Today (October 13), Apple is hosting its “Welcome Home” event – an in-person media experience in New York City, rather than the usual Apple Park-based event with a livestream to follow along. It’s all about new smart home technology, and despite the lack of a stream, Apple has made a number of announcements at the event that we can now take a close look at.

Three major announcements have taken place during the event: Apple HomeView, the new HomePod mini 2, and the new Apple TV 4K. The headlining HomeView is essentially a 7-inch smart hub tablet, available in tabletop and wall-mouted versions, designed for smart home management with Siri AI features integral to the experience.

All three are now available to pre-order from the Apple Store, with the HomePod mini 2 scheduled to release a couple of weeks ahead of the other two reveals.

What’s new at the Apple Welcome Home event?

Apple HomeView

Apple HomeView is the company’s first dedicated smart display, designed to bring entertainment and smart home controls into one place. It features a 7-inch Liquid Retina touchscreen, a built-in speaker system and a 12MP camera for FaceTime video calls with Centre Stage. Users can display photos, recipes, calendar events and reminders, while letting users control compatible smart home devices such as lights, thermostats and security cameras.

According to its official press release, Apple says the new HomeView device is “designed to be central to the home and personal to everyone in it”. Senior VP of Worldwide Marketing, Greg Joswiak, says “Apple HomeView is designed to be shared by everyone in the home yet feel completely personal to each user”. Again, Siri AI is an integral feature, allowing users to make natural-language requests or access information from a compatible iPhone. Facial recognition supports personalised layouts for up to six household members.

HomePod mini 2

Apple’s next-generation HomePod mini refreshes its compact smart speaker with updated hardware and connectivity, including the S10 chip, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 6, Thread and Matter support. It keeps the spherical mesh design of the original model while introducing a new range of “chroma” colours, including Pink. Other improvements are centered around its place in a smart home.

Users can pair multiple HomePod mini speakers for a multi-speaker listening experience, use one as the default speaker for a Mac, and take advantage of automatic audio calibration when connected to the new Apple TV 4K. “HomePod mini 2 brings together Siri AI, gorgeous new colors, and incredible audio,” says Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Home Product Marketing. The Apple Intelligence approach should give provide a more personalized experience, with easier music discovery.

New Apple TV 4K

First things first, the Apple TV 4K is not an actual television screen itself. The new 2026 edition is the fourth generation of Apple’s set-top streaming box, designed as a faster and more capable system to the smart TV functionality found built-in to modern TVs. Despite the name, it isn’t locked into Apple TV streaming only – you’ll also have access to third-party apps and streaming services. This time around, Apple TV 4K brings the power of Siri AI to the system. “The new Apple TV 4K is our most immersive home theater experience yet,” says Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.

With Siri AI, the streaming box makes it easier to find content and get recommendations through natural-language voice commands. One of the biggest changes is the addition of four far-field microphones built into the device, allowing users to speak to Siri without needing to hold the remote close or rely on a HomePod. It is also designed to work more seamlessly with Apple’s wider home entertainment ecosystem.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.