Apple's rumored smart home hub is shaping up to look like a reincarnated iMac G4.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports the device will pair a 6-inch square display with a metal arm and a round, speaker-perforated base - the same silhouette as the half-dome iMac from 2002. It comes in countertop and wall-mounted versions, skips a battery and physical buttons, and leans on Face ID, with an iPhone as backup, to recognize whoever walks up and show personalized content, hiding private information in a visitor mode when it doesn't recognize a face. The software mixes watchOS-style app icons with iPad-style two-panel layouts for apps like Messages and Notes. Gurman says Apple plans to unveil the hub on October 13 alongside new HomePod mini and Apple TV models.
That emphasis on cameras and facial recognition, rather than voice alone, puts Apple's hardware strengths up against Amazon's Echo Show and Google's Nest Hub, both of which have relied on spoken commands to personalize a shared household screen. If per-person recognition and automatic interface switching work as described, Apple could reset what people expect from a counter-top display - less a glorified speaker, more a household control panel.
Reviving a two-decade-old design Apple itself discontinued is either a nostalgic flex or proof that round, friendly hardware never really goes out of style - until a price and release date land, file this one under promising rumor.