One of these alleged upcoming smart home products is an iPad robot. This will reportedly be an iPad connected to a mechanical arm. The iPad will use Apple Intelligence to mimic a personality while the use cases for the arm still remain unclear.
Another smart home product Apple is said to be working on is a cheaper option that’s just a display. This will be used for FaceTime and for controlling other smart home devices, similar to other such products on the market today. Gurman says both products will heavily rely on Apple’s AI offerings.
Unlike Mixed Reality, however, Apple will have a lot more competition to fight against in the smart home market. XR remains a niche interest (unfortunately) but smart home devices have been available for purchase for years. The company will have to unveil something truly unique if it hopes to hit it big.
As Gurman notes, Apple is a big enough company to afford its latest two mistakes: expensive XR headset and being late to the AI party. But it can’t keep messing up indefinitely if it wants to retain its spot as one of the most successful companies in the world.