Apple''s first steps in embracing the smart home have been relatively modest. There''s only the HomePod mini and the original HomePod, both of which have already been terminated.
According to Bloomberg''s well-connected reporter Mark Gurman in his latest Power On message (opens in a new tab), Apple is planning to take a shortcut in the search for the smart home. It is reportedly developing an iPad speaker dock that would transform the worlds most popular tablet into a smart screen, and it may arrive as early as 2023.
This move would mark one of Apple''s most significant moves into smart-home devices, extending on its still relatively small base in set-top boxes and speakers. It already offers the Apple TV and HomePod, but there is no difference between the two. Amazon.com Inc. or Google''s latest efforts.
A familiar idea
Long-term fans of smart home technology will know that this concept isnt exactly new. Amazon has experimented with a Show Mode dock for its Fire tablets, which convert them into portable Echo Shows, and Google has revealed its similarity with the Pixel Tablet (a feature that was recently received a lot of cheering from the audience).
Apple has a significant advantage over both of them: the iPad is by far the most popular tablet around, with a market share that hovers around the 55% mark (opens in a new tab).
It''s a much greater base to work with, and it''s likely to make this work better than Amazon does because to the fact that Apple does not limit compatibility to the latest models. Doing so would be a mistake for two reasons: non only would it exclude the majority of iPad owners, but people with an older, slower tablet would love to give it a new lease of life as a smart screen.
According to Gurman, this isn''t the only smart home device Apple is developing. In his weekly newsletter, he reiterates his belief that HomePod 2 is on the way, as well as repeating his expectation that the company will introduce a combined Apple TV and smart-speaker device with a camera for FaceTime.
Despite their availability, the 12-year-old iPad might be the best company to make a lot of noise in the smart-home space.