Apple’s widely-expected home hub will user Siri AI, and is expected to launch as soon as this year. The new hub will boast a Widget Gallery, allowing users to customize the content they want to see on the device’s home screen.
MacRumors reports that mentions of the Widget Gallery have been discovered in the recently-released macOS Tahoe 26.7. The strings were discovered in a file named “PosterKit-J490.” J490 is the codename for the home hub. PosterKit is Apple’s framework for Lock Screen customization.
iPhone, iPad, and Mac users already add widgets to their devices’ Home Screen and Lock Screen using Widget Gallery, so the mechanism should be familiar to those users.
The code indicates that widgets installed on a linked iPhone will be suggested for use on the home hub. Third-party apps will likely also be supported in addition to Apple’s own apps.
While all users in the home will be able to see the widgets installed on the home hub, the content in widgets will only be visible when the primary linked device is in the home to protect user privacy.
A Smart Stack, much like the one on the Apple Watch, will automatically rotate through widgets to show relevant information throughout the day, and users will also be able to flip through the different Smart Stack options.
While the home hub isn’t expected to have its own App Store, it will support Apple’s apps, including the Safari, Apple Music, Calendar, Notes, Photos, and Home apps.
The discovered code also includes references to a Face Gallery, indicating users will have access to various clock options for the hub’s home screen.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said in July that the new hub device is built around the new Siri AI assistant, and is designed to be placed in rooms throughout a user’s home, and will be available in both tabletop and wall-mounted versions.
The first version, known internally as J490, positions the screen on a half-dome-shaped base that looks similar to a HomePod mini cut in half. The other, code-named J491, is designed to be affixed to a wall using a new magnetic system.
The hub will basically be a combination of a 7-inch display on a HomePod-like speaker. Gurman also says the device’s operating system is an entirely new one, based on the Apple TV’s tvOS platform. The interface is described as a cross between tvOS, watchOS, and iOS. The screens will sport icons, widgets, and apps, as well as customizable clock faces.
Built-in facial recognition allows the hub to identify who is looking at the display resulting in personalized information. As a user approaches the hub, or moves away from it, the size of the interface elements will change.
Other features include FaceTime videoconferencing, home security monitoring and an intercom system for households with multiple Apple home devices.
Apple is also planning an advanced in-home security camera dubbed J450, aimed at competing with Amazon’s Ring, according to Gurman.