Apple ‘Welcome Home’ Smart Home Event Today: HomePad Hub, New HomePod mini, and Apple TV 4K With Siri AI Expected (2026)

Apple is holding a smart home product launch today, Tuesday, October 13, 2026 — the ‘Apple Welcome Home event’. The company has invited media to a private “Apple Experience” gathering in Tribeca, New York at 9:00 a.m. ET, where it is widely expected to unveil its first smart home hub alongside a refreshed HomePod mini and a new Apple TV 4K, all powered by the rebuilt Siri AI assistant.

How Apple confirmed the event

The launch was confirmed by Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Greg Joswiak, who posted a teaser on X on October 8 pairing the tagline “Welcome home” with a hand-stitched version of the company’s retro rainbow logo. Tech reviewer Marques Brownlee shared an image of the media invitation, which reads: “We look forward to welcoming you to an Apple Experience in Tribeca, New York on October 13, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. ET.” That works out to 6:00 p.m. PKT.

Apple is deliberately not treating this as a traditional keynote. According to MacRumors, the launch was never added to the Apple Events page, so announcements are expected to arrive as Apple Newsroom press releases and shorter YouTube videos, followed by hands-on coverage from attendees.

What is expected: three products, one Siri AI thread

Reporting by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman points to three announcements, all built around the new Siri AI:

1. The smart home hub (rumored “HomePad” / “HomeView”)

The headline product is an all-new device that combines a HomePod with an iPad. It is described as having a roughly 6-inch square touchscreen (some reports say up to 7 inches), with two versions planned: a tabletop model with a speaker base inspired by the 2002 iMac G4, and a wall-mountable version. A camera and presence sensor will detect who is in the room, and the device is designed to recognize household members by voice or face so it can show each person their own calendar, messages, notes, widgets, and apps.

The hub is meant to control smart home accessories, place FaceTime calls, play video, and surface news, weather, and calendar information, with voice as the main method of interaction. Reports point to an A18 chip inside, and MacRumors speculates pricing could land around $350. Apple reportedly envisions households installing the hub in multiple rooms.

2. New HomePod mini

The first HomePod mini refresh since 2020 is expected to keep the current design while gaining a faster S-series chip and Apple’s N1 networking chip for improved Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Siri AI support is the headline upgrade, and Gurman reports new color options including green and pink.

3. New Apple TV 4K

The first Apple TV box update since 2022 is expected to bring a faster chip (reports cite the A19 family, with the latest MacRumors roundup mentioning an A20 Pro with Wi-Fi 7 support), more RAM, the same N1 networking chip, and an upgraded Siri Remote, all tied into deeper Siri AI integration with Apple’s Home ecosystem.

Why it matters

This is Apple’s first serious answer to Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Nest Hub. Apple has trailed both rivals in the smart home for years: the original HomePod struggled, and the company holds only a small slice of the smart speaker market. A dedicated hub category gives Siri AI a physical stage in the home, and reports suggest these products were held back until the rebuilt Siri was finished.

The launch also lands early in the tenure of new CEO John Ternus, whose first September event introduced the $1,999 foldable iPhone Duo and the iPhone 18 Pro. Smart home hardware is becoming a crowded 2026 battleground, and Apple choosing to give the home push its own event signals how seriously Cupertino is taking it.

What else could appear

Gurman reports that Apple co-developed a doorbell, thermostat, smart lock, and security cameras with LG, all carrying LG branding, with leaked images already circulating. Those accessories are reportedly running behind Apple’s own hardware, so they may get only a preview today. An OLED iPad mini has also been discussed for October, though outlets stress there is no confirmation it appears at a home-focused event.

Beyond today, Bloomberg reports a second October event around October 27, expected to cover Apple’s first touchscreen MacBook Pro with an M6 chip, an M6 iMac, and a redesigned iPad mini. That would make October one of the busiest hardware months in Apple’s recent history, a shift from the company’s traditionally rigid launch calendar.

The bottom line

Apple’s “Welcome Home” experience begins at 9:00 a.m. ET today. Within hours, Apple is expected to confirm the official name, pricing, and availability of its first smart home hub, plus the new HomePod mini and Apple TV 4K, setting up a direct fight with Amazon and Google for the connected home.