Apple is gearing up for a new investment in the smart home that’s coming soon, and according to changes in the latest tvOS 26 beta, it seems part of that may be the replacing of the HomeKit brand with a fresh, unified name.

Rumors last fall indicated 2025 would be a big year for Apple and the smart home.

This was expected to kick off in March with a brand new product: a smart display that’s like a mix between an iPad and HomePod.

That product, however, was delayed indefinitely because it relied in large part on the Siri upgrades that were expected this spring but didn’t arrive on time.

Apple does still have two new Home products coming this year: a new Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini 2.

But the smart display—which may be called HomePod Touch—is now slated for 2026 alongside other new Home devices.

Ahead of this flurry of new Home products—likely two this fall, and at least three in 2026—it seems Apple is planning to streamline branding for its smart home offerings.

The Verifier reported that tvOS 26 beta 5, which arrived last week, replaced references to ‘HomeKit’ in the Settings app with a new term: ‘Apple Home.’

It seems Apple Home will be the new, unified branding for all things smart home related.

And HomeKit could, as early as next month, start using this new branding too.

It’s no surprise that Apple wants to strengthen and simplify its branding around smart home-related initiatives.

Here’s hoping the apparent phasing out of the ‘HomeKit’ term does truly bring a stronger, more focused smart home strategy to accompany Apple’s forthcoming products.

What do you think of Apple replacing ‘HomeKit’ with ‘Apple Home’? Let us know in the comments.

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