Apple launch event for smart home hub on 13 October

With Apple’s “Surprise and Shine” event now over, all eyes are turning to the company’s next product launch, and it could happen as soon as next week.

Bloomberg reports that Apple is planning to hold an event on 13 October and the four most likely announcements are the long-rumoured smart home hub, a new HomePod mini, a new iPad mini with a water-resistant design, and an updated Apple TV 4K.

October has traditionally been an important month for Apple’s Mac launches, however, the general consensus seems to be that there will be no new Macs at the 13 October event, despite several new models being tipped for release. Instead, the latest rumours suggest that Apple will hold a second launch in the last week of October, and that this will be time that it unveils its new Macs.

The star of this Mac-focused event is rumoured to be the high-end MacBook Pro with an OLED touchscreen. Alongside that, we could also see an M6-powered iMac in new colours, and an updated entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro, also with the M6 chip.

The company’s smart home push has been in the making for a long time. Despite having a strong ecosystem of devices and services, Apple has struggled to make a significant dent in the smart home market.

The upcoming smart home hub could be Apple’s biggest attempt yet to change that. The device is expected to combine a display with smart home controls and serve as a central interface for Apple’s ecosystem, while also putting its revamped Siri AI capabilities front and centre.

As it stands, it looks like October could be an incredibly busy period for Apple. Holding launch events in October is not unusual for them, but having two of this scale is unprecedented, especially when you consider the significance of the products that could be announced.

Source: Bloomberg, MacRumors