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Apple’s long-rumoured “homeOS” operating system might finally be on the horizon, based on recent trademark activity. An apparent shell company known as Home Operations Suite LLC has submitted trademark applications for “HOMEOS” in several countries, including a priority filing in Liechtenstein in October 2024, followed by applications in the United States, Argentina, and Peru in April 2025.
As Macrumours noted, while there’s no definitive proof that Apple owns this shell company, the Cupertino lot has a history of using similar shell companies to discreetly secure trademarks for unannounced products. For instance, in May 2023, a similar approach was taken with the “visionOS” trademark, which preceded the announcement of the Vision Pro headset and its operating system at WWDC.
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The term “homeOS” has surfaced in various contexts over the years, including Apple job listings and code references in tvOS 17.4. This has led to speculation that “homeOS” could be the software platform for some form of Apple smart home hub, unifying their existing smart home software and devices.
Rumours suggest that this smart home hub, possibly named “HomePad,” might feature a 7-inch display and integrate functionalities from the HomePod and Apple TV. The device is expected to serve as a central command center for smart home devices, offering features like video calls, media playback, and smart home controls.
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If you’ve ever seen an Amazon Echo Show, think that, but more Apple-y.
However, the launch of this device has reportedly been delayed due to setbacks in the development of Apple’s AI-powered features, particularly enhancements to Siri. The debut of Apple Intelligence was supposed to radically overhaul Siri and make it, well, usable as a full assistant but this never materialised. Further Siri updates have been delayed until 2026 following a need for further development.
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With WWDC 2025 just around the corner, the timing of these trademark filings suggests that Apple may be preparing to unveil “homeOS” as a new addition to its suite of operating systems. If announced, “homeOS” would represent a larger stride into the smart home market than ever before for Apple who lag behind rivals such as Samusng and Huawei in that space.
