According to a recent report from Bloomberg’s well-known technology journalist Mark Gurman, Apple appears to be approaching the long-awaited debut of its first dedicated smart home display hub, which could finally arrive in the spring of 2026. This rumored launch date follows years of speculation about Apple’s entry into the integrated home display market. However, the device is expected to come with a decidedly premium price tag. Gurman indicates that the company has set its sights on a launch price of approximately $350 for a 7-inch smart display designed to function as the central command point for managing a household’s connected devices. In essence, Apple seems intent on creating an elegant, single-screen control center capable of unifying various smart home functions within its broader ecosystem, much like how the iPhone centralized digital communication.
Interestingly, that projected price mirrors the launch cost of Apple’s original HomePod introduced back in 2018, highlighting the company’s repeated strategy of positioning its hardware at the higher end of the market spectrum. Nonetheless, it also underscores how Apple continues to value premium build quality and integration over competing on price alone. For comparison, rival devices such as Amazon’s Echo Show 11 are available for about $220—over a hundred dollars less—illustrating the potential challenge Apple faces in convincing consumers that its design, ecosystem connectivity, and brand reliability justify the steeper investment.
Gurman’s report further elaborates that Apple is developing two distinct iterations of the proposed home hub. One will apparently be a compact tabletop model bearing a resemblance to the existing HomePod mini but enhanced with an integrated display, allowing for both audio playback and visual interaction. The second model is expected to adopt a wall-mounted configuration, designed for more permanent installation as a dedicated household interface. The report, however, stops short of specifying which of these two models the quoted $350 price point will apply to, leaving room for continued speculation among industry observers.
Production details add another layer to the story. The new Apple smart displays are reportedly set to be manufactured in Vietnam, a notable shift aligning with Apple’s broader strategy to diversify its production network beyond China. Alongside these display hubs, Apple will also assemble a next-generation indoor security camera and an innovative tabletop robot, reflecting the company’s ongoing commitment to expanding its influence within the smart home and robotics sectors. Importantly, Chinese automaker BYD—already a significant industrial player—has partnered with Apple to assist in bringing both the home hub and robotic device to fruition, indicating a deepening collaboration across international manufacturing lines.
Originally, industry insiders had anticipated that Apple would introduce this smart home hub as early as March 2025. However, those expectations were tempered when unforeseen delays emerged, largely stemming from the ambitious overhaul of Siri’s artificial intelligence framework. The redesign of Apple’s voice assistant reportedly required additional development time, consequently postponing not only Siri’s own AI rollout but also the accompanying hardware that relies on it—specifically, the smart display devices built to leverage those enhanced capabilities. This chain of delays has now shifted the anticipated launch window into the following year, spring 2026, reinforcing both the technological complexity and strategic caution that often accompany Apple’s major product introductions. Ultimately, Apple’s upcoming smart home display hub, if it arrives as described, could mark a significant new chapter in the company’s efforts to consolidate digital life management within its ecosystem—albeit at a notably premium price that reflects the brand’s enduring emphasis on design, performance, and integration.
Sourse: https://www.theverge.com/news/799792/apple-smart-home-display-hub-price-rumors
