Apple’s upcoming smart home hub could bring another operating system to the company’s growing software lineup when the device arrives as soon as October.
A new report describes the software as a combination of ideas from iOS, watchOS and tvOS, built specifically for the smart home display Apple has been developing for years.
The interface is expected to include a Home Screen with a grid of apps, widgets and customizable clock faces, giving the device elements of both an iPhone and Apple Watch while adapting them for a screen that stays in one place.
Apple hasn’t announced a name for the operating system. Trademark filings from a shell company potentially connected to Apple have raised the possibility of “homeOS,” although there’s no confirmation that Apple will ultimately use it.
If it does, homeOS would join iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS and visionOS as Apple’s seventh major operating system.
The interface changes depending on who’s nearby
The software is being designed around a square display measuring roughly six to seven inches, paired with a HomePod-style speaker.
Rather than showing the same information to everyone in the house, the hub is expected to recognize who’s standing in front of it and automatically surface information relevant to that person.
That could include their calendar appointments, notes, preferred media, and other personal information. Multiple user profiles are expected to be supported.
The interface can also respond to how far someone is from the screen. Elements grow larger as you move away and become more detailed as you approach, so the display works differently from across a room than when you’re standing directly in front of it.
Siri AI sits at the center
Siri AI is expected to handle much of the interaction with the hub, letting you control smart home accessories, retrieve information, and take action without manually navigating the interface.
The device is also expected to support FaceTime calls, home security monitoring, music and podcast playback, photo galleries and calendars.
Several familiar Apple apps will come preinstalled, including Music, Podcasts, News, Notes and Reminders. The software isn’t expected to have an App Store at launch, so the initial experience will largely revolve around Apple’s own apps and services.
Apple has developed both tabletop and wall-mounted versions of the hub, giving the same software different roles depending on where the device is installed.
The company is expected to unveil the smart home hub as soon as October, potentially giving us our first look at the new operating system then.
