👀 Lots more new details have emerged on Apple’s upcoming home products
🏠 The touch-enabled smart home display will be called HomeView
🤝 It’s set to come in two form factors and launch with some new LG accessories
💪 Elsewhere, the HomePod Mini 2 will have an S10 chip inside, and the Apple TV 4K is set to be ready for Siri AI and beefier than ever before
New details about the latest lineup of Apple devices to launch at its upcoming ‘Welcome Home’ event have leaked.
As per reliable Apple tipster Mark Gurman for Bloomberg (via MacRumors), we’ve learned a lot more about the upcoming HomeView smart hub, the HomePod Mini 2 and a new Apple TV 4K.
Apple HomeView smart hub
Apple’s smart home hub is set to be named ‘HomeView’ as the Cupertino-based firm seeks to enter another new category for the first time.
The device is set to have an A18 chip, the non-Pro variant, against what you’ll find in the MacBook Neo. When this SoC was in the iPhone, it had 8GB of RAM, so it remains to be seen what Apple has done for its touch-enabled smart home display.
HomeView will also reportedly support Siri AI along with a selection of Apple apps, but will have no App Store for third-party apps, according to Gurman.
The device will be available in two forms: a tabletop version with a speaker base made of metal and a wall-mounted version with a flat and square plate. It’ll ship in four finishes: Gray, Silver, Starlight and Rose. The wall-mounted version will be limited to Gray and Silver.
Supposedly, the tabletop variant will offer “better sound quality” than the HomePod Mini.
The device isn’t set to launch until “around mid-November”, according to Gurman, and will be supported by an “Apple Home Collection” of accessories that brands such as LG and Schneider Electric have developed in partnership with Apple.
Gurman had reported on these LG accessories in recent days, which is set to include a smart doorbell, deadbolt door lock, thermostat, temperature sensor, indoor and outdoor security cameras, and a floodlight camera.
The LG accessories aren’t set to ship until “later this year at the earliest”, according to Gurman.
Apple HomePod Mini 2 & Apple TV 4K
As for the new HomePod Mini 2, this is set to be powered by the same chip as the Apple Watch 10 – the S10 – which would be a hefty boost over the S5 chip in the current model.
The new HomePod Mini 2 is also set to come in several finishes, with green, pink, blue, white, and midnight all on offer.
When it comes to the refreshed Apple TV 4K, the external nature of the device isn’t set to change, but it’s set to be boosted internally with a new A19 chip with 8GB of RAM, as well as built-in microphones for Siri AI.
To go with this, it may come with an updated Siri Remote with a built-in speaker that makes it easier to find.
Both the HomePod Mini 2 and Apple TV 4K launch on Friday, October 30, according to Gurman.
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Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.