Apple has sent invitations for a “Welcome home” product launch on Tuesday 13th October 2026 in New York. The invitation gives journalists a 9am appointment in Tribeca, which is 4pm in Kenya, and calls the gathering an “Apple Experience”.
The home-themed invitation points towards Apple’s expected smart home announcements. A display for controlling connected devices, an updated HomePod mini speaker and a refreshed Apple TV 4K streaming box are the anticipated products, although Apple has yet to confirm the line-up.
Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, also shared the message “Welcome home. October 13.” on 8th October.
Earlier this month, we covered the expected home hub and hardware updates when the date was still unconfirmed. Anyone considering a HomePod mini or Apple TV purchase now has a specific day to wait for before deciding.
What Apple could bring into the home
The most interesting expected product is the display. The rumoured home hub would have a screen of roughly six inches, with a version for a countertop and another for mounting on a wall. Its anticipated uses include video calls and controlling smart home accessories, with Siri, Apple’s voice assistant, central to the experience.
That would give a household a shared screen for tasks that currently involve a phone or voice commands. Someone could check a compatible camera or adjust connected lights from a device that stays in the room. Whether that is useful will depend on the accessories it supports and how much Apple charges.
Apple already has much of the underlying system. The Home app brings compatible smart home accessories into one place on Apple devices. It lets users control lights and view cameras, while automations can trigger actions such as switching lights on at sunset.
A home hub keeps that system accessible when the owner is away and enables automations. Apple’s existing HomePod speakers and Apple TV can perform that role. For someone with compatible equipment, that means being able to check or control it from outside the house. A new display would add another way to interact with the home.
The two expected refreshes have familiar uses. The HomePod mini is a small speaker with Siri and support for AirPlay, Apple’s system for sending audio from an iPhone or another Apple device. It can play podcasts and control compatible home accessories. The Apple TV 4K is the physical box for streaming apps on a television; buying the box is a separate decision from subscribing to Apple’s streaming service.
The LG doorbell and cameras built for it
LG is making hardware for this system too. People with knowledge of the plan say Apple helped design a video doorbell, three security cameras, a smart deadbolt lock, a thermostat and a temperature sensor that LG will make, sell under its own brand and support. They are built to work with the new hub, HomePod mini and Apple TV, but they are not expected in shops for at least a few more months.
Photos of the doorbell and cameras leaked on 7th October. They are the:
- LG Video Doorbell Wired,
- LG Floodlight Cam,
- LG Outdoor Cam Plug-In and
- LG Indoor Cam Plug-In, and they appear to be test units, with one photographed in gloved hands on what looks like a production bench.
All four connect over Wi-Fi and Thread, a low-power network that smart home devices use to talk to each other and to a home hub. The floodlight, outdoor and indoor cameras have infrared LEDs for recording in the dark, and nothing in the leaked camera material mentions a battery.
Renders of the lock, thermostat and sensor, each with an LG logo, leaked the same day. On the back of the thermostat, next to a setup QR code, is what looks like the logo of Matter, the shared standard that lets smart home devices from different brands work together. Neither Apple nor LG has confirmed any of it. Apple’s own privacy-focused home camera is a separate product, due next year.
For Kenyan buyers, the recording side of cameras like these already works. HomeKit Secure Video, Apple’s service for storing camera footage in iCloud, is on Apple’s list of features available in Kenya and comes with iCloud+, Apple’s paid storage plan. On Apple’s Kenyan prices, the 50GB plan at USD 0.99 a month, or about KES 130, covers one camera, and the 200GB plan at USD 3.49, about KES 450, covers five. A home hub analyses the footage before anything is recorded, which is one more job for a HomePod mini or Apple TV. Adding a camera to the Home app needs an iPhone or iPad.
For buyers, waiting the five days until 13th October is sensible if a HomePod mini or Apple TV is already on the shopping list. Both are sold here through retailers. The launch should let them assess any announced replacements against the devices available today. Anyone interested in the display should check that it works with their existing home accessories before committing to it.
Join the discussion