Apple sets 'Welcome home' launch for October 13 in New York
Apple invited press to New York on October 13. The tagline and a stitched logo point to the smart home. Here is what's confirmed and what's expected.
Eduardo··4 min read
Apple has a date for its next launch: Tuesday, October 13, in New York, under the tagline "Welcome home." Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, announced it on X on Thursday with a short video: "Welcome home. October 13." Apple itself posted a video on its Newsroom with the same embroidered logo, the tagline, and the date. The same day, the company sent invitations to the press, according to 9to5Mac and MacRumors. Apple hasn't said what it will announce, but nearly every clue points to the smart home.
What's confirmed
Date and place: Tuesday, October 13, 2026, in the Tribeca neighborhood of New York, not at Apple Park, the company's California headquarters.
Time: the invitation Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) received, quoted by Cult of Mac, asks guests to arrive at 9:00 a.m. ET. That's 7:00 a.m. in Mexico City.
Format: Apple isn't calling it an "Apple Event" but an "Apple Experience," an in-person session for invited press, like the one it held earlier this year to launch the MacBook Neo, according to 9to5Mac.
Livestream: unconfirmed. Apple hasn't announced an online stream or a public presentation. According to Macworld, it isn't clear whether there will be a keynote-style video.
A logo made of thread
Joswiak's video shows the old rainbow Apple logo being embroidered into fabric. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman read it two ways on X: "Welcome home" is an obvious smart home reference, and the threads in the logo point to Thread, the smart home protocol that ties everything together. That's Gurman's interpretation, not something Apple has said.
Thread is an open, low-power, IPv6-based protocol for connecting and controlling home devices, according to the Thread Group. Apple already uses it: the HomePod mini and the Apple TV 4K with Ethernet both include it, working only with HomeKit- or Matter-enabled accessories.
What's expected (unconfirmed)
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All of this comes from reports, not from Apple. In his Power On newsletter, Gurman reported that Apple was planning an October 13 event with three devices built around Siri AI, the new version of the assistant, as 9to5Mac summarized:
A home hub with a display, which rumors call the "HomePad" (not an official name). According to Macworld, it would have a roughly 6-inch, nearly square screen above a half-dome speaker base, with a nod to the iMac G4, and a front camera that recognizes whoever is looking at it to show that person's own preferences and data. iClarified also mentions a wall-mounted version. MacRumors speculates it could cost around $350.
A new HomePod mini with the same design, a faster processor, Apple's N1 wireless chip, and possibly new colors. It would be its first refresh since 2020, according to iClarified.
A new Apple TV 4K with a faster chip and more memory, the first since 2022.
Gurman has also reported LG-made accessories developed together with Apple, such as a doorbell, a lock, a thermostat, and cameras, according to The Next Web and 9to5Mac. iClarified thinks those are still a few months away, so it's not certain they'll show up on Tuesday. On his Power On podcast, as quoted by TNW, Gurman said Apple wanted to ship the three main devices at the end of 2024 and that they're only arriving now because they rely on Siri AI.
If you already own a HomePod or Apple TV
Whatever Apple shows on Tuesday won't land in empty homes. If you have a HomePod mini or an Apple TV 4K with Ethernet, you already own a Thread device. Both are sold in Mexico (HomePod mini, Apple TV 4K), but note that, per Apple's spec page, the Wi-Fi-only Apple TV 4K doesn't include Thread. Apple hasn't announced prices, dates, or countries for the new devices, or even confirmed they exist.
The open question is language. If the hub depends on Siri AI, as Gurman reports, it matters which languages and countries it works in on day one, and Apple hasn't said anything about that.
For developers, Macworld reports the hub would run a new operating system. Nothing has been announced about third-party apps or widgets.
My take
The invitation is well done: an embroidered logo and two words say "home" without announcing anything. But the format says something too. An "Apple Experience" in Tribeca with no keynote announced is smaller than an event at Apple Park, and it makes me think Apple wants these products judged in reporters' hands. A home hub with a screen arrives late compared with what Amazon and Google already sell, and it's late precisely because of Siri. That's why I think Tuesday won't be decided by the design, but by whether Siri AI works well in someone's kitchen, and in Spanish.
