Apple is testing a new home hub built around Siri AI, giving the company a new way to bring its voice assistant into everyday routines. The device is now being tested in employees’ homes, and its arrival may be closer than earlier delays suggested.
Inside Apple, the product is rumored to carry the name J490. There is no predicted arrival date, but recent leaks point to a possible launch later this year. Apple first expected the home hub to arrive as early as 2024, but problems with Apple Intelligence pushed the project back.
A small screen with a bigger role for Siri
The home hub would sit on a stand shaped like a sliced-in-half HomePod Mini, though it could also attach to a wall. Its design would resemble an Echo Show, but with a smaller display. That screen would give the device a visual role beyond listening for voice commands.
The hardware is expected to include pervasive Wi-Fi connectivity, an advanced display, a camera, and microphones. Its software interface would combine elements from several Apple platforms, creating what Mark Gurman described as “like a mashup of iOS, tvOS and watchOS.” The device would also sync with an iPhone for setup and some tasks.
The display could show a home screen, widgets, and clock faces similar to those available in the iPhone Duo’s standby mode. That setup would let the hub work as a fixed screen in the home while still connecting to information and controls from an iPhone.
The camera systems would support facial recognition, allowing the device to identify who is looking at the screen and personalize what it shows. The available facts do not describe every personalized feature, but the goal is clear: the hub would adjust its contents for the person using it.
What Siri AI could do across Apple devices
Siri AI would sit at the center of the home hub’s functions. The technology appeared with iOS 27 and would let users look up information across devices and accounts, play a podcast or song, find images, and complete tasks in apps such as Calendar and Notes.
That approach would make the hub more than a small display with a voice assistant. Siri AI could connect requests to information already spread across Apple devices and accounts, while the screen would provide another way to view the result or continue a task.
The project’s delay shows how much Apple’s plans depend on Apple Intelligence. The company had planned an earlier release, but technical issues tied to that system prevented the home hub from arriving as expected. Now, employee testing suggests the device has moved into a stage where Apple can examine how it works inside real homes.
A separate change involving the iPhone Duo Pencil
Apple also reportedly dropped a Pencil designed specifically for the dual-screen iPhone Duo. The accessory would have been shorter and magnetic, but Apple ran into technical problems before mass production began.
Instead of releasing that dedicated Pencil, Apple shifted support to the current iPad Apple Pencil. Apple plans to support the current iPad Apple Pencil by the end of 2026, creating a different path for stylus use with the iPhone Duo.
The home hub and the Pencil represent separate Apple hardware plans, but both show the company adjusting products when development problems get in the way. For the home hub, the next question is timing. Apple has not set a predicted arrival date, yet the combination of employee testing and recent leaks leaves open the possibility of a release later this year.
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