Two of the biggest names in smart home tech are moving in different directions this year. Google has finally added smart button support to the Google Home app, closing a long-standing gap with rivals, while Apple’s long-rumored Home Hub is reportedly being developed with a swiveling robotic base — a feature that would put it in direct competition with Amazon’s now-discontinued Echo Show 10.
Google Home finally catches up on smart buttons
Google rolled out smart button support as part of the Google Home app’s February 2 release notes, addressing a feature gap that had frustrated users for years. Smart buttons are programmable physical controls used to trigger single actions, like flipping on a light, or entire automation sequences, like a morning routine that adjusts the thermostat, lights, and blinds all at once.
According to Google’s release notes, the update adds buttons and switches as “starters” within the Home app’s automation builder, supporting single or multi-press actions, long presses, and long-press releases. In practice, that means users can now set a smart button to run an automation with a tap, double tap, or press, rather than needing to open the app and manually trigger routines every time.
The update arrived bundled with several other automation improvements, including the ability to trigger actions from humidity sensor readings, robot vacuum dock status, device battery levels, and binary states like open/closed or leak/no leak on supported devices. Google also added support for setting smart lights to a specific color or color temperature directly through automations.
As several outlets covering the rollout pointed out, Google was late to this particular party. Apple, Amazon, and Samsung have all offered smart button compatibility in their respective smart home platforms for some time, making this less a groundbreaking new feature than a long-overdue fix to one of the more obvious holes in Google’s ecosystem. That said, it’s a meaningful one — smart buttons are especially useful for renters and anyone who can’t install smart switches directly into their walls, since a battery-powered button can sit anywhere without any wiring changes.
Apple’s Home Hub: a robotic swivel joins the rumor pile
On the Apple side, the company’s long-delayed smart home hub is picking up a new — and unexpected — rumored feature. According to a report from The Information’s Wayne Ma, cited by multiple outlets including MacRumors and Digital Trends, Apple is working on a version of its Home Hub that includes a small display, built-in speakers, and what’s described as a “robotic swiveling base,” with a heavy emphasis on AI capabilities.
The detail is notable because, as MacRumors pointed out, no prior reporting on the Home Hub — including extensive earlier coverage from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman — had suggested any kind of swivel or robotic movement. Gurman had previously described Apple working on two separate versions of the hub: one meant to mount on a wall, and another built around a HomePod mini-style speaker base meant for a desktop or countertop. The swiveling base appears to be a new addition to that lineup rather than a replacement for either.
Ma’s report didn’t detail exactly how the swivel mechanism would work, though the working assumption across coverage is that it would let the device physically turn to face a person as they move around a room, similar in concept to Amazon’s discontinued Echo Show 10, which used a rotating base to keep its camera and screen oriented toward whoever was speaking to it.
Apple’s Home Hub has already been delayed once. The device was originally expected to launch in 2025, but reporting attributed the delay to broader problems with Apple Intelligence, particularly the extended rework of Siri. Earlier MacRumors coverage had pointed to a spring 2026 launch window, timed to coincide with the improved Siri features. With Siri AI now built into iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27, the technical prerequisite Apple was reportedly waiting on appears to be in place, though Apple hasn’t confirmed a Home Hub launch date.
What to watch next
For Google, The next question is whether third-party smart button makers move quickly to ensure compatibility now that the platform supports them natively. For Apple, everything remains rumor until the company confirms specifics — a launch date, pricing, and how (or whether) the robotic base actually functions. Given that Apple’s newly installed CEO John Ternus previously led hardware engineering, any confirmed details on the Home Hub are likely to be read as an early signal of what kind of hardware bets he’s willing to make in his first year running the company.
