Apple rumored smart home hub that was supposed to launch by now has apparently been delayed into next year, when Siri’s AI features are supposed to land.
The Siri delay has claimed its first victim, with Mark Gurman writing in his Power On newsletter for Bloomberg that Apple’s rumored smart home hub has been pushed back into next year. That’s hardly a surprise given Apple’s voice assistant was supposed to play a central role in how people will interact with the device.
It was supposed to launch by now, marking the first in a series of smart home appliances from Apple. But as Apple recently pushed back an AI-infused Siri update, the smart home hub, codenamed J490, will need to wait until Siri is updated with AI smarts. No other publication has corroborated the Apple smart home hub rumor.
Gurman isn’t the first to claim the accessory has been pushed back; nearly a month ago, industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed the product had been delayed to ensure design consistency in light of alleged iOS 19 redesign.
Rumor: Apple smart home hub delayed until 2026
Gurman writes:
I’ve discussed Apple’s smart home hub many times over the last several months and, as I mentioned in a recent online Q&A, it was supposed to be on sale by now. But the major engineering hiccups related to the revamped Siri voice assistant ended up delaying the product. No big surprise there: The device will be primarily controlled by voice, and it depends on Siri and the underlying App Intents technology.
And:
Initially, there was some optimism that the snags would only result in the smart home hub shipping a few months later—say, around the time of the new iPhones. Now the company is considering a delay until 2026, when the Siri features are expected to land. If that happens, it’ll be a disappointment to Apple fans looking for the company to finally make a larger push into the smart home. But this product probably won’t make a big difference in terms of revenue. It’s really just an Apple version of the Google Nest Hub.
Gurman says that the accessory is being tested at Apple’s headquarters, with “a large number of employees” also trying it out at home.
The article also mentions the previously rumored tabletop device, which Gurman says will be a follow-up product to the smart home hub. Codenamed J595, that device reportedly adds “an AI personality, additional sensors and a robotic arm that can maneuver the screen above your desk, kitchen counter or nightstand.”