While almost every tech company is scrambling to come up with new AI-infused hardware that goes beyond traditional displays, Apple is jumping into an existing product category, but putting its own spin on it.
Cupertino is revitalizing its in-house product line and returning to what it does best: taking an ambitious vision of its hold on customers by cementing new daily habits.
Apple plans to enter the smart home market on October 13 by unveiling a new smart hub with a roughly 6-inch square screen, Bloomberg reports. The device can recognize who is approaching it; provide personalized responses; and works as a home dashboard for temperature, locks, music and video calls.
The expansion of its hardware lineup comes as new CEO John Ternus oversees a push toward AI and deeper integration of Apple’s delayed Siri AI assistant. Already with a truly updated iPhone and new hardware capabilities, Apple clearly thinks its audience is ready and open to new devices, and the usually cautious company is doubling down on its efforts with the smart hub.
Apple’s cautious approach to new gadgets is notable because the tech scene is littered with flops released before their time, including Apple’s own Vision Pro headset. In this way, Apple is not a Google Glass company, willing to risk a misaligned product worthy of being first, nor is it following in OpenAI’s footsteps, exploding onto the scene with a software product that wasn’t quite ready for prime time.
Long dominated by Google and Amazon, the smart home market represents a major opportunity for Apple, whose HomePod and HomePod mini never took off like its other signature hardware did.
The new hub’s arrival also coincides with a new iPhone line that, finally, benefits from a revamped Siri and embraces the more casual, language-based way of interacting with computers.
In some ways, Apple’s late arrival in AI is an advantage.
While tech companies like Meta (META) and OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) are trying to create AI-native products, using new software to enable consumers to embrace a new category of products, Apple is advancing its AI line in reverse. It’s about integrating beefed-up Siri into the gadgets and form factors people already use.
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Closing: September 30 at 4:00:01 p.m. EDT
Although Apple is known for its refined and intuitive design, its footprint in the consumer world is also defined by accessible pricing and universal appeal.
In CarPlay, Apple is essentially in the driver’s seat without ever having to make a vehicle-focused device or fulfill its now-forgotten automotive dreams. And in Apple TV, which will also get a refresh with the first new set-top box since 2022, Apple is moving deeper into home life, with high-touch everyday use.
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