An artist’s rendition of a HomePod with a display
The much-rumored HomePod with a display has been delayed again, claims analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, but will include Apple Intelligence when it launches.
Claims of a HomePod with some kind of iPad-like screen affixed to it have been rumored for years, and most recently it’s been referred to as a Home Hub. Kuo has repeatedly reported on its development, most recently claiming that it would be released in the first half of 2024.
“The mass production time of HomePod equipped with a screen has been delayed several times,” writes Ming-Chi Kuo in his blog (in translation). “The first time was postponed from 2024… to 1Q25, and recently it was postponed to 2025 after WWDC/3Q25.”
Kuo says that the delays have chiefly been down to software development issues. Beyond saying that the device will include Apple Intelligence, Kuo says only that this HomePod’s focus will be on smart home functions.
On the hardware side, he says the device will have a 6-inch screen, and use the A18 processor as in the iPhone 16. He now also believes that the new HomePod will wirelessly connect to the Apple home cameras he has previously predicted for 2026.
It would be peculiar if they didn’t connect to an Apple home device, so this segment appears to be no more than supposition on Kuo’s part. It’s not clear whether the 2H 2025 date for the HomePod is solely another prediction.
Kuo has previously been clear that he is predicting the new HomePod rather than basing it on supply chain information. As with many of his most recent reports, though, he doesn’t distinguish between prediction and information.
He does, however, claim that the market reaction to a HomePod with a screen is positive. He doesn’t cover how he determined that, though, nor does he back up a claim that Apple expects to ship 500,000 by the end of 2025.
Separately, references to an Apple “homeOS” were spotted in a January 2024 update to tvOS. It’s possible that such a platform may now launch alongside the Home Hub in 2025.
