Apple Will Reportedly Reveal its First Smart Home Display With Siri AI on October 13

After Apple revealed the iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone, last month, the company is expected to follow up in October with its first smart display. The new smart home product has reportedly been delayed for two years because Apple struggled with its next-gen Siri AI assistant. However, it’s set to be officially announced on October 13, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is reporting today.

The new smart home hub is expected to be revealed alongside new versions of the HomePod Mini and Apple TV, two products that haven’t been updated for many years. Both of them will also add support for the new Siri AI, which is currently available in beta in English, but will soon add support for more languages.

According to Gurman, Apple’s first smart home display will feature a nearly 6-inch screen, and it will be available in two versions: One that will be mounted on a half-dome-shaped base, and another one designed to be mounted on a wall. Both of them will need to be powered by a USB-C cable.

Apple reportedly designed its first smart display to be “about as thick as an iPhone.” The display will have black bezels around it, similar to how older iPads looked, and there will be no volume or power buttons.

On the software front, Apple’s smart display will be able to recognize who is using it in a household using voice or face recognition. Each user will be able to access their personal contacts, messages, calendars, notes and photos. There will also be a guest mode preventing other people from accessing private information from members of the household.

“Its operating system blends elements of the Apple Watch, Apple TV and iPad interfaces,” Gurman said about the software powering the smart display. “That includes the use of iPad-like app designs and Apple Watch-style icons on its home screen. It also has iPhone-style widgets like those for viewing stock tickers, calendar events and the weather. The interface is built heavily around photo slideshows and clock displays, similar to the new StandBy Mode on the upcoming iPhone Duo foldable phone.”

Apple’s first smart home display will be competing with Amazon’s Echo Show products, which now start at $219.99, but come with an ad-filled interface. Google also used to offer its own Nest Hub smart displays, but the company hasn’t released a new model since the 2nd-gen Nest Hub from 2021. Google’s new Gemini for Home assistant is now available in beta on these products as a replacement for the legacy Google Assistant, but overall, the software experience leaves a lot to be desired.

Gurman previously reported that Apple has already started working on a new version of its smart display attached to a robotic arm. This upgraded model is expected to have a larger 9-inch display that can rotate 360 degrees. The company is also said to be working on other smart home products, including sensors and security cameras.