Apple has set October 13th for a product launch under the tagline “Welcome home,” pointing to a long-delayed push into the smart home. On Thursday, October 8th, Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, posted a short teaser on X. The clip shows hands stitching the company’s retro rainbow logo into fabric, then cuts to the line “Welcome home. October 13.” At the same time, the company sent media invitations to an “Apple Experience” in Tribeca, New York, scheduled for 9:00 a.m. ET that day. Apple has not said whether the session will include a full keynote livestream or mainly hands-on time with new hardware.
What’s expected Reporting from MacRumors, 9to5Mac, and Bloomberg News’ Mark Gurman centers on three home products that have been delayed, in part while Apple waited on a more capable version of Siri. The centerpiece is a new smart home hub, often referred to in coverage as a HomePad or under the internal code name J490. It is described as a cross between an iPad and a HomePod: a roughly 6-inch square display meant for multiple people in a household. Voice is expected to be the main way to interact with it, with Siri AI handling control of lights and other accessories, FaceTime calls, video, news, weather, and calendar items. A camera and presence sensor are rumored to recognize who is in the room and surface a personalized layout of widgets and apps. Two form factors are widely expected: a wall-mountable version and a tabletop model with a half-dome speaker base reminiscent of the iMac G4. Apple is said to picture buyers placing one in several rooms. Pricing has been floated around $350, though that figure is unconfirmed. Alongside the hub, Apple is expected to refresh two existing products that have gone years without major updates: • HomePod mini. The first revision since the 2020 original. Reports point to new colors (including green, pink, and blue in software leaks), an N1 networking chip for stronger Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and a faster S-series processor built to run Siri AI. • Apple TV 4K. The first new model since 2022. Expectations include an A19 or A19 Pro chip, more RAM, the same N1 networking chip, and an updated Siri Remote, with the existing design largely unchanged. What’s not expected Macs that Gurman and others have said are still planned before the end of the year are not expected at this launch. An OLED iPad mini has also been in development rumors, but it is not tied to the October 13 home event. A larger HomePod update and a higher-end hub with a motorized arm have been described as later projects. MacDailyNews Note: Apple has not confirmed any product names, prices, or specs. The “Welcome home” framing and the New York invitation are the only official details; everything else comes from prior supply-chain and software-code reporting that lined up with the date weeks before Joswiak’s post. Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon. The post It’s official: Apple to hold ‘Welcome home’ product event on October 13th appeared first on MacDailyNews. You're currently a free subscriber to MacDailyNews. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.
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