Code in the iOS 27.3 beta suggests Apple could add chatbots to HomeView, its smart home hub.
The evidence is a flag for a "Conversational Apps" category. The code does not say which apps would fall under that heading, so the chatbot reading is an inference. AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Claude are the obvious candidates, but nothing in the beta names them.
According to pdfu on X, the same beta adds support for bidirectional audio routing (sound flowing both to and from the device) and session management. pdfu also said the work is "still not fully wired up." Unfinished code like this can change before release, or never ship at all.
Apple has also added anti-spoofing protection that requires a user to authenticate with an iPhone after three failed attempts. The source does not say what that protection guards, so it is best read as a separate detail, not a clue about chatbots.
The wider context is a race among home-device makers. Amazon and Google have both been steering their home assistants toward generative AI, and a chatbot category would put Apple's hub in that conversation, though the code alone does not show that is the plan.
One piece of speculation is worth flagging as such. A named category, as opposed to a single integration, could mean Apple would host several third-party chatbots in a store-like arrangement instead of picking one partner. Nothing in the code confirms that. It also leaves open where Siri would sit: beside these apps, or behind them.