TL; DR
- Apple’s HomePad smart home hub is ready, but a broken Siri is blocking its launch.
- The device has been delayed twice; it’s now targeting a September 2026 release date.
- To fix Siri, Apple struck a deal with Google, rebuilding its AI on Gemini.
Apple has been sitting on a finished smart home hub for months now. The engineers have already done their job, but the key obstacle to the company’s release is that the software powering the new device — a reimagined, AI-powered Siri — isn’t ready yet.
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The HomePad: What To Expect?
The device, internally codenamed “J490” and widely dubbed the “HomePad,” is Apple’s answer to Amazon’s Echo Show. Imagine a seven-inch-square screen (somewhat like an iPad) mounted on a wall or paired with a speaker base; that’s the HomePad for you.
It is also believed to have a camera that recognises faces, knows when someone enters the room, and serves up personalized content for each family member, all via its clever software. The device is designed to be the center of a smart Apple home setup, all via the smarter, conversational version of Siri.
However, the vision (how the hardware and software work together) has been stuck in development for over a year now. Apple was initially targeting a spring 2025 release for the device, then pushed it to spring 2026. Now, the company has further delayed it to spring 2026 or September 2026.
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A Year Of Broken Promises From Apple
Each time, the reason has been the same: the new version of Siri isn’t ready. The stakes, if you don’t already know, are quite high this time, especially since Apple’s key competitors in the smartphone space already have a functional, working, omnipresent AI-powered voice assistant that is much more capable than the current Siri.
Reports suggest that there are several ongoing issues with accuracy, and not all the promised features are working reliably. Basically, Apple isn’t confident about its new Gemini-powered Siri (yet). Previously, the new Siri was expected to break cover with iOS 26.4, in March 2026. However, the beta is already out, and unfortunately, the new Siri isn’t a part of it.
It’s being speculated that Apple might roll out the new Siri with iOS 26.5 in May (in beta), with the full rollout potentially taking place with iOS 27 in September. For consumers, it means another long wait for something Apple has been promising since mid-2024. The plan now is to bundle the HomePad launch with the iPhone 18 Pro in September.
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The Humbling Google Deal That Might Make Things Right
It’s not like Apple doesn’t know what to do. The company wants Siri to be context-aware, chatbot-like, capable of acting across apps, and able to understand complex requests (similar to Gemini). To get there, the Cupertino giant has even made a desperate deal with Google, wherein it wants to rebuild its AI models on top of Gemini.
Apple is a firm believer in building everything in-house, but entering into a multi-year deal with Google must have been a humbling experience for the company. It was an admission of the fact that Apple is running behind its major competitors, and it’s high time it takes a big leap in order to catch up.
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