Apple has pulled 'bolder' features from their Smart Home Hub

Could we still finally see the Smart Home Hub soon?

We were told by many sources that Apple's new Smart Home Hub device would be out in the Spring of 2025, so where is it? Around the time of the Apple Intelligence scandal first emerging, the device was postponed significantly. However, Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple supply chain analyst, had said previously that the device was still scheduled for release for 2025.

Mark Gurman wrote in his Power On newsletter this past week that he has been told that "Apple has pulled some bolder features from the device that could reappear in subsequent models," despite not listing the features that have been pulled. He went on to further state that this was to get the device "ready faster" for release.

This, in my mind is similar to what happened with the Apple Vision Pro. For years, but especially right before its launch, Apple's board members and other employees working on the project urged for the product's release just so that they could improve on it later.

For the Vision Pro, Apple was trying to make sure that there were no issues with it. What is ironic about that is the fact that there really were no issues about the experience of using it, other than the weight. It's just that there was no use for it and it was far too expensive at $3500.

For the Smart Home Hub, there is already a market for this, with devices like the Amazon Echo Hub and Skylight Calendar readily available. Plus, if Apple leans more into the side of a smart speaker with a display, then there are hundreds of different models already available and well established in the market.

If the concern at Apple is hardware features, pulling these features is most likely very necessary in order to get the device out sooner. However, Gurman's statement that the features will "reappear in subsequent models" suggests that it could be software, too. If it is software, an OS update in a few months would be perfectly acceptable and Apple could release it at WWDC on June 9th.

However, since the device is not in mass production yet, the likelihood of this is slim. We will just have to wait until later in the year to finally get our hands on it.