Apple’s ‘HomeView’ Smart Home Hub to Ship in Mid-November, Bloomberg’s Gurman Reports

Apple’s long-rumored smart home hub will be called the HomeView and will ship around mid-November, roughly a month after its unveiling at Apple’s “Welcome Home” event on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

Writing in his Power On newsletter, Gurman reports the device will serve as the Siri command center of an Apple-powered home, pairing a roughly 6-inch square display with an A18 chip. It will come in two versions: a countertop model with a metal speaker base, offered in space gray, silver, starlight and pink, and a wall-mounted version with a flat square base, limited to space gray and silver. Gurman says the countertop model’s sound quality will surpass that of the new HomePod mini. The HomeView name first appeared in a trademark filing by a shell company, a discovery first reported Friday by MacRumors.

The hub will be voice-first, with Siri AI as the centerpiece and touch as a secondary input, according to the reporting. It will run a limited selection of Apple applications with no dedicated App Store, though users may be able to project third-party app widgets from a nearby iPhone.

Apple TV and HomePod mini also expected

Apple is also expected to introduce a refreshed Apple TV set-top box with an A19 chip and an updated HomePod mini with an S10 chip at the same event. Gurman reports both will reach customers and stores on Oct. 30, about two weeks before the HomeView ships.

Apple is reportedly preparing a wider smart home push around the hub, including accessories developed in partnership with companies such as LG Electronics — doorbells, deadbolt locks, thermostats, temperature sensors and security cameras — though those accessories are not expected to ship until later this year at the earliest.

Reporting based on coverage by Bloomberg via MacRumors, 9to5Mac and TechRepublic.