CUPERTINO, Calif. — Apple is preparing to unveil a new smart home hub called HomeView this week, a long-anticipated device that could mark the company's most serious attempt yet to compete with Amazon and Google for control of the connected home.

The product is expected to debut Tuesday at Apple's "Welcome Home" event in New York, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who first reported the device's name and details in his "Power On" newsletter on Sunday. Apple has not publicly confirmed the product.

Gurman reported that HomeView will begin shipping around mid-November, roughly a month after its announcement.

A Siri-powered command center

According to the reports, HomeView pairs a display with Apple's A18 processor and is designed to serve as the central control point for an Apple-powered smart home.

Rather than functioning as a tablet, the device is expected to be built primarily around voice interaction with Siri, which Apple has been revamping with new artificial intelligence capabilities. The display is expected to support touch input, but users will mainly control lights, locks, thermostats and other connected devices by speaking to Siri.

Unlike the iPad, HomeView reportedly will not include an App Store. Instead, it is........

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