Apple may be making strides to invest once again in the smart home market. With Apple Intelligence well on its way later this year, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman believes the company may be preparing a handful of new products matched with a refreshed operating system.
Apple’s HomePod and smart home initiatives have often taken the back seat in exchange for the iPhone, Apple Watch, MacBook, and recently Vision Pro. However, Gurman reports that Apple may aggressively seek to release new products to compete with the likes of Google’s Nest devices and Amazon’s Echo lineup. To complement these devices, Apple may seek to introduce a new version of homeOS.
Reports of new smart displays with a new version of homeOS began turning up earlier in September. At the time, Gurman believed that one project included a robotic arm with a large, iPad-like display attached. Another device is believed to be a lower-end display with FaceTime and home appliance control capabilities. Apple Intelligence is believed to be the DNA running throughout the new devices and new version of homeOS.
With Apple Intelligence, Gurman notes that the robotic tabletop device may be able to understand who is looking at the screen and what its surroundings are. This may be the first true device built from the ground up for Apple Intelligence–a misnomer used for iPhone 16.
However, that’s not all. Gurman believes that for Apple to truly make a spot within the smart home market, Apple will have to continue to invest in Matter, which allows devices across its catalogue to work with Google and Amazon respectively. There’ll also be a big push to support app and media support on its new smart display. Giving users the advantage of watching Apple TV+ content, access Safari, and see Calendar notifications will be essential
Currently, there’s no firm word on when Apple’s new smart home devices may release but given that Apple Intelligence is right around the corner, we may not have long to wait.