In addition to improved Siri: New Apple "Home Hub" allegedly also postponed
Following Apple's announcement of the postponement of important new Siri features, another project will also be delayed.
Devices with question marks: Will Apple's "Home Hub" also not arrive until 2026?
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The timetable for Apple's AI features and corresponding products is slipping: After the company confirmed on Friday that it will probably have to wait another year for important new features for the Siri voice assistant, a hardware project is now also said to have been postponed. This concerns the so-called Home Hub, a new control device for the smart home with HomeKit, which was apparently to rely heavily on Apple Intelligence.
Postponed Siri triggers cascade
As Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman reports, Apple had actually planned to unveil the device, code-named J490, in March. The Home Hub is supposed to combine an iPad-like – albeit smaller – screen with control functions for the home. The problem is that the device relies – at least in part – on the now delayed Siri functions, which is why it now has to be postponed.
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However, Gurman does not specify what this means for the timetable. The postponed Siri features are now not expected to arrive before 2026. At the very least, Apple writes that it now expects a rollout "in the coming year". Whether the Home Hub will also have to wait that long remains unclear. In the meantime, Apple is said to have started testing the Home Hub, at least internally. Selected employees have been allowed to take the device home and then provide "frequent feedback" to the developers. The device was not supposed to be technically complex; in the meantime, it was said that it would be combined with a new HomePod speaker.
Pessimism in Apple's AI department
Before the decision to postpone the new Siri features, there were reportedly internal conflicts. Software boss Craig Federighi stated that the functions had not worked correctly in his personal tests – or as advertised –. The project, which had promised a "more personalized Siri", apparently still had numerous outstanding bugs. This ultimately led to the postponement.
Some in Apple's AI department believed, Bloomberg writes in another report, that work on the features could be stopped altogether and Apple may have to reprogram the features from scratch. "The capabilities would then be delayed until the next generation of Siri, which Apple hopes to launch in 2026," writes the financial news agency.
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