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iOS 18.6 Beta Code Includes Reference to Apple's Rumored Home Hub

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Apple is rumored to be working on an all-new smart home hub, and an alleged reference to the device has been discovered in the iOS 18.6 beta.

HomePod-With-Screen-Feature.jpg

9to5Mac today reported that iOS 18.6's code includes a new "apple-logo-1088@2x~home.png" image asset. According to the report, the "~home" suffix indicates that the image asset is intended to be limited to Apple's rumored homeOS operating system for the home hub, which is expected to have a square iPad-like screen.

If the report is accurate about the image asset, it serves as further proof that Apple is continuing to work on the home hub's software.

Apple's smart home hub is rumored to feature a 6-inch or 7-inch display, and the A18 chip from iPhone 16 models. The device can reportedly be attached to a speaker base, or mounted on a wall, and it would allow users to control smart home accessories, make FaceTime video calls, use Apple's intercom feature between rooms in a house, and more. It might even double as a home security system with an Apple-designed camera.

While recent homeOS trademark activity that might be connected to Apple fueled hopes that the company would provide an early preview of the home hub at its WWDC 2025 developer conference last week, that did not end up happening.

Apple originally planned to unveil the home hub in March 2025, but the device's launch was reportedly postponed as a result of Apple delaying its personalized Siri features. The device is unlikely to launch until those features are ready.

In March, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that a HomePod with a screen would enter mass production in the third quarter of 2025. Kuo is likely referring to the rumored home hub, and if his timeframe remains accurate, then the device could still be announced at some point later this year. A launch is expected by next year at the latest.

Article Link: iOS 18.6 Beta Code Includes Reference to Apple's Rumored Home Hub
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/06/17/ios-18-6-beta-references-homeos-hub/
What is going to be next ? iBook device for reading only ? With improved Siri.
 
Well, I’ve got Amazon Alexa everything. Even if I knew how to migrate all of it over to Apple Home, who has that kind of time drag on their hands?
 
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dustin_ said:
i really don’t understand the point of this device. aren’t we all already carrying around an iphone plenty capable of controlling our smart home accessories, making facetime calls, and more?
Click to expand...
About the only differences with Siri on HomePod and Siri on iPhone is (1) if you say "Siri, lights-out". This works on the HomePod because the HomePod "knows" which room it is in. So the bedroom HomePod only turns off the bedroom lights. With my iPhone, I have to say, "Siri, turn off the bedroom lights"

And (2), Siri in the HomePod is a shared device, so it knows who is speaking. iPhone Siri always assumes the person is the owner.

Ho, one more, (3) The HomePod's microphone is VERY good and can pick up a voice from across the room even while playing the music loudly.

Does this matter? It depends on your use case.
 
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I strongly believe this isn't coming out until Q4. My bet is that it will launch alongside the new iPhones.

My reasoning is that it wouldn't make sense for it to come out before os26 (are we using this term to group all the platforms yet?). Specifically, I think CarPlay tells us the most about what the device will be like. The ability to run iPhone live activities will be huge. Grok's live activity is so sick on the new CarPlay.

In this economy, Apple could use a $499 hot-new-thing for the Hollidays. It'd be sick if they made a mount to use it as a thermostat.
 
Think it will not launch this year. Along with improved Apple Intelligence next year, it might be announced.
 
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dustin_ said:
i really don’t understand the point of this device. aren’t we all already carrying around an iphone plenty capable of controlling our smart home accessories, making facetime calls, and more?
Click to expand...
I wouldn't mind a device just for home. I travel a lot and would like something more obvious than shortcuts on an ipad for my house sitters to use. I've got a lot of smart things.
 
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Why in 2025 would anyone be interested in a home control app that wasn’t in my pocket at all times. Unless…. The plan is to offer a SUBSCRIPTION based app access “on the go”. So apple
 
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dustin_ said:
i really don’t understand the point of this device. aren’t we all already carrying around an iphone plenty capable of controlling our smart home accessories, making facetime calls, and more?
Click to expand...
Kids, guests, display for things like timers while cooking, doorbell, time, photo frame, request based on room context. It's just a dedicated device, achieves the same thing as other devices but in a different way, the same way a MacBook does most of what an iPad does, but you might still buy and iPad for the form factor. The same way an iPhone does most of what an Apple Watch does, but you might still want an Apple Watch for the convenience off accessing things from your wrist.
 
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Promostyle said:
Why in 2025 would anyone be interested in a home control app that wasn’t in my pocket at all times. Unless…. The plan is to offer a SUBSCRIPTION based app access “on the go”. So apple
Click to expand...
It is nice to have weather, clock, calendar activities and camera access at a glance. Not everyone walks around with a phone in their hand. I have a few Echo devices and when someone rings my doorbell the camera feed shows up on the screen. I don't have to pull out my iPhone and launch an app to see my door. I enjoy it enough to allow Amazon to have devices like that in my home, I would much rather have an Apple device and pay a subscription fee and lose the Amazon devices.
 
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Well if it was delayed because of the Apple intelligence Siri features being delayed until next year I would expect the same for this device.

I’m not really interested in it but I really wish Apple would put more effort into HomeKit and the home app. I really wish I could do something as simple as black list certain devices from certain users in the home
 
I have an old iPad setup basically for this. It's an old 10.5" iPad Pro that can do split multitasking and I think is on iOS 17. I have the Home App on the left and my Tempest Weather Station on the right. Sometimes I'll swap out the Home App for RadarScope during the spring when we get a lot of severe weather here in the midwest. I've got it plugged in using a 90 degree flush black lightning cable that runs down the side, and a slim profile 3D printed base that props it up, and it's in a common family space on a standing desk I made out of walnut. I've got some Shortcuts setup to dim the display all the way down at night and turn on the flashlight on a low setting so that it creates a faint night light against the wall. I'm a night owl and work for myself so I'm rarely up early, so I have the kids locked out of their iPads in the morning so they will get ready for school, and they use that old iPad, which is stripped down to hardly anything installed, to glance the weather to see if they need a coat or umbrella or whatever. It's right next to the HomePod mini.

But this Home Hub just kinda sounds like one more thing that Apple is unlikely to sell many of, like the Vision Pro or the full-sized HomePod. It would need to be useful in other ways for it to be worthwhile, such as acting as a wireless router or to extend an existing network, and like the article says to act as an intercom or to sound at least as good as a HomePod mini. Would also be neat if it could detect motion, temperature and humidity and we could use those in automations for other HomeKit accessories. Bonus points if it has one of those new generation presence detectors that can detect if anyone is home on a given floor. If it had that and was less than $250 I would buy one for both floors of my home.
 
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Maybe I've dreamt this up too long, but I'm a firm believer in a "HomePod Hi-Fi" smart soundbar designed to replace Apple TV in a fair amount of cases where you'd be comfortable placing a camera. Half the ideology stems from HomePods being meant to be used from anywhere in the room, and a small screen on a HomePod facing one direction... doesn't scream easy, omnidirectional use. Rather, leverage a device that already commands the center of attention in and is usually meant to be seen from most parts of a room (thus making it a great candidate for "seeing" most of the room back itself): the TV.

Build in as many channels as you want, I think it can comfortably house up to a 7.1.2 configuration, or 5.1 if you don't want side-firing channels bouncing off walls to try to mimic a speaker being there. Apple can do whatever Spatial Label-ry they like here, but the center channel can exist unobstructed by looking towards the Vision Pro camera placement and technology. Stitch together streams for the two front facing cameras flanking the center channel and four cameras at the front corners all large-format for lights-out SharePlay performance, high-resolution for Center Stage cropping, and ultra-wide-angle and facing outward to see as much of the room as they possibly can for FaceTime and maybe Photo Booth.

Remove the eARC dependency and build in four HDMI 2.2 in ports and one 2.2 out receiving audio directly, turning inputs into apps in an interface similar to tvOS, and establishing itself as a CEC hub. 8k can be passed through full-screen, 4k can be scaled up, or all four inputs can SplitView tile into 4k windows giving content producers and console manufacturers time to catch up. Picture-in-Picture can also be enabled to navigate the interface without pausing your app. Disable your TV speakers and disconnect it from Wi-Fi to allow Apple to sidestep shoddy Smart TV UI's and provide resolution to users of TV's whose manufacture's that have inconsistently implemented AirPlay 2 and HomeKit functionality (My Vizio disables it's speakers when I power it on/off in the Home app. Maybe even instead HDMI CEC power could appear as a HomeKit accessory on/off toggle). Hi-Fi can also enable native RGB Light/Content Sync by reading the HDMI output and pairing to the lights in the same room.

Build in two Wi-Fi arrays: one for connecting to the network and a second hidden one designed for Home Theater managing many more HomePods but with each one also individually appearing in the Home app via grouped accessories and selectable for AirPlay while still ready for Hi-Fi's controls and audio streams. Ultra Wide Band can be used to sense the placement of HomePod(s)/minis and auto assign channels and maybe even provide placement suggestion. With two 10 GbE ports on the back, one can be used in place of the Wi-Fi connection and maybe both can enable an AirPort Wi-Fi 8 Sharing link giving the room its in a central line of sight for mmWave connections.

To fix the "This is just an Apple TV with speakers and cameras," build in reformatted apps like Clock, Weather, Home, and News. There must be some kind of translation that can be established between the Digital Crown scrolling interface borrowed from blown up Apple Watch apps and Hi-Fi's Siri Remote click wheel scrolling. This Siri Remote can be plastic backed so that it can charge using an Apple Watch charger, built-in USB-C at bottom, or the magnetic cradle dock built in to the top of Hi-Fi keeping everything neat and tidy. Lift Siri Remote to wake Hi-Fi, Hi-Fi wakes the TV, and vice-versa. Turn on a peripheral first, HDMI CEC wakes Hi-Fi and launches full screen, then Hi-Fi wakes the TV, and vice-versa. Or, turn on/off the peripheral by selecting/closing inputs. Bring iPhone near to Wake and Hand Off, Wake and launch Remote, or control your media center and house from the palm of your hand or with your voice anywhere in the room.
 
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