Apple wants a larger slice of the smart home market, and to this end it’s said to be working on a square device that looks akin to an iPad.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is well connected in areas regarding Apple, and he’s reporting that the wall-mounted display, with a screen of around six inches, will be able to “control appliances, handle videoconferencing and use AI to navigate apps”.
Apple will position it as a “command centre for the home”, per Gurman.
“Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook is betting that the product can make Apple a force in the smart home segment, where the company has trailed behind Alphabet Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. in recent years.
“He has made the device a priority for the company’s engineering and design departments, and is pushing to get it to market after more than three years of development.”
Any such device will be in competition with the likes of Google’s Nest (products pictured above) and Amazon’s Echo (pictured at top).
According to Bloomberg, the wall mounted hub:
- Is about the size of two iPhones side by side, with a thick edge around the display;
- Has a camera at the top front, a rechargeable built-in battery and internal speakers;
- Comes in silver and black options;
- Has a touch interface that looks like a blend of the Apple Watch operating system and the iPhone’s recently launched StandBy mode.
- Will be marketed as a way to control home appliances, chat with Siri, and hold intercom sessions via Apple’s FaceTime software. It will also be loaded with Apple apps, including ones for web browsing, listening to news updates and playing music.
Gurman says the product will “tap into Apple’s longstanding smart home framework, HomeKit, which can control third-party thermostats, lights, locks, security cameras, sensors, sprinklers, fans and other equipment”. The company expects most people to use their voice to interact with the device, relying on the Siri digital assistant and Apple Intelligence.
