Apple's smart home hub could arrive next month with a square screen, face recognition, and Siri AI
Apple 's long-delayed smart home display could go on sale as early as next month, and it arrives with a trick no Apple device has shipped before. The front camera will recognise who is standing in front of it, and it will do this without the depth-sensing hardware that Face ID normally requires. Bloomberg's Power On newsletter reports that the device, known inside Apple as J490 , is already being tested widely in employees' homes.
The launch would be the first significant hardware moment of John Ternus 's time as chief executive. At Apple's September keynote, Ternus made the case that the ideal AI device already exists in the iPhone, but he left room for a second screen that lives at home. This is that screen.
Apple's J490 smart display borrows its shape from the HomePod miniThe screen is roughly square and comes in two versions. One sits on a stand that looks like a HomePod mini chopped in half, and the other attaches to a wall. Power On compares it to an Amazon Echo Show with a considerably smaller display. It runs a new operating system that reads like a mashup of iOS, tvOS and watchOS, with its own home screen, widgets and clock faces.
Facial recognition is the selling point. The camera works out who is looking at it and rearranges what appears, from calendar entries and notes to news, music and podcasts. Mark Gurman writes that this matters beyond the living room, since it suggests Apple could eventually bring face unlock to the iPhone Duo, which currently relies on Touch ID.
Siri handles the rest. Apple had wanted to ship the hub as far back as 2024 and held it until the assistant caught up, which only happened this month with iOS 27. On the display, Siri AI is meant to search across devices and accounts, pull up a podcast someone sent months ago, or run tasks in Notes, Reminders and Calendar.
Steve Jobs wanted Apple to own the home, the commute and the car. Ternus now has two of the three. The car is still unsolved beyond CarPlay.
The launch would be the first significant hardware moment of John Ternus 's time as chief executive. At Apple's September keynote, Ternus made the case that the ideal AI device already exists in the iPhone, but he left room for a second screen that lives at home. This is that screen.
Apple's J490 smart display borrows its shape from the HomePod miniThe screen is roughly square and comes in two versions. One sits on a stand that looks like a HomePod mini chopped in half, and the other attaches to a wall. Power On compares it to an Amazon Echo Show with a considerably smaller display. It runs a new operating system that reads like a mashup of iOS, tvOS and watchOS, with its own home screen, widgets and clock faces.
Facial recognition is the selling point. The camera works out who is looking at it and rearranges what appears, from calendar entries and notes to news, music and podcasts. Mark Gurman writes that this matters beyond the living room, since it suggests Apple could eventually bring face unlock to the iPhone Duo, which currently relies on Touch ID.
Siri handles the rest. Apple had wanted to ship the hub as far back as 2024 and held it until the assistant caught up, which only happened this month with iOS 27. On the display, Siri AI is meant to search across devices and accounts, pull up a podcast someone sent months ago, or run tasks in Notes, Reminders and Calendar.
Steve Jobs wanted Apple to own the home, the commute and the car. Ternus now has two of the three. The car is still unsolved beyond CarPlay.
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