Apple event names usually read like perfume ads. Wonderlust, Scary Fast, It’s Glowtime. So when invites landed this week for an October 13 event called “Welcome home,” the bluntness was hard to miss. Apple went with a literal doormat quote. Behind it, the HomePod is reportedly getting a screen, with Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman saying the headliner is a smart home hub unofficially called the HomePad. A new Apple TV 4K and a HomePod mini 2 are expected to tag along, and press are headed to an “Apple Experience” in Tribeca, which sounds like hands-on time.
The HomePod has spent nine years as the best sounding speaker you never ask anything. We have been daydreaming about a screen for it since October 2023, when we covered the rumored HomePod Max and its 7-inch display. Gurman now describes a 6-inch square screen on a polished metal arm over a round, perforated speaker base, a look reminiscent of the 2002 iMac G4. That is the sunflower iMac everyone nicknamed the iLamp, so Apple appears to be raiding its own attic. Echo Shows and Nest Hubs have spent years looking like phones stuck on cans, so a little desk lamp energy goes a long way.
Designer: Sarang Sheth
The HomePad comes in two versions, with a robotic arm model reportedly on the way
Visual Rendering of the HomePad from 2023
Gurman says Apple is building two versions, a tabletop model codenamed J490 and a wall-mounted one codenamed J491, and both need an outlet. The wall version drops the arm and round base for a thin square base with the speakers and microphones below the display. Both are meant to serve a whole household, recognizing who is talking, showing that person’s content, and hiding private info in a visitor mode. The interface reportedly borrows from Apple Watch and StandBy mode, with iPhone widgets and a single front camera for FaceTime. It also needs an iPhone for setup, so nobody is throwing their phone out yet.
Apple tried several ways of attaching the iMac G4’s screen before settling on one stainless steel arm, and Jobs listed himself as primary inventor on one of its design patents. A third HomePad is reportedly in development with a 9-inch display on a robotic arm that moves 360 degrees, which is basically Pixar’s Luxo Jr. lamp coming to life. We spotted this coming in 2024, when we covered Apple’s homeOS plans, magnetic mount and robotic arm included. The thick bezels are the odd choice, since Apple spent a decade shaving them off. On a screen you glance at from across the kitchen, they might just read as a picture frame.
Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini 2 get new chips and Siri AI
The current Apple TV 4K runs a 2021 A15 Bionic, and rumors point to either an A19 with 8GB of RAM or an A19 Pro with 12GB, which is what the iPhone 17 Pro uses. An N1 wireless chip is also rumored, adding Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread, the low-power smart home radio that keeps gadgets chatting without clogging your router. Code in tvOS 27.2 hints that four HomePods can pair with it for surround sound and relay Siri requests so answers show up on your TV. A tweaked Siri Remote is expected too. Siri AI will likely stay exclusive to the new box, so your four-year-old Apple TV gets to watch from the sidelines.
The original HomePod mini arrived in October 2020 at $99 and still runs an S5, a chip first seen in the Apple Watch Series 5. Rumors say the sequel moves to an S9, with the N1 wireless chip and a new Ultra Wideband chip. Code strings reportedly point to the same fabric-wrapped sphere with a backlit touch top, in a lighter blue and white plus new green, pink, and black. Keeping the sphere is the safe call, though I still crave the Braun T3 vibes of that fan-made HomePod Nano concept we featured in 2023. The headline feature is reportedly Siri AI, so the tiny speaker might finally earn the smart in smart speaker.
LG and Schneider accessories, plus what Apple is saving for later
Apple reportedly co-developed a lineup with LG that includes a smart lock, thermostat, temperature sensor, video doorbell, and indoor, outdoor, and floodlight cameras, all expected to wear LG branding. Gurman suggests they won’t ship as early as the HomePod and Apple TV, though a stage cameo is still likely. Leaks describe a deadbolt with a keypad that rotates to open, a doorbell with a second downward-facing camera, and an outdoor camera sealed with O-rings and waterproof grease. Code in iOS 27.2 also lists a Schneider thermostat and temperature sensor with a “second-party” tag, which gets special treatment from the OS. That is a rare admission from a company that usually builds everything itself: HomeKit needs friends.
Earlier reports floated a HomePad price around $350, which is unconfirmed and absent from Bloomberg’s latest report. That would sit right next to the $349 the original HomePod cost in 2017, when we called it Apple’s tune-busting Fabergé egg. Apple hasn’t said whether the event will be livestreamed, and US pricing and availability are still unannounced. The Macs get their own event about two weeks later, so October 13 belongs entirely to the home. A camera shaped like an oversized lip balm tube, which sends text instead of video, is reportedly waiting until 2027. After nine years of being heard and never seen, the HomePod finally gets a face, and it is wearing a 2002 outfit.
