Apple is redoubling its efforts in the smart home market after lagging behind competitors like Amazon and Google. The company has dominated consumer electronics for decades, but it still struggles to be a staple in the realm of the car and the home. The company closed down its long-running car project and its current home devices have been hit and miss.
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing for its competitors. Amazon’s Echo has seen its momentum slow after a strong start. Other hardware releases like the company’s rolling robot, have also struggled. This leaves an opening for Apple, as the smart home device market remains a Wild West without a dominant brand. According to Apple whisperer Mike Gurman, they plan to become that brand.
Apple’s three-step strategy
The Bloomberg journalist believes the company will pursue a hardware-focused strategy in the coming years. Their new vision of a smart home sees small screens throughout your home that interact with one another and the screens on your person, to create an end-to-end environment. They plan to develop a smart screen, a high-end tabletop device, and a new homeOS.
One reason their smart home products have struggled is their overemphasis on the Apple ecosystem. Consumers prefer their smart home products to work with an array of other brands.It helped develop a smart home protocol called Matter, allowing them to seamlessly work with Google and Amazon devices. Gurman believes the ability to support as many accessories as possible will be key to the tech giant’s success in this market.
The company also plans to use artificial intelligence to make home automation for these devices even more effective. The tabletop device will use AI (Apple Intelligence, in this case) to recognise who is looking at it, what anyone is doing, and who is speaking. The new homeOS will be built upon tvOS, the Apple TV set-top box. A revamped Home app would also be a key component.
Recent big tech struggles in the smart home market mean Apple has an easy opportunity to introduce a multi-purpose smart home screen without much competition. The tabletop screen is expected to arrive later in the year, offering home security monitoring, advanced videoconferencing, and media playback with high-quality audio. Its design, swivelling on a robotic limb, will make it stand out from other Apple products.