Apple’s Home Hub borrows from the iPhone Duo’s sleep mode

Apple’s smart home hub is rumored to have different faces for users to choose from, some of which are similar to the screensavers planned for the iPhone Duo. Leaker pdfu has shared the Photo Face setup screens that would be for Apple’s next home product.

Depending on the images, users can choose from different photo collections, memories or shared albums for Photo Face, and these photos will be displayed on the device screen. Photos are pulled from iCloud, so iCloud Photos must be enabled for this to work. Users will be prompted to configure Photo Face upon device activation.

Pdfu says that the hub’s Photo Face is the same as the ‌iPhone Duo‌ Photo Face, and this could explain why Apple hasn’t yet made the ‌iPhone Duo‌ sleep mode available in the Xcode simulator.

This is the first visual of a Home Hub face we’ve seen. The hub is expected to have a 6-inch screen and will resemble an iPad except for the square shape and base. The hub is rumored to have an iMac G4-like half-dome metal base that connects to the display with an arm.

Previous rumors indicated that the Home Hub would not have a full App Store, but would support apps and widgets such as Calendar, Weather, Music, Messages, Reminders, and more. The device will be able to know when someone approaches it and will be able to distinguish between people in the house to display different widgets for each user. It makes sense for the hub to display a StandBy type interface when not in active use.

You’ll have several idle display options to choose from, just like you currently do when using the iPhone in sleep mode. Earlier today, Bloomberg said the Home Hub interface is “heavily built” around clock displays and photo slideshows, so Photo Face will likely be an integral part of the device’s software.

The domestic hub is rumored to debut on October 13.