Siri's growing pains delay Apple's smart home hub to 2026
What's the story
Apple's highly-anticipated smart home controller, the Home Hub, is now expected to launch in 2026 instead of late 2025. The delay was highlighted by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in his latest "Power On" newsletter. The postponement is mainly due to the Home Hub's dependence on several upcoming updates for Siri, Apple's voice assistant.
Dependency
Home Hub's features won't work without these updates
The Home Hub was originally scheduled to launch with iOS 18.4, but the necessary Siri updates are still pending. This means that some of the hub's features wouldn't have worked without these updates. The device is said to rely on Apple Intelligence App Intents, giving Siri more control over apps and functions, and using a user's screen and personal data to fulfill queries through their smart home network.
Progress
Home Hub still an active project at Apple
Despite the delay, reports suggest that the Home Hub is still an active project at Apple. In March, it was reported that select Apple employees were conducting real-world testing of the hub. Further, a June developer beta for iOS 18.6 contained code referencing a display that could be associated with the Home Hub, hinting at its continued development within Apple.