Oliver Cragg / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Apple plans to take over the smart home market.
- The company is working on new software, smart displays, and tabletop robots.
- The company is also creating a new home ecosystem team, led by engineers from the canceled car project.
Apple hasn’t had much of a presence in the smart home industry, but it’s trying to change that fortunes. The company wants to conquer this space and is refocusing its efforts to do so, according to a new report.
According to bloomberg’s Mark Garman, Apple is rolling out an aggressive new strategy aimed at capturing the smart home market. To help achieve this mission, the company is prioritizing this area by creating a new Home Ecosystems team and transferring some engineers from canceled automotive projects to this team. Overall, the plan appears to be driven by three main components: artificial intelligence, screens, and software.
The first part of this strategy involves Apple Intelligence, which is used to power home automation. AI will also be used to precisely control applications, devices, and media.
The second part of the strategy involves smart displays. Apple is reportedly working on a new smart display similar to the affordable iPad. Users will be able to use the display to stream Apple TV Plus, make FaceTime calls, browse the web, and access apps like Calendar and Notes. It was previously reported that the company was also developing a tabletop robot. The device is said to be a rotating robot limb with a smart display attached to it. Use AI to detect who’s looking at your screen, what they’re doing, and who’s talking. The tabletop robot focuses on home security monitoring, advanced video conferencing, and media playback with high-quality audio. Garman estimates it could cost about $1,000.
As the final part of the strategy, Apple is creating a new smart home operating system called homeOS. According to the report, the software is built on the foundation of tvOS.
It remains to be seen whether Apple’s strategy will work. The company’s smart home products pale in comparison to the likes of Google and Amazon. However, Google and Amazon don’t exactly know the market either, so there’s room for Apple to make small inroads.
