Apple's $1,000 tabletop with iPad display and robotic arm may run AI-powered homeOS
Apple's mysterious "HomeAccessory" device whose code string was unearthed not long ago turned out to be a HomePod line spinoff of sorts, but with display, similar to the Amazon Echo Show 10 or Google Nest Hub Max.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman now confirms that insider info, but adds some more detail about the variants and the release date of Apple's upcoming smart home gear. There will apparently be two devices equipped with screens, but they couldn't be more different than the current HomePod or HomePod Mini.
The cheaper one with a smaller display is a project marked internally as J490 by Apple, and it will reportedly be just a squarish screen with a FaceTime camera and speakers. Its main purpose will be to display basic apps like Calendar or Notes, as well as serve as a hub for Apple's smart home automation gear.
The J490 project will bear fruit as soon as next year when Apple releases the display-laden HomePod in the first quarter, most likely in the spring. The small smart display's usefulness will be augmented by Apple Intelligence, as it will ostensibly be powered by the iPhone 16's A18 processor.
Apple will use the first device as a testing ground to gauge user acceptance before it releases its other J595 smart home gear in the form of a big tabletop gear with a giant iPad-style screen for interaction and media or App Store content consumption.
That one, however, may cost closer to a grand, as it will also have a robotic arm of sorts, the purpose of which is for now rather unclear. Apple's tabletop gear doesn't yet have a firm release date, as Apple is still working on perfecting its purpose in life.
The other big development around Apple's upcoming smart home devices is that they will be run by a new dedicated operating system that may simply be called homeOS. Apple may eventually fold tvOS in it, too, the software that Apple TV is currently running on.
Such an integration will set apart Apple's smart home ecosystem as a viable alternative for the more established names in the field, depending on the execution and user acceptance that the tie-up with Apple Intelligence that they bring.
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