HilliTech's Newsletter: Conceptualizing Apple's Home Hub

It's apparently time to finally see Apple's Home Hub tablet device in action on October 13. It and the Apple TV and HomePod mini are due to arrive with Siri AI features.

Apple's Home Hub strategy

It isn't every day that we get an entirely new product category from Apple, let alone a few close together at once. Just weeks after iPhone Duo's announcement, Apple is set to reveal a long-rumored smart home product.

Rumors suggest that Apple's artificial intelligence development prevented several product updates from occurring in recent years. Not only was this Home Hub held back for at least a year or more, but so were updates to the Apple TV and HomePod mini. It isn't that the Apple TV or HomePod mini were desperate for updates, but it is unusual for Apple to go so long without at least a spec bump.

The Home Hub itself is going to be an interesting one. Just like with iPhone Duo, we haven't seen a single product component or test device leak. That's even more surprising given that it seems the Home Hub has seemingly been ready to announce and ship for over a year.

Apple has clearly cracked down on leaks in the manufacturing pipeline.

It is difficult to imagine exactly how Apple will pitch the Home Hub. I'm aware companies like Google, Amazon, and Meta have released similar products, but they've mostly flopped and fallen to the wayside. For Apple to enter the market now, just like with foldables, it must be due to some level of confidence in the product.

I love the idea of having this little tablet that passively shows information. However, I already have an iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch that more or less perform similar functions. The biggest difference between those products and the Home Hub is the communal nature of the hub. You wouldn't necessarily share an iPhone on a MagSafe charger with a spouse, roommate, or child, but the Home Hub does take on that role.

If you're heavily invested in the Apple smart home, the Home Hub will also act as a remote control to your home for those that don't have access via the Home app. It'll be curious how the Home Hub behaves when used by someone that isn't a part of the household. I feel like Apple will offer plenty of control for that, or perhaps a parental control lock to keep toddlers from fiddling with lights.

Apple also clearly intends to sell multiple tablets and stands to a single household. Even in a home like mine, where it is just my wife and I, two of these could be plausible. Not even as a "hers and mine" situation, but one I'd use between my office and bedroom and another for communal areas like the kitchen, den, and living room.

Natalie isn't the biggest on tech, especially on new tech. I have a feeling the Home Hub's purpose as an additional device might be a bit lost on her. But that's fair, why grab this 6-inch square display when she has a 13-inch iPad Pro? That'll be Apple's problem to solve for.

If it works as seamlessly as I expect it should, it might be just a tad bit more convenient versus that iPad. Like, an always-on and available display in the room you're in or adjacent to versus an iPad in a keyboard case in your bedroom across the house. It's silly, but the bit of friction of having to fetch that iPad, remove it from the keyboard, grab a stand, and set it on the counter in the kitchen would be easily overcome by a dedicated device.

Plus, having that expensive iPad in the kitchen by all of the hot grease and food has never been ideal. I wonder if that's part of the pitch.

Another angle I've been thinking about recently is Apple's recent interest in digital wellbeing. If your Apple Home, music, and other controls are only easily available from your iPhone, then you're likely to keep that device on you at all times, even when wearing an Apple Watch. I think Apple could pitch the Home Hub as a way to leave your iPhone on the charger.

However, I guess a lot depends on what can actually be done on the Home Hub. If it can host apps like Bluesky or Netflix, it won't exactly be a tool for escape from those vices. Obviously, you can always choose not to install those apps on the Home Hub too.

We all have an idea of what this Apple Home Hub should be, but as always, it's up to Apple to pitch it properly.

Apple's other updates

The same week we'll hear about the new Apple Home products some of us will be pre-ordering the iPhone Duo. Apple rarely announces products between the announcement and release of another, but it does happen. I think the reason it is happening this time is simply because those buying iPhone Duo won't be affected by these smart home announcements.

Sure, some might be in the market for both products, but I doubt there are many people buying an iPhone Duo that would back off that purchase in order to buy an Apple TV instead. They're separate product lines and completely different price points, so Apple clearly doesn't feel like one could steal attention from the other.

The Apple TV 4K hasn't had an update since 2022. It's not that this device isn't able to stream media at its current spec, but that buying four-year-old hardware at a higher price is far from ideal. Those that need a new one for any reason are stuck buying old hardware.

I'm not sure how useful Siri AI might be on an Apple TV, though I do expect the new hardware to be great for the smart home. It could even bring new features to Apple Home.

A new HomePod mini would serve a similar purpose. New hardware, maybe some interesting new features for Siri AI, but little else beyond smart home changes.

There are some rumors and code references that suggest Apple could allow up to four HomePods in a home theater system. I'm very excited for this update, though I expect it only works with the latest HomePods.

I hope, at least, I can do two gen 2 large HomePods as the main speakers and 2 new HomePods minis as rear channels. That could prove interesting in our den.

Apple also has an opportunity to upgrade the Apple Home app. It needs a complete rethink similar to how Apple redesigned the Health app. It's been the same barebones experience with a few tiny quality-of-life updates sprinkled on top for years.

Smart home companies like SwitchBot and Govee have been slowly siloing themselves away from broader ecosystems, even while supporting Matter. An update to Apple Home and its ecosystem could pull some of these devices back in.

The thing I think Apple needs to do here is find a way to bring third-party controls into Apple Home. Perhaps enabling Home Screen widgets (or similar via the same APIs) in Apple Home would allow more controls to be surfaced where the user wants them.

Govee hides its scenes in its apps even though it is technically possible to donate them to Apple Home, while SwitchBot has seemingly been doing everything it can to avoid adding Apple Home support beyond Matter. By bringing the app controls that are isolated to the third-party apps into Apple Home via configurable widgets, it lets users get easier, unified access to those controls instead of needing 20 apps to control every aspect of their home.

There's also a tiny chance the Apple Home event could contain some news about the Apple TV app. The biggest news would be Netflix integration in Up Next.