It’s been no secret that Apple is developing its all-new smart home hub; some people would even imagine that this device would be reminiscent of the iconic iMac G4’s “sunflower” design, and Mark Gurman from Bloomberg is now more than confident that design concept will become a reality as he now provides more details about the upcoming product’s design.
- The home hub will feature a 6-inch square display, presumably with a 1:1 aspect ratio. Note that he specifically said “square”, so this wouldn’t be the first time that Apple would use actual “square” displays. Fun fact: the sixth-generation iPod nano had a tiny 1.5-inch square display.
- Gurman also claimed that the display would be “about as thick as an iPhone”. For comparison, the iPhone 18 Pro Max is 8.75 mm thick, so by proportion to the length/width of the display, the display would still look as slim.
- Additionally, the display, which will feature rounded corners that follow its curved design, will feature uniformly “thick” quarter-inch black bezels that would harken back to the earliest iPad designs.
- Of course, the display would “float” in mid-air as it will be suspended by an adjustable arm, which is attached to a hemispherical dome enclosure akin to the iMac G4’s design.
But the details for the upcoming design don’t stop here:
- The smart home hub will come in a presumably “space gray” aluminum finish with a rubberized bottom to prevent the device from scratching the surface underneath or moving when the user interacts with the device.
- Since it will be a stationary product, it will be powered through the built-in USB-C port.
- Similar to the iMac G4’s design, the home hub will feature “multiple rings of perforated speaker holes” around the “polished metal arm”.
- That arm will presumably be for height- and tilt-adjustments, although Gurman didn’t specify whether the arm would have a pivoting range similar to how the iMac G4 would swivel around 180 degrees.
- In typical Apple fashion, there won’t be any visible buttons to turn on the device or adjust the volume; the user could pair and control the home hub via the built-in Home app on iPhone or iPad.
- Lastly, the home hub will feature only one camera, which will be located on the front side for you to make video calls such as FaceTime.
As previously reported, Apple is planning a second variant of its home hub that’s designed to be “wall-mounted”, and Gurman says that that variant will be powered by USB-C and feature a “thin square-shaped base” behind the display that would house the internals, including speakers and microphones.
The iMac G4’s design has always been one of my favorite designs from Apple, and I’d be more excited to see Apple bringing it back in over 20 years. This would be one of the most exciting products from Apple this season, so I would definitely get my hands on one. Gurman says this home hub will be unveiled on October 13 alongside the updated Apple TV and HomePod mini. Bookmark this page to stay up to date for more Apple-related news.
