Apple Inc., aiming to catch up with rivals in the smart home market, is nearing the launch of a new product category: a wall-mounted display that can control appliances, handle videoconferencing and use AI to navigate apps.
The company is gearing up to announce the device as early as March and will position it as a command center for the home, according to people with knowledge of the effort. The product, code-named J490, also will spotlight the new Apple Intelligence AI platform, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the work is confidential.
He goes on:
The device has a roughly 6-inch screen and looks like a square iPad. It’s about the size of two iPhones side by side, with a thick edge around the display. There’s also a camera at the top front, a rechargeable built-in battery and internal speakers. Apple plans to offer it in silver and black options.
Gurman writes that the OS and interface are something like a mix of watchOS and the iPhone’s Standby mode, all powered by widgets with glanceable information, Siri, and Apple Intelligence.
(I would assume that iPad apps would make an appearance as well as an escape hatch, like they do on visionOS.)
After writing about the software, he goes back to a well he can’t seem to stay away from:
Apple is already planning a more expensive follow-up version with a robotic limb that can move the screen around. Apple plans to market that technology as a home companion with an AI personality.
What a robot is — or not — is beside the point here, of course, but the idea of a device dedicated to managing the smart home is very interesting. Being wall mounted means something like this could near an exterior door or in a hallway, whereas products like this normally end up in the kitchen. Of course, Apple will include — or sell — some sort of stand for the device to make it as adaptable as possible.
Speaking of devices by Google and Amazon… they are normally under $250. I’m drawing my line in the sand for this at $499. Gurman says the one with the “robotic arm” may near $1,000.
I for one am super interested in this, and Jason Snell writes, it makes a lot of sense for Apple to go down this road:
This kind of product has seemed like a no-brainer for Apple for some time, since it’s largely built out of features and functionality Apple is already shipping, or is about to ship. It seems like Apple Intelligence is the feature that is finally putting it over the top.