Apple has invited the press to an event on Tuesday 13 October under the banner «Welcome home». It takes place in Tribeca, New York, at 9am East Coast time, which is 3pm for us. Apple hasn’t said what it will present, but everything points to a launch focused on the connected home.
What Apple has announced
The official confirmation is minimal. Greg Joswiak, the company’s worldwide marketing chief, posted a short video on X in which hands embroider the old six-colour Apple logo, with the words «Welcome home. October 13.». The invitations speak of an «Apple Experience» rather than a keynote: it is the same format used for the press events on 4 March and, according to reports, for the MacBook Neo launch.
Apple hasn’t made clear whether there will be a livestream. It’s a detail that matters for anyone wanting to follow the event from Italy: until there is confirmation, it’s best not to take a live broadcast for granted.
What seems to be coming
Everything that follows comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, not from Apple. The journalist expects three main devices:
- A home hub with a display. According to reports, it would be a roughly six-inch object with a square screen, to sit on a surface or be mounted on a wall. It would recognise whoever is in front of it by voice or face and show each person their own calendar, messages and notes. The codename is J490, while the nickname «HomePad» is already doing the rounds online.
- A new HomePod mini. It would be the first update since 2020: same design, a faster chip and new colours, including green and pink.
- A new Apple TV. It would be the first box since 2022, again with an unchanged design and a faster processor.
On top of these there would be accessories born from the collaboration with LG and carrying the LG brand: a doorbell, a smart lock, a thermostat, and indoor, outdoor and floodlight cameras. The first images of the lock, thermostat and temperature sensor leaked on 7 October. The same sources believe, however, that these products take a back seat to Apple’s own hardware and will get a preview at most on 13 October.
Why now
Gurman claims Apple wanted to launch these devices as early as the end of 2024. They slipped because they depend on Siri AI, the revamped assistant that arrived with iOS 27 last month. That makes sense: a wall hub that recognises people and answers in a personal way is only as good as the assistant inside it.
Prices and availability in Italy
For now there is nothing official on prices, release dates or markets. Apple has said nothing about Italy, and it isn’t clear whether the LG accessories will be sold in Europe. We’ll wait for the announcement to give figures in euros and, if available, in Swiss francs.
What we think
The most interesting point is not the hardware but Apple’s bet on the home after years of underwhelming HomePods. A hub with a screen puts Apple in direct competition with Google’s and Amazon’s smart displays, which have a head start of years. To catch up, Siri AI has to work really well in Italian: if the assistant is slow or gets household requests wrong, no wall-mounted screen will save it.
The other variable is compatibility. Anyone with a home built on Matter and Thread will want to know whether the new products fit in without friction. If you already have an Apple TV or a HomePod mini, there’s no reason to replace them for now: it’s better to wait for prices and first tests.
We’ll come back to the subject as soon as Apple has spoken.
Written by the SpazioiTech newsroom with the help of AI tools, from facts verified across at least two independent outlets, and checked before publication. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Translated from the Italian original. Read in Italian
