Apple is expected to unveil a HomePad smart display alongside refreshed HomePod mini and Apple TV 4K devices at its 13 October Welcome Home event.
Apple is preparing a new smart home push with a “Welcome Home” event set for 13 October in New York at 9am ET, according to reports in DNA India and several specialist Apple publications. The company has framed the showcase as an Apple Experience rather than a conventional keynote, a detail that suggests a more focused presentation around connected-home hardware and software. Marketing chief Greg Joswiak has also fuelled speculation by teasing the event on social media with a retro Apple logo, which observers say points towards the Thread smart home standard and Apple’s wider home ecosystem.
The centrepiece is expected to be Apple’s first dedicated home hub, widely referred to in reports as the HomePad. The device is said to feature a roughly 6-inch display and arrive in two versions: one designed to sit on a table with an integrated speaker base, and another intended for wall mounting. According to the reports, Apple is positioning the product as a control point for smart home devices, calendars, widgets and Apple apps, with software based on homeOS, which itself is thought to draw on tvOS.
Several reports also say the device may include a camera for FaceTime, support for recipe videos, and presence-sensing features that could use voice and facial recognition to identify different members of a household. If accurate, that would place the product somewhere between a smart display and a light home computer, with Apple likely aiming to use its software and hardware integration as a differentiator. Pricing in the US is expected to start at about $350, although that figure remains unconfirmed.
Apple is also expected to refresh the HomePod mini and the Apple TV 4K at the same event. The new HomePod mini is said to keep the same general design while gaining a faster processor, Apple’s N1 networking chip, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Thread support and new colours, with Siri expected to gain additional AI functions. The Apple TV 4K is tipped to receive the same N1 chip, along with either an A19 or A19 Pro processor and up to 12GB of memory, which would give it more headroom for on-device intelligence features.
Reports further suggest Apple may be preparing accessory announcements linked to partners such as LG, including an indoor camera, thermostat and video doorbell, although those products are not expected to ship immediately. Some coverage has also pointed to a second Apple event later in October, possibly on 27 October, where new Macs and an OLED iPad mini could appear. If that schedule holds, the 13 October presentation would mark the first stage of a broader autumn product cycle centred on Apple’s home strategy.
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