Apple to launch smart home control device in 2025

Apple is planning a major push into the smart home hardware market . Bloomberg's Mark Gurman just revealed details about the upcoming home hub, and it sounds pretty promising.

Tablet-like, wall-mountable, AI-powered controller

The report says the wall-mounted controller could launch as early as March 2025 and work with HomeKit , Apple's smart home platform.

Gurman offers some details about the display's shape:

The device has a roughly 6-inch display and looks like a square iPad. It’s about the size of two iPhones side by side, with thick bezels around the screen. There’s also a front-facing camera on the top, a built-in rechargeable battery, and an internal speaker. Apple plans to offer it in silver and black.

The operating system will be a combination of the watchOS that powers the Apple Watch and the iPhone's Standby mode. It will include a customizable home screen that can be customized to add widgets or highlight smart home controls. It can also act as a slideshow screen for photos.

Along with the ability to control compatible devices, the display will also focus on security with alerts and camera footage.

Apple is positioning the tablet for primarily voice use with Siri and Apple Intelligence . There won’t be access to the App Store, at least for now. But the tablet will offer a number of Apple apps including Notes, Calendar, and FaceTime.

The company will reportedly offer a number of accessories for the home hub, such as a speaker dock that can be placed in a kitchen or nightstand.

While the report provides a lot of information about the home hub, it’s missing one key detail: price. Gurman only says the device will be priced in line with competing products. For comparison, the Echo Show 8 costs $149.99, while the much more similar Echo Hub costs $179.99.

Could the upcoming device make waves for Apple and smart home fans?

For years, rumors have been swirling that Apple wants to get into the smart home hardware market. And that looks like it could become a reality next year.

After price, the real question for Apple is whether the company can create a home hub that’s different enough from the iPhone or iPad to attract potential buyers. Apple Intelligence could do that.

While the initial features that debuted in October, like Writing Tools and Notification Summaries, were somewhat underwhelming, Apple could have more in store for the smart home.