BloombergMark Gurman of , reports that Apple is revamping parts of its physical stores this fall to make room for new home products.
In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says store design teams are preparing changes to “Avenues,” or the surrounding walls of new Apple stores, where accessories like HomePod, Apple TV, AirPods and Beats are displayed alongside third-party accessories.
The work would involve rearranging sections of the avenues and adding accessory bays for upcoming new devices.
Apple already reportedly has an improved Apple TV and a new HomePod mini coming. Gurman said in July that both were almost ready, with faster chips for Siri AI but no major design changes. Rumors point to an A17 Pro chip or better in the new Apple TV, as well as an S9 series chip, improved audio, and a red finish for the HomePod mini, the current version of which is now over 2,000 days old.
All that said, Gurman says the scale of the changes in retail suggests some prep work for the launch of its long-awaited home hub with screen (aka the HomePod with screen or “HomePad”).
Gurman reported last month that the smart home hub would arrive between October and early next year. It is expected to have a 7-inch square screen and will be sold with a table base or wall mount. There would also be a brand new operating system built around tvOS with Siri AI powering the device.
Code strings discovered in macOS Tahoe 26.7 last week suggest that the Home screen will use a widget gallery similar to the iPhone’s lock screen customization options. The code also indicates that the new device’s home screen could have many of the same options for icons, widgets and clock faces, with widgets from a linked iPhone suggested automatically.
Apple will need a dedicated space where customers can see how the hub works, what its purpose is, and how it fits into the larger layout of the home, Gurman reports.
