Apple in the Home

Mark Gurman, writing about Apple’s upcoming move into more smart home devices, which we may see as early as this month:

At the center of the strategy is a smart-home hub code-named J490, according to people familiar with the matter. Apple also plans to announce the first update to the HomePod mini since that device’s 2020 debut and its first new TV set-top box since 2022.

…

The hub’s defining feature will be its ability to serve multiple members of a household. It is designed to recognize who is speaking to it or approaching it, and then display personalized content and provide answers based on that person’s data and accounts.

When a user walks up, for example, the device will show that person’s contacts, messages, calendar appointments, notes and preferred app layout. The interface can then change automatically when another recognized household member approaches. It will also have a mode for visitors that hides personal information.

The device identifies users by their voices or through a facial-recognition system, though the latter is less reliable than Face ID on the iPhone. Users can require secondary authentication through an iPhone if they don’t want to rely solely on voice or facial recognition. The iPhone also serves as a fallback when the hub cannot identify someone correctly.

I really hope this works well, but that’s on Apple to prove. A lot of the company’s devices are shockingly single-user.¹

The HomePod can support multiple users, but my experience with that has been pretty rough. That’s not a big deal for a lot of people, but something with a screen is going to need to support families in a much deeper way.

Gurman’s reporting makes me optimistic about this being better, but I also have questions. Let me re-quote part of his article:

When a user walks up, for example, the device will show that person’s contacts, messages, calendar appointments, notes and preferred app layout. The interface can then change automatically when another recognized household member approaches. It will also have a mode for visitors that hides personal information.

We have a HomePod mini in our kitchen near the sink. The countertop in front of it is often used for food prep, and when things are busy, my wife, at least one of our kids, and I are all using that space. Is the HomePad just going to endlessly cycle between sets of information? What controls will I have to manage that from being a rotating billboard?

I can’t wait to see the details, because in a device like this, they really matter.