Apple iPad Air 5th Gen.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
Apple's iPad is the most popular tablet in the industry and thanks to long software support, it can serve the owner at least five to six years. So, with a longer replacement cycle and iPhone sales too slowing, Apple has been exploring newer avenues to generate more revenues. One such recent product was Vision Pro. However, it did not find as much traction among the customers as Apple would have expected.
Now, a new report has emerged that Apple is readying a new product with a familiar design. It will act as a physical hub to control the Internet-of-Things(IoT) gadgets at home, reported Mark Gurman (Bloomberg) citing reliable company insiders.
The product code-named J490 is said to be an iPad-like tablet device with a 6-inch touch display, a camera and a speaker. It will also come with a mountable accessory to dock the device on the walls of a kitchen, a living room or in the bedroom.
The owners can control the smart home gadgets with touch inputs on the Apple's device tablet or through Siri, which is touted to be integrated with Apple Intelligence. Users can interact with it like two humans speak to eachother.
It should be noted that Apple, Amazon, Google, iRobot, Signify, Connectivity Standards Alliance (previously known as Zigbee Alliance), standards-- 'Matter'. This allows all smart home devices with different operating systems to work seamlessly with digital assistants such as Siri (with Apple Intelligence), Alexa, and Google Assistant.
The specification for Matter v1.0 standard was released in 2022 and since then, several certified products have made their way to store shelves.
So devices other than Apple's will be able to work smoothly with the upcoming smart home hub.
The HomePod smart speakers may have failed. But, with this new device, the Cupertino-based company will be finally able to give a stiff challenge to Amazon's Echo Show and Google's Nest Hub.
And, this may also pave the way for Apple to explore more opportunities in the IoT sector. One can expect the company to bring its own branded smart home security camera, smart door locks, thermostats and more.
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