Apple May Be Developing an iPad-Like Smart Home Display

Apple is turning its gaze deeper into the smart home market.

The Cupertino-based tech giant recently announced it is working on a few smart home devices that could challenge Amazon and Google's supremacy over the smart home market.

Bloomberg previously reported in 2022 that Apple had plans to create more smart home devices to introduce to the public in 2023, per The Verge.

Apple iPad-like Smart Display Details

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman mentioned in his report that Apple is developing a low-end iPad that will serve as a smart home display similar to a Google Nest Hub or Amazon's Echo Show to penetrate the smart display market.

This iPad-like smart display is expected to control things like thermostats, lights, and other HomeKit devices, per Gurman's anonymous sources. It can also show videos, and handle FaceTime chats, per Macrumors.

Additionally, the smart display might have been designed to be mounted on walls or elsewhere using magnetic fasteners, making it more like a smart home display than a repurposed regular iPad. Moreover, the display will be less expensive compared to a regular iPad, though it could still have the multi-user problem that makes current iPads unpleasant to use for home control, per The Verge.

Hopefully, Apple comes up with a solution to that issue before it releases the smart home display it is developing.

Apple converting a low-end iPad into a smart home display isn't exactly surprising. Gurman previously reported in 2022 that Apple is working on a dock for the iPad that would allow the device to function as a smart display and speaker.

In his previous report, Gurman mentioned that the iPad would have a charging dock that would let it act like a smart display, though Apple may have replaced this charging dock with magnetic fasteners to make it more suitable to use while attached to walls.

Gurman also noted that the dispute was supposed to be released sometime in late Oct. 2022, but was probably delayed due to technical issues.

Apple is not a new face in the smart home market, but its devices and offerings are less than desirable when compared to its competitors. Its current devices remain limited in their functionality, with Apple's Siri voice-control service playing catch up with Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant.

What Else Is Apple Planning?

Aside from the iPad-like Smart Home display, the Cupertino-based tech giant is also alleged to be revamping its TV box with a new version that comes with a faster processor. Apple may be releasing this new TV box sometime in the first half of 2024.

Unfortunately, it is likely that the new Apple TV box won't be supporting 8K video streaming.

Meanwhile, the HomePod/Apple TV project, which aims to connect the two devices, has also suffered setbacks. However, its development is still ongoing, unlike the AR glasses Apple initially planned on developing.

As a result, the release of this device combination could be sometime in 2024 or 2025.