After years of treating smart home products like a hobby, Apple is reportedly ready to kickstart an aggressive market push.There are new home devices and a fresh strategy on the way, with Apple Intelligence at the center.Here’s what’s coming in 2025 and beyond.
Apple’s new home strategy features three pillars In his latest newsletter, Mark Gurman outlined Apple’s plans for a major new smart home push starting in 2025.He detailed three pillars of this new approach: Apple Intelligence with a heavy Siri focus homeOS, a new software platform built on tvOS Broader accessory compatibility, which Matter makes possible One of the most interesting tidbits involves how Apple plans to utilize AI as part of its future smart home products.Siri’s ability to perform hundreds of new app actions isn’t expected until next spring.
But based on the details Apple has shared so far, the upgrade could bring a lot of new power to the assistant.Imagine being able to perform a huge set of iPhone, iPad, and Mac actions without actually touching those devices—just by talking out loud anywhere in your home.Smart display with Apple Intelligence expected in 2025 This new Siri capability could be especially well-suited for a new Apple home device.
That’s where 2025’s expected smart display comes in.Here’s Gurman: Our own reporting indicates this product could feature a display that’s more square than rectangular, and include an A18 chip.As much as I’d like for Apple Intelligence to come to existing HomePods, it’s poised to be a strong selling point for Apple’s fresh smart home push and its new products.
The smart display, per Gurman, won’t necessarily offer the best sound quality.Instead, it appears to complement existing HomePods rather than replacing them.But a future, more expensive smart home product will offer a better music experience.
It’s unclear how this pricier device will set itself apart for home security and videoconferencing purposes.But ‘media playback with high-quality audio’ is easy enough to understand.It seems the lower-end smart display might be positioned like a HomePod mini—affordable, but with compromises to hit that budget price.
The higher end device would then be more like the full-size HomePod, with advanced capabilities including better sound quality.Apple Intelligence smart home: wrap-up It’s encouraging to hear that Apple is planning a more aggressive approach to the smart home market.As much as the Apple TV 4K and HomePod have their loyal fanbases—myself included—there’s still plenty of potential for more diverse and powerful smart home products.
With Apple Intelligence at the center of these devices, I’m excited to see what’s possible.Are you intrigued by Apple’s smart home plans? What are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments. You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day.
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