Apple is reportedly developing a smart display that would double as a smart home hub, and details of the upcoming product’s widget gallery appear in code buried in the latest macOS beta.
The discovery paints a clearer picture of how Apple’s first true smart display might work. It also gives us an idea of how the widget gallery might pull content straight from your iPhone, mixing Apple’s own apps with third-party widgets.
Apple’s smart display has reportedly been in development for years now, giving users a dedicated touchscreen for controlling smart-home accessories and accessing Apple services. Siri AI is expected to be a core part of the experience. The same apparently goes for widgets.
iPhone, iPad and Mac already include widgets that are controlled with a a widget gallery. This is the menu used to drop widgets on the device’s Home Screen or Lock Screen. The smart display seems to use a similar system. It’s just built for a shared screen that’s meant to sit in a kitchen or hallway.
Hidden code uncovered in a recent macOS 26 beta by MacRumors reveals details about the widget gallery coming to Apple’s rumored smart display. The strings live in a file called PosterKit-J490, which is apparently the internal codename for the device.
PosterKit already powers Lock Screen customization on iPhone and iPad. This link suggests the smart display’s main screen could borrow the same building blocks: icons, widgets and clock faces.
Widgets already installed on a linked iPhone may be suggested on the smart display as well. That’s fairly similar to how iPhone widgets show up on a Mac without needing a separate app.
Code references also hint that third-party widgets could work alongside Apple’s own apps, and any iPhone widget shown on the smart display would mirror live information from the phone itself.
Apple also appears to be focusing on privacy here. Everyone in the household could see which widgets are installed on the shared smart display, but the actual content of these widgets would reportedly stay hidden unless the linked iPhone’s owner is home.
A Smart Stack for the whole house
The smart display is also expected to include a Smart Stack, a feature that already exists on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. This automatically rotates widgets to display relevant information, and users can also swipe through different Smart Stack pages manually.
No App Store, but familiar apps
In a surprise move, apparently there won’t be an App Store for the smart screen. Instead, users will see support for a curated set of Apple apps. That list may include Safari, Apple News, Apple Music, Notes, Calendar, Photos and Home.
The code also refers to a Face Gallery, which means you might see multiple clock face options for the home screen. The home hub may be able to join HomeKit scenes and automations, working alongside other smart home accessories.
Apple smart display release timing and design
The smart display is expected to feature a 7-inch square display, with Apple offering a tabletop base version and a wall-mounted option. That would give buyers some flexibility in setup.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman hints the smart display/home hub could arrive in the coming months, sometime between October and early next year. It even showed up in a massive leak of Apple device launching soon.
