IT之家 9 月 30 日消息，彭博社马克 · 古尔曼刚刚报道称，苹果计划于当地时间 10 月 13 日大举进军智能家居市面，届时将推出旗下首款智能家居控制中枢（Home Hub）机型，以及 2027 款 HomePod mini 和新款 Apple TV。
这将是苹果新任 CEO 约翰 · 特努斯上任后的一次关键机型线扩张。苹果希望借助新一代 Siri AI，将智能家居设备与其现有生态进一步连接。
苹果首款智能家居控制中枢将使用约 6 英寸的方形表明屏，兼容壁挂和桌面摆放。
其中，代号 J490 的桌面版配有圆形金属底座，显示屏则借助金属支臂连接，使用者可以手动调整俯仰角度；机身使用灰色铝制外壳，并借助 USB-C 接口供电。
壁挂版代号为 J491，显示屏下方配有一块较薄的方形底座，用于容纳扬声器和麦克风。与桌面版一样不内置电池，需要外接供电。
这款设备的主要特征之一是兼容家庭成员识别。它可以借助语音或面部识别判断当前使用者，并依据对应的 Apple 账户展示联系人、信息、日历、备忘录以及个性化应用布局。当另一名家庭成员靠近时，界面可以自动切换；访客模式下则会隐藏个人信息。
消息人士称，其面部识别的准确性低于 iPhone（Face ID）。如果使用者启动二次身份确认选项，它还可以要求使用者借助 iPhone 完成二次认证。当设备无法准确识别使用者时，iPhone 也可以作为备用方式完成验证。
在光线较暗的环境中，该设备会借助显示屏周围的虚拟白色环形灯开展补光（照亮摄像头附近区域），以协助识别使用者。由于机型主要固定放置在室内，因而仅配备一颗前置 FaceTime 摄像头，没有后置摄像头。
按照苹果的计划，使用者可在家中不同位置部署多台设备，可用于控制恒温器、门锁等智能家居机型，也可以承担视频通话、类似对讲机的家庭通信、音乐播放以及播放 iCloud 上的幻灯片等能力。
厨房预计也是该设备的关键使用情形。使用者可以借助语音查询食谱、观看视频，或者在烹饪过程中开展 FaceTime 通话。据介绍，该设备的扬声器和麦克风位于底座内，总体厚度约与 iPhone 相当。
在外观外观上，桌面版使用圆角方形显示屏和黑色边框，底座周围布置多圈扬声器开孔。总体造型类似 2002 年的 iMac G4，即表明屏安装在半球形底座上。设备没有电源键和音量键，必须一直连接电源。
古尔曼称，J490 的平台 UI 融合了 Apple Watch、Apple TV 和 iPad 的外观元素，涵盖类似 iPad 的应用布局、Apple Watch 风格图标，以及用于表明股票、日历和天气信息的 iPhone 风格小组件。
设备闲置时可表明照片幻灯片和时钟，而且部分时钟使用类似“熔岩灯”的视觉成效，时间以数字形式叠加表明。使用者可以从时钟或照片界面向上滑动进入应用启动器，并借助长按调整壁纸、应用和小组件的位置。
其预装 App 涵盖日历、信息、照片、FaceTime、备忘录、提醒事项、音乐和播客等。其中，信息应用使用类似 iPad 的双栏外观，使用者点击左侧会话列表后，右侧区域表明具体对话内容。
另外，苹果届时还将推出新款 HomePod mini。这将是该机型自 2020 年发布以来的首次硬件更新，总体外观预计保持不变，但会使用新款处理器，以兼容新一代 Siri AI。据称，新款 HomePod mini 还将增加绿色、粉色等配色。另外，苹果也在计划在推出尺寸更大的 HomePod 迭代版。
Apple TV 也将迎来 2022 年以来的首次更新，预计同样沿用现有外观，但会换用更快的处理器，以满足新一代 Siri AI 的需要。
很显然，苹果新一代智能家居机型的核心能力均来自新一代 Siri AI。该平台可结合使用者个人数据回答难题，同时兼容联网搜索获取信息，还可以自然地控制其它 Apple 设备、智能家居机型和应用。
由于 Siri AI 的开发进度多次延期，苹果原本计划在更早时间推出这批智能家居设备，但机型发布也随之推迟。随着新一代 Siri 登陆 iPhone、iPad、Mac 等设备，苹果也终于具备推出相关硬件的条件。
除上述硬件外，苹果还在继续扩展智能家居生态，进一步完善 HomeKit，并与第三方厂商合作开发适配 Siri AI 家庭平台的新型联网设备。IT之家后续将保持关注。
苹果还在开发一款代号 J450 的隐私型家庭安防摄像头和传感器，可判断人员所在房间，但不会开展视频录制。
除 J490 外，苹果还在开发更高级的智能家居控制中枢版本，该机型配备更大的 9 英寸显示屏，并可借助机械臂移动显示屏，甚至可以达成 360° 旋转。当然，该机型仍处于开发早期，具体发布时间尚未确定。
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Thanks to IT Home netizen Buyao Ya for the tip!
IT Home, September 30 – Bloomberg's Mark Gurman just reported that Apple plans to make a major push into the smart home market on October 13 local time, launching its first smart home control hub (Home Hub) model, as well as the 2027 HomePod mini and a new Apple TV.
This will be a key product line expansion after Apple's new CEO John Ternus takes office. Apple hopes to use the new Siri AI to further connect smart home devices with its existing ecosystem.
Apple's first smart home control hub will use a roughly 6-inch square display, compatible with both wall-mounting and desktop placement.
Among them, the desktop version codenamed J490 features a round metal base, with the display connected via a metal arm that users can manually adjust for tilt angle; the body uses a gray aluminum shell and is powered via a USB-C port.
The wall-mounted version is codenamed J491, with a thinner square base below the display to house the speaker and microphone. Like the desktop version, it does not have a built-in battery and requires external power.
One of the device's main features is support for family member recognition. It can identify the current user via voice or facial recognition, and display contacts, messages, calendar, memos, and personalized app layouts based on the corresponding Apple account. When another family member approaches, the interface can switch automatically; in guest mode, personal information is hidden.
Sources say its facial recognition accuracy is lower than that of the iPhone (Face ID). If the user enables the secondary identity confirmation option, it can also require the user to complete secondary authentication via iPhone. When the device cannot accurately identify the user, the iPhone can serve as a backup method for verification.
In low-light environments, the device uses a virtual white ring light around the display to provide fill lighting (illuminating the area near the camera) to help identify the user. Since the device is mainly fixed indoors, it only has one front-facing FaceTime camera and no rear camera.
According to Apple's plan, users can deploy multiple devices in different locations around the home, which can be used to control smart home devices such as thermostats and door locks, and can also handle video calls, intercom-like home communication, music playback, and playing slideshows from iCloud.
The kitchen is also expected to be a key use case for the device. Users can search for recipes via voice, watch videos, or conduct FaceTime calls while cooking. It is said that the device's speaker and microphone are located in the base, and its overall thickness is roughly equivalent to that of an iPhone.
In terms of appearance, the desktop version uses a rounded square display with black bezels, with multiple rings of speaker openings around the base. The overall design resembles the 2002 iMac G4, with the display mounted on a hemispherical base. The device has no power button or volume button and must remain connected to power at all times.
Gurman says the J490's platform UI blends visual elements from Apple Watch, Apple TV, and iPad, including an iPad-like app layout, Apple Watch-style icons, and iPhone-style widgets for showing stocks, calendar, and weather information.
When idle, the device can display photo slideshows and clocks, and some clocks use a "lava lamp"-like visual effect, with the time shown in overlaid numerals. Users can swipe up from the clock or photo interface to enter the app launcher, and can long-press to adjust the position of wallpapers, apps, and widgets.
Its preinstalled apps include Calendar, Messages, Photos, FaceTime, Notes, Reminders, Music, and Podcasts. Among them, the Messages app uses an iPad-like two-column layout; after tapping a conversation in the left list, the right area displays the specific conversation content.
In addition, Apple will also launch a new HomePod mini at that time. This will be the first hardware update for this model since its release in 2020. The overall appearance is expected to remain unchanged, but it will use a new processor to support the new Siri AI. It is reported that the new HomePod mini will also add colors such as green and pink. In addition, Apple is also planning to launch a larger HomePod iterative version.
Apple TV will also see its first update since 2022, expected to retain the current appearance but switch to a faster processor to meet the needs of the new Siri AI.
Clearly, the core capabilities of Apple's new generation of smart home devices all come from the new Siri AI. The platform can answer questions by combining users' personal data, while also supporting web search for information, and can naturally control other Apple devices, smart home devices, and apps.
Due to multiple delays in Siri AI development, Apple originally planned to launch this batch of smart home devices earlier, but the product release was postponed accordingly. With the new Siri arriving on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and other devices, Apple has finally met the conditions for launching related hardware.
In addition to the hardware above, Apple is continuing to expand its smart home ecosystem, further improving HomeKit, and cooperating with third-party manufacturers to develop new connected devices adapted to the Siri AI home platform. IT Home will continue to follow up.
Apple is also developing a privacy-focused home security camera and sensor codenamed J450 that can determine which room a person is in, but does not perform video recording.
In addition to the J490, Apple is also developing a more advanced version of the smart home control hub, which features a larger 9-inch display and can move the display via a robotic arm, even achieving 360-degree rotation. Of course, this model is still in early development, and the specific release time has not yet been determined.