Apple announces surprise ‘Welcome home’ launch event

is a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme.

Apple has just announced a new October event, taking place in New York on October 13th at 9AM ET. The event company is rumored to be launching smart home-focused products this month, and the event invite hints that’ll be the case: Apple is using the tagline “Welcome home.”

At the event, Apple is rumored to announce products including a smart home hub with a display, an updated HomePod Mini, a new Apple TV. The company is also reportedly teaming up with LG on new smart home devices that will launch at the event, including a video doorbell, thermostat, and indoor camera, and renders leaked yesterday that purportedly showed off some of those devices.

Apple has reportedly been working on a new smart home hub for some time, and apparently even wanted to launch it sometime in 2025. However, the delays to the upgraded, AI-powered Siri reportedly pushed that launch back. Siri AI finally launched in last month (though with a beta tag), and now that it’s out, it appears that Apple’s next big push for the smart home is about to begin.

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