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Apple's Smart Home Hub and LLM Siri Coming in 2026

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The iPad-like smart home hub that Apple is developing isn't going to launch until mid-2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously said that Apple would debut the device as soon as 2025, but it was delayed because of Apple's issues with the Apple Intelligence version of Siri.

HomePod-G4-Feature.jpg

The device will feature a built-in 7-inch display and a speaker, and it supposedly looks similar to the Google Nest Hub. Gurman describes it as "shaped like a square" with thin black or white bezels, rounded corners, and a half-dome-shaped base.

The hub, which is codenamed J490, will run an operating system codenamed "Charismatic." Charismatic is different from iOS, macOS, and tvOS in that it is designed to be used by multiple members of the household. The interface centers on clock faces and widgets for Apple apps, and it could have a Siri virtual interface that gives Siri a more personified look. Apple is said to be testing a look for Siri that resembles the Mac Finder icon.

A front-facing camera will scan a person's face as they approach, providing content and features specific to each user. There won't be a dedicated App Store, but the device will run Apple apps like Calendar, Camera, Music, Reminders, and Notes. Apple expects users to control the smart home hub with voice-based commands, though it does have a touch screen. References to J490 have already been found in Apple's code.

Siri will be central to the hub, and Apple is working on a version of Siri that is powered by large language models. Apple wants Siri to be able to incorporate personal data to provide a richer experience for users. The functionality was originally meant to be included in iOS 18, but now an expanded LLM version of Siri is coming instead. Apple could be ready to launch LLM Siri "as early as next spring." A visually redesigned version of Siri for iPhones and iPads could also come at some point in 2026.

Apple is testing an LLM version of Siri that is powered by its own internal models, but it is also simultaneously working on a version that uses outside technology from companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. Apple hasn't made a final decision on which model it will use.

The Charismatic operating system and the new version of Siri will also be the basis for a separate tabletop robot that Apple is working on for a 2027 launch.

Article Link: Apple's Smart Home Hub and LLM Siri Coming in 2026
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/08/13/apple-smart-home-hub-2026/
I’m excited not for the 899 price tag it will probably carry. I do sincerely hope the features “just work” though I’m not optimistic given the current state of my blood pressure every time I interact with Siri via my home pods. “Siri turn off bathroom 1 lights” “what room (proceeds to list off 5 or more rooms) all while not listening to me yell bathroom 1. Then we start all over again…… I know if I wait for it to stop talking then say bathroom 1 she asks again what room……..I’ve learned to say cancel and start over again to avoid the loop.

Does anyone at Apple use these things ?
 
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It takes for-freaking-ever for these products to come out. This is one of those products where you just have to ask yourself why is this not ready? HomePod and Apple TV and Home have been around for a while. Smart home has grown a lot in the last few years. I love Apple and have almost every product, but geez why is this still a year away
 
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Launch the new Siri first, let users hammer on it for a few months, let it get roasted in the tech media for how bad it is, get it to a point where it actually works by iOS 27, and launch this hardware in the fall.
 
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MacUserFella said:
“No one asked for this!”

“Apple’s throwing things at the well to see what sticks!”

Are people in this community just never happy?
Click to expand...
The hot take is that Apple needs to throw more stuff at the wall. If you want innovation, consumers should be pushing Apple for entries in more product categories. The home with cameras and sensors and hubs is a great place to start.
 
Falco McGregor said:
The hot take is that Apple needs to throw more stuff at the wall. If you want innovation, consumers should be pushing Apple for entries in more product categories. The home with cameras and sensors and hubs is a great place to start.
Click to expand...

The problem will continue to be Siri underpinning it all.

Until we see actual progress on that front, it's hard to extend out any product excitement for things that require it.
 
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turbineseaplane said:
The problem will continue to be Siri underpinning it all.

Until we see actual progress on that front, it's hard to extend out any product excitement for things that require it.
Click to expand...
They have until March/April 2026 by their own timeline to figure it out. My guess is that this smart home hub releases then, right alongside new Siri.
 
Falco McGregor said:
They have until March/April 2026 by their own timeline to figure it out. My guess is that this smart home hub releases then, right alongside new Siri.
Click to expand...
Right, they have until Spring to acqui-hire their way out of this by buying some AI company and then hope the duct tape holds it all together.
 
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Will this end up being the third long-gestating product Apple have worked on in the last 10 years that is constantly coming in a year or two?

Apple Car - canclled after many years and $billions spent...followed by Xaomi launching an EV in China that has been massively successful and well reviewed showing that a CE company can make a car if they are focussed enough

AR glasses - eventually lead to the release of the Vision Pro as an interim product which has flopped... meanwhile Meta's interim smart glasses are 10% of the price and much more popular (with proper AR glasses prototypes demonstrated)

Now - Apple Home - constantly delayed 6-12 months. Just waiting for Meta, Google or Amazon to launch a half decent version of this
 
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They aren't always first with products, but for home products they are truly falling behind. Whatever they release for Home better be really really good, because everything I already have works rather well.
 
DocMultimedia said:
They aren't always first with products, but for home products they are truly falling behind. Whatever they release for Home better be really really good, because everything I already have works rather well.
Click to expand...
my home doesn't work rather well and 95% of the issues stem from apple products being bad home hubs so they better fix something
 
DocMultimedia said:
They aren't always first with products, but for home products they are truly falling behind. Whatever they release for Home better be really really good, because everything I already have works rather well.
Click to expand...

What Apple products have been first? Not home computers, displays, speakers. Ditto with mobile phones, tablets, watches. None of which have fallen behind for my daily use.

I'd rather wait instead of having something rushed.
 
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