Apple is planning to make a major breakthrough in the smart home hardware market. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman just revealed details about the upcoming home hub and it sounds very promising.
Tablet-style control device, can be mounted on the wall, powered by AI
The report says the wall-mounted controller could launch as early as March 2025 and work with HomeKit, Apple's smart home platform.
Gurman provided some details about what the display will look like:
The device has a screen of about 6 inches and looks like a square iPad. It's about the size of two iPhones side by side, with thick bezels around the screen. There's also a top front-facing camera, a built-in rechargeable battery, and an internal speaker. Apple plans to offer silver and black color options.
The operating system will be a combination of watchOS powering the Apple Watch and the iPhone's Standby mode. The operating system will include a home screen that can be customized to add widgets or highlight smart home controls. It can also act as a slideshow display for images.
Along with the ability to control compatible devices, the display will also focus on security with alerts and camera footage.
Apple is positioning the tablet for primarily voice use with Siri and Apple Intelligence. There will be no App Store access, at least for now. But the tablet will offer several Apple apps including Notes, Calendar and FaceTime.
According to the report, the company will offer several accessories for the home hub, such as a base with speakers that can be placed in the kitchen or nightstand.
While the report provides plenty of information about the home hub, one key detail is missing – price. Gurman said only that the device will be priced similarly to competitors' products. For comparison, the Echo Show 8 costs $149.99, while the much more similar Echo Hub costs $179.99.
Could the upcoming device make waves for Apple and smart home fans?
For years, there have been rumors that Apple wanted to get into the smart home hardware market. And that seems likely to come true next year.
After price, the real question for Apple is whether the company can make the home hub different enough from the iPhone or iPad to attract potential buyers. Apple Intelligence can do that.
While the first features launched in October, like Writing Tools and Notification Summaries, were somewhat underwhelming, Apple may have more in store for the smart home.
