A beautiful home where everything is powered and controlled by an Apple device? Apple enthusiasts are in for a treat with the rumored Apple smart home hub coming in 2025. Over the last few months, there has been a lot of talk about an Apple smart display device that can function as a central hub for all the various smart gadgets across your home. It isn’t a new concept by any means considering we have such devices from Google, Amazon, and other brands already.
Still, Apple has mastered the smartphone, tablet, smartwatch, headset, and laptop categories already, and it’s about time for it to expand into something new. The company’s VR headset expansion attempt has left something to be desired and we appear to be a while away from the smart ring, but the Apple smart home hub is coming, so we’re interested to see what it has to offer.
Image: Apple Home gadgets
Rumors Surrounding the Apple Smart Home Hub—What We Know and What We Hope to See
The new Apple smart home device was originally expected to launch during an Apple Spring Event in early March 2025. Apple hasn’t confirmed the existence of the product but it does appear likely that the device is coming this year. Some rumors suggest that the device’s launch could be delayed as its software relies on technology that is only expected to arrive with iOS 18.4 or 19. The technology has been referred to as App Intents and it could be the reason for a late launch.
As a result of Apple’s silence on the device, we don’t have a name for the Apple smart display either, but it is expected to build on the Apple HomePod speaker and combine it with the technology of an iPad. The combined power, along with the Siri integration, should leave us with a device that can become integral to a household.
There are a few rumors surrounding the Apple smart home “Command Center” that we do have at our disposal, so here’s everything we know.
An Apple HomePod with a Display Sounds Like a Great Idea
In his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman wrote that the Apple smart home hub is expected to have a 7-inch screen and will be able to run different apps and make video calls while also providing a central management system for the house.
The 7-inch screen will make it even smaller than the iPad Mini which has a screen that measures in at 8.3 inches, and closer to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which has a 6.9-inch screen—without accounting for its width. This may sound a little too compact for a home hub, but it could potentially work because the Google Nest Hub works just fine with its 7-inch screen.
The Apple smart home screen is expected to feature a support stand so it can be placed on a desk, but it should also be possible to mount it on the wall. Will either of these functions require a special mount or a dock? There’s no way to know just yet. Gurman has also indicated that the device could have a hemispherical base like the ones seen with the iMac G4, with a small screen and an angle on this base.
Built-in Speakers Will be a Key Feature of the Apple Smart Display
The Apple smart home screen will feature built-in speakers to allow for voice control and audio output, and a camera will also be added to allow you to conduct video calls. Gurman explained that there could be a dock for adding additional speaker power.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo explained that the company could primarily market this as a HomePod with a display attached. That would require an entirely different form factor from the flat-display-screen-and-stand concept we’ve heard about so far, but anything is possible. We have also heard that the company is planning to release this smart display hub in silver and black, with thick bezels framing the screen.
Expected Features on the New Apple Smart Home Device
The Apple smart home hub is not expected to have a dedicated App Store but should have various Apple apps built-in already like the Calendar, Notes, and Safari. It is expected that users can link more than one device across the home, allowing for control from multiple rooms.
The device will also feature an A18 chip and 8GB RAM, which will allow Apple Intelligence to become a key part of the experience of using it. Some Apple smart home hub rumors we’ve seen floating around is that the smart home hub will have sensors to determine when someone approaches the devices, allowing for the content of the screen to adapt to show what is needed. This opens up doors for various other sensor integrations, but we remain uncertain about whether Apple is working on these external sensors right now.
Rumors surrounding the Apple smart home hub also indicated that there could be a premium version of this gadget available with a robotic arm, but we fail to see how it would integrate this and what purpose it would serve.
The Apple Smart Home Hub Isn’t the Only Device the iPhone Maker Is Rumored to Be Working On
The Apple smart home screen is expected to launch this year one way or another, but there have been rumors floating around about other smart home devices as well. Once Apple has a smart home hub to connect gadgets to, it could look into providing other accessories that are controlled by the hub. Analyst Kuo hinted at a smart security camera that may be manufactured in 2026.
Apple may wait to see how the smart display performs before committing itself to the other smart home gadgets, but the company knows a thing or two about building an ecosystem around its products. If the Cupertino company creates a successful smart home display, we expect it won’t be hard for them to convince their fan base to invest in the rest of the accessories it releases next year.
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