The all-new smart home hub was supposed to be Apple’s star of the show this year.There was just one problem: Siri.After a multitude of Siri hiccups and delays, it begun to look more and more unlikely that the product would launch in 2025.
Now, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is reporting that a 2026 launch is almost a guarantee.Originally, it seemed all but confirmed that we’d see the Apple smart home hub around March or so.The product was well rumored throughout 2024, and we essentially know every key tech spec about it.
To recap: 7-inch square display with thick bezel Camera at the top Rechargeable built in battery A new Apple operating system: homeOS Heavy focus on video applications like FaceTime Support for many Apple apps StandBy-inspired dashboard Easy ability to control your smart home Apple Intelligence support with A18 chip Of course, a smart home product is heavily reliant on a voice assistant, and Apple was betting on its new Apple Intelligence Siri promises to carry this product.The initial rumored March timeframe aligned with the launch of iOS 18.4, which was when Apple initially planned to debut its new Siri features.Then, there were quality concerns, and the launch got delayed to iOS 18.5 in May.
Not a big deal.Then, a couple weeks afterwards, Apple announced that the Siri features are delayed, and all we know as of now is that they’ll launch at some point in the coming year.After the delay was announced, it seemed almost definite that the rumored smart home hub would also take a hit from this delay.
Mark Gurman from reports as such: Were you excited for the new Apple smart home hub? Will you still buy one when it finally launches just under a year from now? Let us know in the comments.My favorite Apple accessory recommendations: Anker MagSafe 2-in-1 Wireless Charging Stand with Qi2 Aulumu Vegan Leather MagSafe Case for iPhone 16 MOFT Magnetic Wallet Stand, fits up to 3 cards AirTag 4-pack (on sale for 20% off!) SanDisk Extreme 2TB USB-C SSD, up to 1050MB/s AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C) You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day.Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop.
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