Apple is readying a smart home display with an iPad running a tweaked version of tvOS, claims a new report. The smart home display from the iPhone maker could be marketed under the category “HomeAccessory” and it could support voice and hand gestures.
Apple smart home display would have an iPad running “homeOS”
Apple has been leading the smartphone and tablet market with the iPhone and the iPad respectively. It has a strong presence in the personal computing space with the iMacs and MacBooks.
Apple even has the Apple Vision Pro for the Mixed Reality market. However, Meta surprised the world with an aggressively priced Meta Quest 3S and the Orion Augmented Reality headset with a holographic display.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is now shifting its attention to the smart home market. He claims the as-yet-unannounced smart home display would have a new operating system, called homeOS.
Apple TV’s tvOS currently drives HomePods. This OS could be customized for smart home sensors, IoT, and smart gadgets. It would run core Apple apps like Calendar, Notes, and Home.
The smart home display would have Apple’s Generative Artificial Intelligence, Gurman has indicated. This feature would place this product above Apple’s HomePods.
If Gurman’s predictions are accurate, Apple’s next big product for the smart home market could have an iPad as a display. It seems Apple has already tested a few prototypes, one which had magnets for wall mounting and the other sat on a dock placed on a desk.
Apple working on a ‘HomeAccessory’?
Apple Intelligence has still to catch up with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, X’s Grok, and other popular Gen AI platforms. The iOS developer was a little late to the AI arena, but it is catching up quickly.
Apple would surely want homeOS to work well with Apple Intelligence on the upcoming product. Needless to say, this would involve a lot of coding, testing, and experimentation with software and hardware.
Apple does have an iPad, a HomePod, tvOS, and several other elementary components needed for a smart home display. A recent rumor even suggested Apple is readying to unveil a “HomeAccessory”. This square-shaped device would accept voice and gesture inputs. According to The Verge, Apple could introduce the smart home display with an iPad running homeOS next year.