Apple Plans Smart Home Devices to Compete Against Google, Amazon: Report

Image: Apple

Today Apple re-launched its HomePod speaker and now Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says the iPhone maker plans an even bigger launch into the smart home market, to compete against the likes of Amazon and Google.

Here’s what unnamed sources claim Apple is working on:

• Low-end wall mountable iPad device to control smart home devices, capable of FaceTime calls
• Larger smart home displays (think: Nest Hub Max or Echo Show 15) and home stands for existing iPads
• New Apple TV coming in first half of 2024 with faster CPU; likely won’t support 8K video

An existing product that would merge an Apple TV with a smart speaker and FaceTime camera has been delayed, but still is progressing. It was set to launch in 2023, but has been pushed back, says Gurman.

Gurman says the new devices along with new changes to Siri are aimed at chipping away at Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant. These new Apple smart home devices aren’t set to launch until 2024, at the earliest.

Apple has already ceded the smart home war to Amazon and Google. It will be a challenge to make people switch over to Apple smart home devices if Siri remains in its existing hobbled state.