Apple is launching a brand new Home product soon. I’ve been calling it ‘HomePad,’ and these are five of the core features it will bring with it.
7-inch square display
Originally, Mark Gurman reported that the HomePad would have “a roughly 6-inch screen.”
More recently though, in his big overview of 2025 products, Gurman bumped the expected size to 7 inches.
The device reportedly looks a lot like a square iPad, and is somewhat equivalent to two iPhone 16 Pro Max models placed side by side. Smaller than some might want, but that should help keep the cost lower.
Brand new OS
Apple’s HomePad will come with a brand new operating system, likely dubbed ‘homeOS.’
Gurman says the interface “looks like a blend of the Apple Watch operating system and the iPhone’s recently launched StandBy mode.”
It will also dynamically adjust based on how close or far away you are. For example, from far away it might display status update-type info, but if you get close it would change to offer controls.
Unsurprisingly, based on Gurman’s ‘StandBy’ reference, the HomePad is expected to support widgets. You’ll reportedly be able to add these to the Home Screen, just like you can on iPhone and iPad.
It’s unclear yet if third-party widgets will be supported, but there’s a good chance they will be. Apple has already built tech into macOS that lets you run iPhone widgets there, so extending that feature to the HomePad seems like a no-brainer.
Accessories for fitting in anywhere
On its own, the HomePad will look like a simple smart display. But Apple is building various bases and attachments that will make it fit into the different spaces of your home.
Apple has designed different attachments for the device, including ones that affix the screens onto walls like a classic home-security panel. There will be bases with additional speakers that can be placed in the kitchen, on a nightstand or on a desk.
These additional accessories seem like another attempt at keeping the HomePad’s cost from ballooning (assuming they’re separate purchases). Importantly though, they also acknowledge the reality that different home spaces will require different HomePad setups.
AI-infused Siri
Apple’s current Home products, the HomePod, HomePod mini, and Apple TV 4K, don’t support any Apple Intelligence features. This means they’re all stuck with the ‘old’ Siri.
But HomePad will offer the new, AI-infused Siri that’s more powerful already (mainly thanks to ChatGPT) but will get substantially more so with iOS 18.4.
Siri will be able to perform hundreds of new in-app and cross-app actions, understand your personal context, and more. If it works as expected, there should be far fewer times Siri has to say, “I’m sorry” on the HomePad—a too-frequent occurrence on HomePod.
HomePad features: wrap-up
Apple’s HomePad is expected to offer a lot more functionality than what’s outlined above, including serving as a smart home controller, FaceTime device, and more. But the five features I’ve mentioned provide a solid overview of what to expect from HomePad’s core functionality.
Are you interested in buying the HomePad? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments.
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