Apple October 13 event teases a 6‑inch smart home hub

The October 13 launch was not a classic keynote. Apple’s marketing chief Greg Joswiak teased the date with a short “Welcome home” video a few days earlier. On the day, Apple put out a set of press releases and hosted an “Apple Experience” for reporters in Tribeca, New York, at 9 a.m. Eastern, where they could try the products in a staged smart home.

The common thread was Siri AI, the rebuilt version of Siri that launched in beta in September. Apple describes it as a new Siri built on its latest Foundation Models, able to hold a more natural conversation and draw on personal context. That upgrade is the reason the home push happened now: the hub had reportedly been ready to go as early as 2025 but was held back by Siri’s delays.

Two expected products did not show up. The OLED iPad mini that some reports linked to the event was not announced, and neither were the M6 MacBooks, which Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says are still due in October.

HomeView pairs a 7-inch screen with a speaker base, joined by a stainless steel hinge so the display can tilt. The look recalls the old iMac G4. A wall-mounted version is just 0.39 inch thick and is meant for hallways and entryways.

Its party trick is recognizing up to six members of a household by their faces. Each person gets their own Home Screen of apps and widgets. Private information from Messages or Calendar only appears when that person is recognized and has an iPhone or iPad close by that was unlocked recently. Guests and everyone else still get the shared music and photo albums.

Inside is Apple’s A18 chip, a 12-megapixel Center Stage camera for FaceTime, and four microphones. It works with HomeKit and Matter accessories, so lights, locks and thermostats you already own should show up on its dashboard.

Both versions cost $299 in the US and £299 in the UK. The tabletop model comes in rose pink, space gray, starlight or silver. The wall version needs a separate Schneider mount, starting at $59.95 for a USB-C model and rising to $129.95 for a Power over Ethernet version that arrives in early 2027.

Welcome home. October 13. pic.twitter.com/ChelGSDOTI

— Greg Joswiak (@gregjoz) October 8, 2026

The HomePod mini 2 is the first update to the small speaker since the original arrived in 2020. It keeps the ball shape, adds an S10 chip and adjusts its sound to the room in real time. It comes in midnight, white, blue, green or pink, and costs $149. One oddity: Siri AI will not be on it at launch. It arrives in a later software update.

The fourth-generation Apple TV 4K, at $299, gets an A19 chip that Apple says is up to 50% faster on the processor side and twice as fast on graphics than the last model. This is the first Apple TV with its own far-field microphones (three of them), meaning you can talk to Siri without picking up the remote. You can ask follow-up questions about a show while it plays, and answers appear in a small overlay instead of taking over the screen.

Pair four HomePod mini 2 speakers with the new Apple TV and you get a surround sound setup that tunes itself to the room. The Siri Remote also gains Find My with Precision Finding, which should end the search under the couch cushions.

Apple has always relied on other brands for smart home hardware. Now it has its own branded line, co-developed with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric and sold as the Apple Home Collection. The range includes two thermostats, a door lock, a video doorbell and several security cameras.

The most interesting piece is LG’s $349 deadbolt. It supports Apple Home Key with hands-free unlocking: walk up with your iPhone in your pocket and the door opens. There is also a keypad and a hidden physical key. It reaches the US and Canada in December.

The $249 LG doorbell has two cameras, one facing visitors and one pointing down at packages. It is coming to the US, Canada and the UK, though Apple has not given a date. Everything in the line sets up with a tap of your iPhone, runs in the Home app with no extra accounts, and sends camera footage end-to-end encrypted.

For most people, the question is whether to buy into Apple’s version of the smart home or stay with Amazon or Google. Apple’s pitch is privacy and simplicity: no third-party apps, encrypted video, and personal data that only appears for the right person. The cost is that you get the most out of it if everyone in the house uses an iPhone.

There are limits. HomeView will not be sold in the European Union for now, because Siri AI is not available on iOS there. And Siri AI only reaches full strength with a paired iPhone or iPad that supports Apple Intelligence; others get the general knowledge features.