Apple's home automation updates & new product releases will stretch into 2028 – AppleInsider

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Sun Jun 21 2026, 10:40 AM EDT · 1 minute read
A HomePod mini update should finally arrive in 2026
Apple’s home automation updates and new product roadmap powered by Siri AI will kick off in 2026 with HomePod and Apple TV updates, but if you’re excited for the robotic arm for a Home Hub, you’re going to be waiting a while.
It’s no secret that Apple’s new AI push will include several new products like the long-rumored Home Hub. However, the timing of some of those products’ releases remains in question.
According to the “Power On” newsletter from Bloomberg, the new Apple TV and HomePod mini could arrive at any time in 2026, while the robotic arm attachment for HomeHub won’t be ready for some time yet.
The Home Hub itself is expected in 2026 as well, which means an Apple Home-focused release cycle or event could occur in the fall. That device should launch as a standalone display that can be paired with various mounts like speakers, wall mounts, and articulating arms.
The new Apple TV is expected to support Apple Intelligence in some specific capacity and may have a new Siri Remote. The HomePod mini would also gain access to Siri AI, but that’s likely the only major feature of the product.
The robotic arm accessory for the Home Hub, which may include an upgraded AI-focused version of the tablet device, isn’t expected until 2027 or 2028. That device has always been more of a moonshot, with the Pixar Lamp-like device with a personality still in early testing.
It’s sure to be a busy hardware season for Apple given the three new iPhones, two new Apple Watches, and a slew of Macs expected by the end of the calendar year.
It’s not really a question of if these products are coming, but when. With everything else releasing, Apple will need to find time to reveal its new Home Hub product category and sell people on why the new Apple TV and HomePod mini are necessary.
The September keynote will already be packed as it is, and I don’t think these products will fit the “just drop a press release” model. My expectation is that there will be a lengthy Apple Home segment during a primarily Mac-focused keynote in October.
Wesley was in the US Navy for ten years, serving as a carrier-based nuclear trained electrician, then jumped careers in 2019. Today, he is Assistant Editor, Podcast Cohost, SEO Specialist, and Social Media Manager for…
Please get back into the home wifi router business. I loathe subscriptions, but a new Airport with onboard VPN would be something I’d pay for. Put it in a new apple TV that already has an ethernet port on it. Put mesh extenders in new HomePod minis and I’ll buy those too. 

eightzero said:

Please get back into the home wifi router business. I loathe subscriptions, but a new Airport with onboard VPN would be something I’d pay for. Put it in a new apple TV that already has an ethernet port on it. Put mesh extenders in new HomePod minis and I’ll buy those too. 

VictorMortimer said:

eightzero said:

Please get back into the home wifi router business. I loathe subscriptions, but a new Airport with onboard VPN would be something I’d pay for. Put it in a new apple TV that already has an ethernet port on it. Put mesh extenders in new HomePod minis and I’ll buy those too. 

I don’t think they’re going to do it.

At this point, Unifi gear is actually really good, it’s better than AirPort now.

I don’t expect it either. Apple’s corporate flagship product is actually not the iPhone…it is the trust in their privacy efforts and their $3T size. When a manufacturer decides they won’t get more of your money, they simply brick their products, and abandon you (cough wemo belkin cough). Apple does this on a very limited scale too, but it is perhaps less prevalent. It seems a VPN would be a commitment to their (stated) corporate goals. And now they have proprietary modem chips.

I still use AirPorts. They work fine. There is nothing on the market right now I would deem a “upgrade” for my purposes, but thanks. YMMV. 

VictorMortimer said:

eightzero said:

Please get back into the home wifi router business. I loathe subscriptions, but a new Airport with onboard VPN would be something I’d pay for. Put it in a new apple TV that already has an ethernet port on it. Put mesh extenders in new HomePod minis and I’ll buy those too. 

I don’t think they’re going to do it.

At this point, Unifi gear is actually really good, it’s better than AirPort now.

Sure. Better than the OLD Airport. Apple’s airport was an incredifible router. They were among the first to enable signal boosting with the smaller units too. 

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