According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is preparing significant changes at its retail stores in preparation for upcoming Home product launches. At the very least, Apple should debut a refreshed HomePod mini and Apple TV 4K this fall, though the changes would suggest a third, more significant product is also on its way.
Apple’s had a long backlog of Home products pending release, largely because of all of the delays involving the company’s Siri revamp. Now that Siri has come together, we should see some of these products finally hit the market after years without a refresh.
That said, reports indicated that Apple would release a refreshed HomePod mini and Apple TV 4K first, and that the companies first smart home hub (otherwise known as HomePod with Display or HomePad) might debut a little bit later.
However, it’s now sounding like the smart home hub might release alongside the updated Apple Tv and HomePod mini, at least based on what retail stores are planning. From the Power On newsletter:
Apple is preparing significant changes to those sections this fall, including rearranging parts of the Avenues and adding accessory bays to showcase new products. The company is already planning an upgraded Apple TV set-top box and a new HomePod mini for this time frame. But the scale of the retail changes suggests something else is coming: the long-anticipated home hub with a display. The planned modifications appear too extensive to be solely about routine updates to existing products.
