Apple (AAPL) stock rose in early trading on Wednesday following a report that the company is preparing to host an event next month outlining its entry into the smart home space.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple will unveil an all-new smart home hub designed to control devices throughout the home, serve as a digital calendar and reminder list, play music, make video calls, and more.
Shares of Apple rose nearly 3%.
The hub, which can be mounted on a wall or placed on a counter with an accompanying stand, is designed to recognize users and provide them with personalized content via voice or facial recognition. It will also take advantage of Apple’s new Siri AI platform, which it launched in beta earlier this month.
Apple is also working on a secondary version of the smart home hub featuring a robotic arm that lets the screen rotate 360 degrees.
336.24 +6.84 (+2.08%)
As of 2:32:03 PM EDT. Market Open.
The home hub would stand as the first new product category for Apple under CEO John Ternus, though the project has been in the works for some time. It could also serve as a lucrative new revenue stream for the company if it catches on.
Current do-it-yourself hub-style solutions require users to mount iPads to their walls to control smart home products or access them via their iPhones.
In addition to the hub, Apple is also rolling out new versions of its Apple TV set-top box and HomePod mini smart speaker. Both devices will look roughly the same as their existing versions, though they’ll get more powerful processors to run Siri AI.
According to Gurman, Apple is looking to speed up its product development by making the company leaner via layoffs and other reductions.
Apple is entering a market traditionally dominated by Amazon (AMZN) and Google (GOOG, GOOGL), which had early success in the smart home space thanks to their Alexa and Google Assistant platforms, respectively.
The company’s home offerings fall under its Wearables, Home, and Accessories segment, which brought in $35.68 billion in 2025, making it Apple’s third-largest segment behind the iPhone and Services.
The iPhone, however, is still by far the company’s most important product, bringing in $209.58 billion of Apple’s $416.16 billion in total revenue last year.
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