Apple’s Welcome home event puts smart home rumors in focus

Apple has called a smart home-themed event for October 13, and so far the company has confirmed only the basics: the date, the time, the city and a two-word theme. Everything else about what will be shown is reporting and rumor.

What Apple has confirmed so far

According to Engadget, the event starts at 9AM ET in Tribeca, New York, and the invitation carries the phrase “Welcome home.” The invitation also says Apple looks forward to welcoming guests to an Apple Experience. Engadget describes it as the company’s second event of the fall.

The date was shared on X by Apple marketing executive Greg Joswiak. CNET describes his video as a time-lapse of the Apple logo being needlepointed alongside the date, and says the theme strongly suggests new Home products. The same outlet notes that Apple rarely briefs the media in advance of product announcements.

The rumored HomePad and its Siri link

The product at the center of the speculation is a smart display with a screen. Engadget says it is expected to be called the HomePad and to compete with Amazon’s Echo Show and Google’s Nest Hub. Reports describe a seven-inch display, a new operating system called homeOS and a dashboard similar to the StandBy mode on iPhones.

Rumors also say the device would use face and voice recognition to personalize what it shows to the person using it. It is believed to handle FaceTime calls, video and music streaming and intercom messages to other devices, as well as control of smart home products.

The timing is linked to Siri. Engadget cites Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman as reporting that Apple delayed the display until its AI-powered Siri was ready. The Verge adds that Apple reportedly wanted to launch the hub in 2025 and that Siri AI arrived last month with a beta tag. A separate CNET piece says the home hub may borrow the look of the old iMac G4, the model inspired by the lamp in Pixar’s short Luxo Jr. None of that has been confirmed by Apple.

Rumors about LG-built devices

The Verge says Apple is reportedly working with LG on connected home devices due at the event, among them a video doorbell, a thermostat and an indoor camera, and that renders purportedly showing some of them leaked the day before the invitation. CNET’s rundown says other rumors point to a smart lock, a floodlight camera and an outdoor camera from the same partnership, and that leaked settings screens for the thermostat mention humidity display and temperature calibration.

CNET’s editor treats these with some caution. The editor says a thermostat and a smart lock look about equally likely, but doubts the cameras and thinks Apple could save a large LG line for a separate announcement. That is an opinion, not a report of Apple’s plans. The piece also notes that Apple has worked with LG before, years ago, on cameras that were rarely updated and soon became obsolete.

Apple’s own cameras and the AI angle

CNET also relays reporting from Gurman that Apple is preparing small security cameras of its own, which would not record video. Instead they would sense presence or recognize people and produce AI descriptions of what they see. Skipping recording would spare Apple the cost of cloud storage and might let it avoid charging subscriptions, according to CNET’s reading. The word “facial recognition” has been mentioned in connection with these cameras, but CNET’s editor considers that much less likely.

Apple Intelligence is expected to power many Siri AI features in the Apple Home app. CNET notes that AI video descriptions are coming to supported security cameras, though very few exist today and some Aqara camera hubs are compatible. For owners of existing cameras, the usefulness of the feature will depend on the hardware they already have.

Apple TV and HomePod mini

Both Engadget and CNET say a new Apple TV and an updated HomePod mini are expected. CNET points out that Apple has not released a new Apple TV set-top box since 2022, and that the new hardware is aimed at handling AI. Engadget says recent macOS beta code suggests the revamped speaker could gain a display with an interface in the style of the Apple Watch, while CNET reports the small speaker may arrive in more colors, including pink and green.

Apple will have the chance to confirm or contradict all of this on Tuesday. Until then, the dependable facts are the date, the venue and the theme, while the product list stays a collection of reports that Apple has not commented on.

Featured image. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Credit: Nils Huenerfuerst. License: CC0.