Apple's screen-equipped home hub is said to land on October 13, alongside a new HomePod mini and Apple TV

If you have been putting off a HomePod mini or an Apple TV purchase, mid-October is the date to watch. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that Apple plans to unveil an all-new smart home hub, an updated HomePod mini and a new Apple TV 4K on Tuesday, October 13.

The hub is the genuinely new thing. Gurman describes a 6-inch screen that can be hung on a wall or set down on a countertop, while other reporting puts the display at roughly 6 to 7 inches and square, in both tabletop and wall-mounted versions. The device is said to be about as thick as an iPhone, in what Gurman calls Apple's standard gray aluminum finish, and it draws power over USB-C with no battery inside.

The tabletop version has been described as looking a little like the iMac G4, with the screen sitting above a rounded speaker base.

What you would actually do with it: control other smart devices, make video calls, play music, run photo slideshows and use intercom-style calls around the house. Voice and facial recognition are reported to identify who is talking to it, and earlier reporting suggested the device can recognise who is looking at it and surface personalised information for that person.

Software is the part that would make it more than a speaker with a face. The hub is expected to run an all-new operating system that may be named homeOS, and the rumored spec includes an A18 chip or newer so it can run Apple Intelligence.

The other two products are refreshes. New colours for the HomePod mini have been reported, including pink and green, and a leak indicated the new Apple TV will look the same as the current box, with reports pointing to an A19-series processor and Apple's own networking chip, though final specifications have not been announced.

Owners of the big HomePod will have to keep waiting. Gurman reportedly wrote that Apple "aims to eventually update its larger HomePod," and he says that model is expected later. What you can buy right now is the second-generation HomePod from 2023, running Apple's S7 chip, and no confirmed specs, price, design or release window exist for any future model.

Further out, Apple is reportedly working on more smart-home hardware, including a security camera and a more advanced hub with a larger display mounted on a robotic arm.

None of this comes from Apple. Apple itself has not announced an October 13 event or confirmed the products, and the date sits close to the rest of the autumn calendar: the iPhone Duo launches on Friday, October 23, with pre-orders opening Monday, October 12.