Apple to Unveil HomeView Smart Hub at Oct. 13 Event; New Apple TV 4K and HomePod Mini Ship Oct. 30, Gurman Reports

AAPL will use its "Welcome home" event in New York on Tuesday, October 13, to unveil HomeView, a smart home hub with a touchscreen display and an A18 chip that will serve as the Siri command center for an Apple household, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported in his Sunday newsletter. The hub comes in a countertop model with a metal speaker base, in space gray, silver, starlight and pink, and a wall-mounted model in space gray and silver, and is due to ship around mid-November.

HomeView is controlled mainly by voice and will run a limited set of Apple apps, with no App Store for third-party software. Apple is building around accessories instead: LG Electronics has developed a doorbell, deadbolt lock, thermostat, cameras and a temperature sensor for the platform, and Schneider Electric is working on energy devices for Europe. Alongside the hub, a new Apple TV 4K moves to an A19 chip from the A15 in the 2022 model, and a new HomePod mini gets an S10 chip in place of the S5; both are expected in stores on Friday, October 30. Apple has also tested a Siri Remote with a speaker and built-in microphones on the Apple TV, though whether they ship is unconfirmed.

The launch is Apple's most concerted push into a category where it has trailed for years, while Google bought Nest and Amazon bought Ring. All of the details so far come from Gurman's reporting rather than from Apple, so Tuesday's event is the first confirmation point. Watch pricing, the depth of third-party accessory support, and whether the App Store-free design limits the hub's appeal.