Apple May Release Its First iPad-Like Smart Home Accessory Next Year

Apple may launch an iPad-like smart home accessory based on the homeOS platform early next year. BloombergMark Gurman.

It is written in its final version opening bulletinGurman reported that the display will run Apple apps like Calendar, Notes, and Home and have an interface “optimized for controlling home appliances and quickly seeing information.”

Apple’s current Apple TV and HomePod lineup already offer home hub functionality but significantly lack the hardware to run AI models. In contrast, Gurman writes, Apple Intelligence will be at the center of a new home accessory that is essentially the “lower-class companion” to the $1,000-plus robotic device for the home.

Similar devices have been used before has been rumored for a while. Prototype designs are said to resemble a HomePod with a screen (which attaches magnetically to walls or rests on a table) and an iPad-like display mounted on a robotic arm. Both accessories are said to be collaborations between Apple’s AI and home device hardware engineering groups.

Discovered by backend code MacRumors Apple in January Continuing to work on the homeOS platformAs a variant of tvOS. Later in June another code reference finding approved the presence of at least one unreleased home accessory.

More recently, 9to5Mac claimed that the lower-end smart home device has a “square-shaped display,” an A18 chip, and a built-in camera for FaceTime. The device apparently supports AirPlay, can remotely identify hand gestures, and distinguish one person from another for personalized requests. 9to5Mac He says Apple could launch its home product next spring.