According to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman in his "Power On" newsletter, Apple's release plan for smart home devices seems to have changed, and the device is still "several months" away from shipping. The delivery time of Apple's smart home center may not be until April this year, but it is more likely to be postponed to the second half of the year or even later.
Similarly, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also said that mass production of the device will begin in the second half of 2025, which means that its release time may be in September or later.
A number of new smart home products are ready to go
Since last year, Apple has been making continuous moves in the field of smart home and is planning to reshape Apple's new chapter of smart home through a series of new strategies. As a leading company in the technology industry, rumors about Apple's new products have also attracted widespread attention and expectations from consumers and technology fans around the world.
According to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, Apple plans to launch a number of new smart home products in 2025 and beyond. These products cover multiple categories such as smart displays, cameras, video doorbells, etc., showing Apple's ambitions in the field of smart home.
HomePod: Apple's rumored highly anticipated smart display - "HomePod with screen". It is understood that HomePod will be equipped with a 7-inch LCD screen, A18 chip, and support Apple Intelligence and other functions, which will facilitate application access and smart home control. At the same time, the device is equipped with a camera to support FaceTime video calls; built-in speakers can play music and equipped with a built-in rechargeable battery for mobile use. In addition, the device will be equipped with a new "homeOS" operating system, with a customizable, widget-centric home screen, and built around Siri, Apple Intelligence and HomeKit.
Smart camera: According to a report by supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple plans to launch a smart security camera in 2026, with annual sales expected to exceed 10 million units. It is reported that this Apple camera will be seamlessly connected with other Apple hardware products, and may be deeply integrated with Apple's artificial intelligence technology and Siri voice assistant to provide users with a more comprehensive home security solution.
Smart doorbell with Face ID: This smart doorbell not only supports Face ID unlocking, but will also greatly enhance the user's security experience with the help of the Secure Enclave chip. By wirelessly connecting to compatible door locks, users can automatically unlock the door through facial recognition. It may be used in conjunction with third-party HomeKit door locks, or it may cooperate with other brands to provide an integrated solution. In addition, Apple uses its own Wi-Fi/Bluetooth chip called "Proxima" in smart doorbell cameras to improve the overall performance and energy efficiency of Apple devices.
In addition to new products such as smart displays, smart cameras, and video doorbells, Apple's recent layout in the field of home robots has caused quite a stir in the technology circle.
Accelerate the layout of home robots
In the newly released "Power On" column, Gurman revealed that Apple's development of home robot projects is accelerating, and recently released a series of positions related to home robot research and development, covering mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, etc., striving to recruit professional talents in all aspects. These measures undoubtedly further confirm Apple's "ambition" in the field of home robots.
It is reported that Apple's robotics team is developing at least two major projects. One of the projects is a mobile device that can intelligently follow the user. This feature will undoubtedly greatly improve the convenience and experience of users. Another project is a desktop "smart lamp" that looks like the classic Pixar animation "The Light of the Naughty Jumping". In addition to LED lighting, this smart lamp is also equipped with a camera, speaker, projector, laser sensor and a series of motor-controlled joints. It can interact with users through language and gesture recognition, showing high interactivity and fun.
For example, when the user issues a command, it can adjust the brightness and angle of the light according to the user's actions and needs, and can also project tutorials to achieve more information interaction. In addition, it can sense the rhythm of music and swing with the melody; it will even push the cup towards the user when reminding him to drink water. This kind of interaction can make the lamp have "emotions", enhance the human-computer interaction experience through expressive movements, and add a lot of fun to life.
At present, this smart desk lamp is positioned as a desktop smart center. In the future, it may be deeply integrated with the HomeKit ecosystem and become the hub for controlling smart homes.
From these projects, it can be seen that Apple is accelerating the layout of home robots, trying to start from different scenarios and functions, and gradually build Apple's smart home blueprint.
Why do we go all out to deploy home robots?
In recent years, with the improvement of people's living standards, the pursuit of quality of life and convenience has been growing. Home robots can meet people's needs in cleaning, companionship, health monitoring and other aspects, and their market prospects are broad.
According to the MarketsandMarkets report data, the global home robot market size is expected to grow from US$10.3 billion in 2023 to US$24.5 billion in 2028, and the compound annual growth rate from 2023 to 2028 is expected to reach 18.8%. This rapid growth trend reflects the huge potential of the home robot market.
In this regard, Apple's accelerated promotion of home robot layout is an important consideration for Apple to "brand new and radical" capture the smart home market. It can help Apple further improve the smart home ecosystem to achieve seamless connection and collaborative work between devices. Through Siri voice assistants, users can control home robots while controlling mobile phones and smart speakers to create a smarter and more convenient home environment.
In addition, from the perspective of Apple's own development needs, it is urgent to find new business growth points. Although Apple has already occupied an important position in the field of smartphones, the growth of iPhone has gradually slowed down, facing problems such as saturation and intensified competition. Although the Apple Vision Pro hybrid headset is innovative, it will take some time to achieve large-scale profitability. In this context, based on the huge market potential of home robots, it may be expected to become Apple's next important profit growth point.
Written at the end
At present, with the rapid development of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robots, smart homes are ushering in a new era of deep integration of AI and robotics technology. And with its strong brand influence and technical research and development capabilities, what kind of surprises will Apple's layout in the field of home robots bring us? Can it stand out in the fierce competition in the smart home market? Let us wait and see.
This paper is from Ulink Media, Shenzhen, China, the organizer of IOTE EXPO (IoT Expo in China)
