Abstract:
Apple's long-prepared first smart home control center with a screen (Smart Home Display) has made significant progress, and the device is expected to be officially unveiled as early as October this year. Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman further narrowed the launch window for this new device in his latest newsletter. The project is internally codenamed "J490". Apple has previously carried out extensive home testing among employees, and traces of relevant hardware and reference codes of the supporting system "homeOS" also frequently appear in the latest system firmware.
As a key product for Apple to create a new core for smart homes, this device adopts a small-size screen design that is close to a square, and is overall positioned as a home central system. Its first launch is expected to include two forms: one is equipped with a base and can be placed on the kitchen countertop or desktop; the other, code-named "J491", supports magnetic wall mounting. In terms of hardware configuration, the device is equipped with a front-facing camera and built-in speakers. It not only supports FaceTime video calls, various media playback and cross-room intercom, but also has vision-based face recognition functions. When the system recognizes that different family members are approaching, the screen will automatically switch and display the user's exclusive schedule, memos, personalized news and recommended media content.
At the software and ecological level, this device will be deeply integrated with Apple’s latest AI version of Siri. Users can not only centrally control various HomeKit and Matter smart home accessories through voice and touch, but also directly access personal data across devices, allowing AI to retrieve photos, find past playback records, or perform complex operations across applications.
Analysis pointed out that the project has been postponed many times due to delays in the development of the next generation Siri. With the successive launch of new versions of Siri and intelligent systems, this core technical obstacle has been removed. If Apple chooses to officially launch this product in October, it will become one of the first iconic new pieces of hardware under the helm of Apple hardware chief John Ternus. Together with the iPhone, Apple TV and HomePod, it will form Apple’s hardware ecological closed loop in personal and family scenarios.
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