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Three New Apple Home Products Rumored for 2026

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Apple has a long list of new products rumored for 2026, including a series of home products that will see the company establishing more of a presence in the smart home space. Robots are on the horizon for 2027, but the 2026 releases will be a little tamer.

iOS-26-Home-Feature.jpg

HomePod mini

We're expecting a new HomePod mini 2 to launch at any time. Apple isn't going to update the device's design, but we could get new colors. The HomePod mini 2 will have an updated S-series chip based on the Apple Watch Series 10 chip, and there's a possibility for sound improvements and improved real-time computational audio. Apple will also likely upgrade to Bluetooth 5.3 for connectivity improvements, and it could get a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip.

The current HomePod mini is $99, and that's not expected to change.

Home Hub

Apple has been working on a home hub that will serve as a centralized location for all members of the family to control smart home devices, make calls, listen to music, get information like the weather, use Siri, view photos, see a family calendar, and more.

Rumors suggest the home hub will have presence sensors to detect when someone is in the room, and an included camera could be able to tell who is speaking to it so that it can pop up a personalized selection of apps and features for each user.

The home hub is expected to have Face ID, built-in speakers, and support for Apple Intelligence thanks to an A18 chip. While there won't be a dedicated App Store, the home hub will run Apple apps like Safari, Apple Music, Notes, Calendar, Photos, and Apple News.

There are two separate models, including one that's designed to be mounted on the wall and one that has a speaker base that looks like a HomePod mini.

Security Camera and Doorbell Camera

Apple is designing its own indoor security cameras that will connect to Apple Home and interface with the home hub. We've also heard rumors of a potential doorbell camera with Face ID that would be able to connect to a door lock.

Any Apple-designed cameras will feature HomeKit Secure Video with end-to-end encryption, but little else is known at this time. There has been mixed information on when we might see Apple's security cameras, but they could come as early as 2026.

Launch Timing

The HomePod mini and home hub are expected early in the year, likely before WWDC. The cameras, if we get them in 2026, will likely come late in the year. Prior rumors suggested that Apple would release the home hub around the time that the new version of Siri launches. The smarter Siri was expected in iOS 26.4, but it may now be pushed back to iOS 26.5.

Read More

For more on what to expect from Apple in 2026, we have a dedicated Apple Products guide that lists all of the devices on the horizon. We update it regularly, so it's a useful guide to bookmark and check every now and then to keep up to date with Apple's plans.

Article Link: Three New Apple Home Products Rumored for 2026
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/02/13/apple-home-2026-rumors/
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Reactions: kkclstuff and Z-4195
A really high quality smart doorbell from Apple? Yes, I would like it.

A home hub? No, I don't need it. I don't think anyone does. It is just an extra device, that no one will ever use, in a house full of personal devices. My interest was piqued back when the rumor was of a table-top talking robot, but a Home Pod with an iPad glued to it does not interest me. Not now, not 10 years ago when it was first rumored.
 
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Given how long a home hub with a screen has been rumored without appearing, it's very much in the "I'll believe it when I see it" category, but IF this hypothetical device could be used for FaceTime it would be a genuinely useful replacement for an iPad for "phone duty" with an elderly relative.

We have for many years had an iPad at the parents' house, and they (being VERY old and about tech savvy enough to manage changing the channel on the TV) learned just enough to understand how to swipe to answer a call. Living in another country that's been a massive quality-of-life improvement; instead of a short, overpriced phone call (which at this point would mostly consist of "WHAT?!" because of hearing loss), you get a leisurely conversation, some actual time looking at another person's face, and the ability to hear the conversation because the iPad can automatically connect to a hearing aid.

But in this setup the iPad is just a glorified video phone, and having to set it up on a table to talk is more work than an able-bodied person with a smoothly-operating brain would expect. So something that just sits there on a table, can be a video phone, and doesn't do a bunch of unnecessary stuff would be an improvement.
 
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Farquar said:
A really high quality smart doorbell from Apple? Yes, I would like it.

A home hub? No, I don't need it. I don't think anyone does. It is just an extra device, that no one will ever use, in a house full of personal devices. My interest was piqued back when the rumor was of a table-top talking robot, but a Home Pod with an iPad glued to it does not interest me. Not now, not 10 years ago when it was first rumored.
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That’s the beautiful thing: you don’t have to buy it. I personally will.
 
I appreciate the context of this being “based on rumors” but would love to see an analysis behind why on Earth you think Apple needs to get into the home security camera market?

TL;DR - No.
 
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Reactions: Terry2023
I’m holding off on home upgrades until Apple comes out with their new products. I’m really creeped out by what Ring is doing and I want to ditch their products.
 
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If Apple does make a security camera, I hope it will include a barometric, temperature and humidity sensor that can show hourly trends. Or even those sensors as a stand alone.. But I'm not holding my breath.
 
RogerDoger2801 said:
Confused why they’d update the HomePod mini with a chip that’s not capable of Apple Intelligence…
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Or why couldn’t it send an Apple Intelligence type request to an AI capable device inside your home? Say for example, a HomePod mini in the bedroom could connect to an AppleTV in your living room. Surely Apple could devise a way to make this happen. Aside from a small amount of additional lag, is there any reason this wouldn’t be possible?
 
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I’m not holding my breath. Why it takes Apple forever to release anything is beyond me. The “we only release something when it’s good enough” is weak. Upgrading a chip in a HomePod or tv? Or making a security/doorbell camera that other companies have been releasing for years?
 
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Reactions: Xade and AppleTO
If it were to happen it would surely be a batch release - what’s the point of a Home hub without a) new Siri and b) any apple dedicated peripherals? Even with matter and thread there’s a lot of compatibility issues between brands of cameras, doorbells etc. It’s not doing anything better than any other product otherwise and would likely be more expensive.
 
RogerDoger2801 said:
Confused why they’d update the HomePod mini with a chip that’s not capable of Apple Intelligence…
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They’ve been saying this a while but yeah, really weird decision. There’s no way I’m buying the new home hub thingy for every room of my house or Apple TV’s, presumably the HomePod will pass requests for the Apple Intelligence device to process so you can get this on every HomePod, but there’s going to be some lag there, and considering the mini is already insanely slow to respond I don’t see this working well….
 
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The moment they drop the new HomePod minis, I’m getting 2 or 4 of them. The only thing that bothers me is how to connect them to my PS5 Pro… for sure, they will be great for my iPhone, iPad and Mac, but I also play on a PS5 Pro and I just don’t know if they will be recognized by the console…
 
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