Apple has never quite broken into the smart home market and from time to time we hear about another push in the sector. According to a reliable leaker, the next such attempt will take place next year with the launch of two new products and a completely new operating system. In it latest edition In his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman predicts that Apple’s next operating system will be called homeOS, based on tvOS, and that it will run on a pair of new smart displays.
While they target a very similar market and both run homeOS, the two devices will be markedly different in their range and price. The first to land, according to Gurman, will be what he describes as a “low-end smart display for using FaceTime and controlling appliances.” Codenamed J490, it could be launched next year.
But the companion product, currently codenamed J595, is a much more ambitious and consequently further out prospect. It combines an iPad-like display with a tabletop robotic limb and is designed to function as a smart home “command center.” Gurman says it can cost $1,000 or more; does not offer a timetable for its release.
It’s worth noting that both devices have been predicted before. Gurman himself covered J595 in mid-Augustwhile there has been talk of the low-end display, occasionally identified as a magnetic wall-mounted unit. for years. What’s new is Apple Intelligence’s involvement in all of this: The two products, Gurman notes, “are considered collaborations between Apple’s AI and home device hardware engineering groups.”
As the leaker points out, Apple’s current home range (Apple TV and HomePods) is not specified to run its artificial intelligence platform and it is looking for a solution. Apple Intelligence is vitally important to the company’s medium and long-term strategy, and it wants the platform to be located at the heart of customers’ homes and lives.
The first Apple Intelligence features will arrive in October with the iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1and macOS 15.1 updates.
