#Home

On October 13, Apple announced a set of smart home products without a traditional event. The centrepiece is HomeView, a new home hub priced at $299. It has a 7-inch display and an A18 chip with Siri AI support, and shows apps, widgets and personalised content for up to six people. Temperature and humidity sensors are built in, and third-party apps can run from a nearby iPhone or iPad. Pre-orders are open and it launches November 13, though not in the European Union.

The fourth-generation Apple TV 4K also costs $299 for the 128GB model. It moves to an A19 chip, which Apple says brings up to 50 percent faster CPU performance, and adds far-field microphones for hands-free Siri, Wi-Fi 7 and an updated $59 Siri Remote.

Rumor roundup. This piece summarises a Bloomberg report from Mark Gurman, as relayed by MacRumors on October 8.

The report said Apple would unveil smart home hardware on October 13: a new HomePod mini with new colors and a newer chip, an Apple TV 4K with an A19-class chip and an updated remote, and an entirely new hub with a square display of around 6 inches. Apple did announce a hub, an Apple TV and a HomePod mini on that day, though the final hub display size was 7 inches, which shows how details in rumors can shift.