Apple has officially announced HomeView, its long-rumored smart home hub, priced at $299 in the US. It comes in two versions, a tabletop model and a wall-mounted one, both built around a 7-inch Liquid Retina display with True Tone that ranges from 500 nits down to just 0.3 nits. The tabletop model sits on a domed speaker base with a down-firing woofer, attached through a tilting stainless steel hinge. Inside, there's an A18 chip with Secure Exclaves, which Apple says keeps camera and microphone data separate from the rest of the system.

HomeView leans heavily on Apple's new Siri AI, which is still in beta on the device. Personal context features need a paired Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone or iPad, and some server-side features come with daily limits, with paid expanded access planned for later. The hub also recognizes up to six people by face, each with their own Home Screen. Smart home control covers Matter accessories as well as Apple's new Home Collection, designed with LG and Schneider Electric and arriving in December.

Apple today announced HomePod mini 2, featuring Siri AI, gorgeous new colors, and enhanced audio experiences. Siri AI, coming to HomePod mini 2 in a future software update, is a profoundly more capable and conversational assistant with personal context understanding, broad world knowledge that powers tasks like richer music discovery, and the ability to tap into even more apps—bringing a whole new level of capability to HomePod mini.

Users can enjoy room-filling audio with a single speaker, in a stereo pair, or using multiroom audio. When paired with the new Apple TV 4K, HomePod mini 2 supports four-speaker surround sound—Apple's most immersive home theater setup yet. And HomePod mini makes it easy for different users to manage the connected home with just a voice command, securely controlling accessories and running automations.

Alongside the new Explorer 2000Plus v2, Jackery is also showing off its slim FridgeGuard UPS at IFA Berlin 2026, simultaneously announcing the FridgeGuard's official international release. As the name suggests, the Fridge Guard is designed to power a home refrigerator during a blackout, and Jackery says that it is capable of keeping a fridge going for up to 15 hours. The FridgeGuard has a nominal output of 800 W but is capable of up to 1,600 W peak output.

The FridgeGuard measures just 67 mm thick, and Jackery claims it's the world's thinnest smart fridge backup, but like Jackery's other products, the FridgeGuard is expandable with a stacking system. The base capacity is 1,024 Wh, but the expansion module allows for up to 2,048 Wh. The FridgeGuard is intended to serve as a backup solution for your whole kitchen, not just your fridge, and Jackery claims that it is good for up to 18 pots of coffee and "17 breakfasts toasted." Pricing on the Jackery FridgeGuard starts at $799 in the US, but international pricing is yet to be revealed.