Apple’s much-anticipated entry into the smart home hub space has encountered a significant setback. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the Cupertino-based company has scrapped several ambitious features from its upcoming smart home device to accelerate its release timeline. While the hub remains in development, the decision to cut some core functionalities may delay its evolution as a central player in the connected home ecosystem.
A Strategic Pullback to Beat the Clock
In his weekly Power On newsletter, Gurman reported that Apple has made the difficult decision to withdraw some “bolder” features that had originally been planned for the hub. The rationale, he explained, is to expedite the product’s completion—a strategic move to get the device to market faster.
Gurman did not specify which features were cut, but the implication is that Apple had initially envisioned a much more powerful and multi-functional smart home platform. These features could potentially make a return in future iterations, he noted.
The Role of Siri Delays in Slowing Down the Hub
A key reason behind the timeline shift appears to be related to delays in the personalized Siri functionality, which was slated to be a central component of the device. This more intelligent and context-aware version of Siri, likely powered by Apple Intelligence (the company’s upcoming AI framework), has been facing challenges in development.
This aligns with Apple’s broader push into AI integration across devices, which is expected to take center stage at WWDC 2025. Gurman had previously reported that Siri’s AI overhaul was not proceeding as quickly as hoped, contributing to downstream delays in products like the smart home hub.
Apple’s Most Ambitious Home Device Yet
Though Apple has not officially acknowledged the device, several credible sources have painted a compelling picture of what the smart home hub could entail. Gurman previously described it as a “smaller and cheaper iPad” that could be used to control smart appliances, manage FaceTime calls, display widgets, and more.
In essence, the device would merge the intelligence of Siri, the display functionality of an iPad, and the audio performance of a HomePod. Early rumors suggest that it could feature a 6- to 7-inch screen, an A18 chip, and support for Apple Intelligence. It might be placed on a tabletop speaker base or mounted on a wall to serve as a permanent fixture in the user’s home.
Supply chain insights shared by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in March offer more clarity on production timelines. According to Kuo, mass production for the smart home hub is unlikely to begin before WWDC 2025, which kicks off on June 9. This suggests a late 2025 or early 2026 launch, though Gurman maintains that the release could happen as early as late 2025—if development accelerates and no further delays arise.
In the meantime, Apple may unveil a teaser or development update at WWDC to set expectations and prime developers for integration opportunities.
Apple’s delayed entry comes at a time when the smart home market is increasingly competitive, with rivals like Amazon, Google, and Samsung already offering sophisticated smart displays and voice assistants integrated with thousands of devices.
Amazon’s Echo Show line and Google’s Nest Hub devices dominate the market, combining voice control, visual interfaces, and tight ecosystem integrations. Apple, while strong in hardware and privacy, has long lagged in home automation due to Siri’s limitations and the closed nature of its ecosystem.
This smart home hub represents Apple’s first major hardware pivot into home automation since the HomePod, and possibly its most important smart home product to date.
Despite the stripped-down first version, Apple still plans to heavily integrate Apple Intelligence, its AI-based service platform expected to debut in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15. This would bring context-aware computing, smarter responses, and predictive automation to the hub—potentially setting it apart from more static competitors.
By positioning the smart home hub as a secure, AI-powered control center for the Apple ecosystem, the company could leverage its strengths in privacy, user experience, and premium hardware to carve out a new niche in the smart home category.
The recent news of feature rollbacks might temper early excitement. Some consumers and analysts had hoped for a groundbreaking new category-defining product. Instead, the first-generation hub may arrive with basic smart home controls, FaceTime support, and a limited set of Siri enhancements, with additional functionalities to follow in subsequent updates or hardware revisions.
However, Apple’s approach has always been evolutionary. The iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch all started with limited features before transforming into mature platforms. The smart home hub could follow the same path—beginning with a modest footprint and eventually becoming a core part of the Apple ecosystem.
Though Apple’s smart home hub won’t arrive with all the bells and whistles originally envisioned, its entry into the category remains significant. As Apple refines its approach and integrates Apple Intelligence across devices, the smart home hub could eventually emerge as a powerful command center—even if it takes a few iterations to get there.
For now, Apple fans and smart home enthusiasts will be watching WWDC 2025 closely, hoping for a glimpse of what the future holds in Apple’s slowly expanding smart home universe.
