Apple’s rumoured smart home display won’t be arriving this spring after all. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that the device—internally codenamed J490 and widely dubbed the “HomePad”—has been pushed back to September 2026, with Apple’s ongoing struggles to overhaul Siri cited as the primary reason.The delay is particularly frustrating given that the hardware itself has reportedly been sitting finished for months. Apple had initially hoped to announce the product as early as this month, alongside the recent wave of launches that included the iPhone 17e and MacBook Neo. Instead, the company wants to hold off until the revamped Siri is actually ready—and that’s not happening anytime soon.
Apple’s “NEW” Features… That Android Had YEARS Ago!
Apple has been promising a new Siri for nearly two years
The updated Siri, which Apple is rebuilding as a more capable, chatbot-style assistant with deeper personal data integration, was originally promised for spring 2025.
It then got pushed to the 26.4 software update this year, and is now being targeted for iOS 27 and the iPhone 18 Pro launch in the fall. That timeline directly dictates when the HomePad can ship, since personalised, AI-powered interaction is essentially the device’s entire selling point.
The HomePad itself is a pretty intriguing piece of hardware
According to Gurman’s sources, the HomePad features a 7-inch square display that can magnetically attach to either a half-dome speaker base or a wall mount—somewhat like a giant MagSafe accessory.
The interface uses circular app icons arranged similarly to the Apple Watch home screen, and a facial recognition system lets it surface personalised content—calendar entries, music preferences, reminders—depending on who’s standing in front of it.
A single USB-C port handles power, and the casing is Apple’s classic silver aluminium.The HomePad is just the start of a broader smart home push from Apple. A larger 9-inch version with a robotic arm is reportedly planned for 2027, along with a smart doorbell, a new screenless HomePod, and an updated Apple TV. But all of it hinges on Siri finally being ready—and Apple has burned through enough deadline promises on that front to warrant some healthy scepticism.
