Apple Smart Home hub with AI features expected to launch alongside iPhone 17: Here’s everything we know so far

Apple

Apple is expected to announce several new hardware later this year. While the limelight will be taken by the iPhone 17 series and iPhone 17 Air -- probably. But, there's another interesting product that's expected from the company. We are referring to the Smart home hub.  According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the device will feature a tablet-like display, a built-in camera, and support for Apple Intelligence. This marks Apple’s renewed attempt to compete in the smart home space, currently dominated by Amazon’s Echo Show and Google’s Nest Hub.

The upcoming smart home device, codenamed J490, is expected to include a 7-inch screen in a square iPad-like form factor. It will likely support touch controls and feature a camera placed at the top for video calling and monitoring. Internal speakers and a built-in battery may also be part of the hardware, allowing flexible placement around the home.

The software experience is said to combine elements of watchOS and the iPhone’s Standby mode. Apple may introduce a new operating system, homeOS, to power the interface. The hub is expected to offer support for Apple Intelligence features, integrating AI-driven assistance and smart home automation.

Gurman describes the device as functioning like a wall-mounted AI tablet. Users may be able to interact with it through both touch and voice commands, enabling control of smart home devices, calendar reminders, weather updates, and more.

While this is not the more advanced version Apple is working on—a device codenamed J595 that reportedly includes a robotic arm and moves across a surface—the J490 is seen as an initial step to re-enter the smart home market. The high-end model is now expected to arrive one to two years later.

Apple is aiming to establish a stronger foothold in the smart home space after years of lagging behind Amazon’s Alexa and Google’s Nest ecosystem. The company has also adopted the Matter-based smart home system to make its devices and HomePod widely compatible with third-party IoT products.