Apple has officially confirmed its October 13 product launch. On Thursday, October 8, Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, posted a teaser on X: hands stitching Apple's retro rainbow logo into fabric, with a one-line caption — "Welcome home. October 13." Media invitations went out at the same time: an "Apple Experience" in Tribeca, New York, at 9:00 a.m. ET on October 13.
The centerpiece is expected to be Apple's long-awaited smart home hub (dubbed "HomePad" in coverage, internal code name J490): a roughly 6-inch square touchscreen described as a cross between an iPad and a HomePod. Two form factors are expected — a wall-mountable version and a tabletop model with a half-dome speaker base reminiscent of the iMac G4. A camera and presence sensor will recognize who is in the room and surface a personalized interface; voice will be the main way to interact, with Siri AI controlling lights and accessories, plus FaceTime calls, video, and calendar and weather. Apple reportedly envisions households buying several units, one per room, at a rumored price around $350 (unconfirmed).
The HomePod mini gets its first hardware refresh since 2020: new colors (green and pink leaked), an N1 networking chip, and a faster S-series processor to support Siri AI. The Apple TV 4K gets its first update since 2022: an A19 or A19 Pro chip, a RAM upgrade, the same N1 chip, and an upgraded Siri Remote. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman also reports Apple may introduce LG-made smart home accessories — a doorbell, smart lock, and thermostat — sold under LG's brand.
The three products were originally planned for 2024 but were repeatedly delayed while Apple waited on a more capable Siri AI, which only entered beta in September. This site reported the October 13 rumor on October 6, when Apple had confirmed nothing; with the teaser and invitations now out, the rumor is officially real. Notably, Apple calls this an "Apple Experience" rather than a special event or keynote — closer in format to the small media sessions it held in New York, London, and Shanghai in March than to a big Apple Park production.
Apple's October is packed: after the October 13 smart home launch, a second wave of Mac announcements is expected in the final week of the month (headlined by a rumored touchscreen OLED MacBook), and the iPhone Duo goes on sale October 23. For new CEO John Ternus, this is his first full holiday-season buildup, and Gurman has called the home hub his "first major swing."