature.
These future hardware products would tie in deeply with family members’ personal Apple devices, offering coordination between Contacts, Calendar, Reminders and other apps. According to rumors, Apple’s intent is to offer the mountable Home Hub as a lower-cost device, with a later robotic assistant as a more expensive and advanced option.
