Apple's 2026 Smart Home Revamp: All the Rumors

It's been implicit a decennary since Apple's HomeKit astute location level launched, and it is overdue for an update. ‌HomeKit‌ and the Home app tin nary longer support up with AI-powered solutions from different companies similar Google and Amazon, but that's acceptable to alteration with a astute location revamp that Apple has planned for 2026.

Home Hub

Apple is working connected a location hub oregon "command center" that volition service arsenic a centralized determination for controlling astute location products, listening to music, making video calls, getting the weather, looking things up with Siri, displaying photos, making notes, viewing calendar events, and more.

The instrumentality has an all-display plan that resembles an iPad, with a 7-inch display. It's said to beryllium akin successful size and signifier to 2 iPhones placed side-by-side, but Apple is designing 2 variants. The archetypal mentation is designed to beryllium mounted connected a wall, portion the 2nd mentation has a talker basal that looks akin to a HomePod mini and tin beryllium placed connected a desktop oregon countertop.


The location hub volition person its ain operating system, and portion determination won't beryllium an App Store, Apple apps volition beryllium disposable arsenic widgets.

Built-in sensors volition beryllium capable to find erstwhile idiosyncratic is adjacent the location hub, and the features displayed volition alteration based connected presence. If nary 1 is by the hub, it mightiness amusement accusation similar the clip and temperature, but if idiosyncratic approaches, it could displacement to an interface for adjusting the temperature.

Presence detection volition alteration features similar turning connected the lights erstwhile idiosyncratic enters the room, and it mightiness besides beryllium capable to archer 1 idiosyncratic from another. The location hub volition play music, and it does person a camera that tin beryllium utilized for video calls.

Touch-based interactions volition beryllium disposable for widgets, but the hub volition beryllium heavy reliant connected ‌Siri‌ dependable commands. ‌Siri‌ could person a personified look connected the hub, with 1 plan described arsenic a mentation of the Mac Finder icon.

While screen-based astute location devices similar the Echo Show are disposable for nether $200, Apple could terms the location hub determination astir $350. Price could alteration for the mentation with the talker basal and the partition mounted mentation without it.

Apple is aiming to motorboat the location hub sometime successful the March to April 2026 timeframe.

LLM Siri

Apple has held disconnected connected launching the location hub due to the fact that it is waiting to debut the smarter, much susceptible mentation of ‌Siri‌ that's been successful the works since Apple Intelligence features launched successful iOS 18. The archetypal program was for a amended mentation of ‌Siri‌ to travel retired successful an iOS 18 update, but Apple decided ‌Siri‌ conscionable wasn't bully capable to bash what it wanted.


‌Siri‌ was delayed truthful Apple could overhaul the underlying architecture that powers the idiosyncratic assistant. The caller ‌Siri‌ volition beryllium much akin to ChatGPT oregon Claude than the ‌Siri‌ of today, incorporating ample connection models to reply analyzable queries and implicit much analyzable tasks.

Here's what Apple primitively promised ‌Siri‌ would beryllium capable to bash with ‌Apple Intelligence‌:

Personal Context

With idiosyncratic context, ‌Siri‌ volition beryllium capable to support way of emails, messages, files, photos, and more, learning much astir you to assistance you implicit tasks and support way of what you've been sent.

• Show maine the files Eric sent maine past week.


• Find the email wherever Eric mentioned crystal skating.


• Find the books that Eric recommended to me.


• Where's the look that Eric sent me?


• What's my passport number?

Onscreen Awareness

Onscreen consciousness volition fto ‌Siri‌ spot what's connected your surface and implicit actions involving immoderate you're looking at. If idiosyncratic texts you an address, for example, you tin archer ‌Siri‌ to adhd it to their interaction card. Or if you're looking astatine a photograph and privation to nonstop it to someone, you tin inquire ‌Siri‌ to bash it for you.

Deeper App Integration

Deeper app integration means that ‌Siri‌ volition beryllium capable to bash much successful and crossed apps, performing actions and completing tasks that are conscionable not imaginable with the idiosyncratic adjunct close now. We don't person a afloat representation of what ‌Siri‌ volition beryllium susceptible of, but Apple has provided a fewer examples of what to expect.

• Moving files from 1 app to another.


• Editing a photograph and past sending it to someone.


• Get directions location and stock the ETA with Eric.


• Send the email I drafted to Eric.

This summer, Apple bundle engineering main Craig Federighi said that transitioning ‌Siri‌ to caller architecture was a success, and that the idiosyncratic adjunct is going to beryllium an adjacent bigger update than expected.

"The enactment we've done connected this end-to-end revamp of ‌‌Siri‌‌ has fixed america the results we needed," Federighi told employees. "This has enactment america successful a presumption to not conscionable present what we announced, but to present a overmuch bigger upgrade than that we envisioned."

Apple decided to usage AI exertion from Google, truthful ‌Siri‌ volition successful portion beryllium powered by a Google Gemini model that Google designed for Apple. ‌Siri‌ volition beryllium arsenic susceptible arsenic Gemini since it is utilizing the aforesaid underlying technology, but Apple volition tally the exemplary connected its ain Private Cloud Compute server with nary accusation provided to Google.

The caller mentation of ‌Siri‌ is expected to beryllium acceptable for an iOS 26.4 update planned for the aforesaid March oregon April timeframe rumored for the location hub.

HomePod mini and Apple TV

We're expected to beryllium getting updated versions of the ‌HomePod mini‌ and the Apple TV astatine immoderate constituent betwixt present and aboriginal 2026.


Both devices volition get spot upgrades, and successful the lawsuit of the ‌Apple TV‌, it could summation enactment for immoderate ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features. New Apple-designed networking chips volition beryllium included, but neither instrumentality is going to get a plan update.

The ‌HomePod mini‌ and the ‌Apple TV‌ are linked to Apple's astute location level and service arsenic astute location hubs for Matter, the cross-platform protocol that opens up the fig of astute location accessories that are compatible with ‌HomeKit‌.

Apple Security Cameras

Rumors suggest that Apple is designing its ain indoor information cameras that volition link to ‌HomeKit‌ and interface with the planned location hub.

Cameras designed straight by Apple would connection unsocial integrations with Apple devices, and would connection greater privateness than competing devices due to the fact that of Apple's dedication to privateness and security. The archetypal cameras could travel retired arsenic soon arsenic precocious 2026, and we could spot different accessories similar doorbells follow.

Read More
More connected Apple's plans for the astute location hub tin beryllium found successful our Apple Hub guide, portion details connected ‌Siri‌ tin beryllium found successful our LLM Siri guide.
This article, "Apple's 2026 Smart Home Revamp: All the Rumors" archetypal appeared connected MacRumors.com

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