he highly anticipated release of Apple’s Smart Home Hub has been pushed back due to the challenges faced by the company with upgrading Siri AI.
For months, there have been rumors that Apple is preparing to launch a new device early this year, designed to function as a smart home hub featuring a display. This upcoming device would also be Apple’s first smart home hub to integrate Apple Intelligence, making it a strong competitor to Google and Amazon in the smart home market.
However, Apple announced that the “more personalized Siri” has been delayed, meaning also that the upgraded Apple Intelligence features will also be postponed. The company admits it takes “longer than we thought to deliver” and it’s expected to launch in the “coming year”.
The Smart Home Hub was initially expected to be launched in March 2025. But now, it seems like it’s facing an uncertain release timeline. The current version of Apple Intelligence doesn’t really include any smart home features, so releasing a smart display right now wouldn’t make sense.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the home hub is set to be “Apple's most significant release of the year,” as the company marks the “first step toward a larger presence in the smart home space.”
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The upcoming device is rumored to have a six-inch touchscreen that can be placed on the wall, which will be like a “smaller, more affordable iPad”. At the same time, we should also expect to include a new “homeOS” operating system, an A18 chip, and HomeKit, enabling users to “control appliances, make FaceTime calls, and manage other tasks.”
Despite its delay, Apple is set to have already started internal testing of the new device. So, Apple employees are now able to take it home and offer feedback. So, we should still expect the release of the Smart Home Hub.
Although Apple has not announced a new release date, it seems like the company is focusing on upgrading Siri AI, before officially launching the hub as well.
Apple’s competitors, on the other hand, seem to be making progress. Amazon, which also had issues with integrating artificial intelligence into Alexa, has finally managed to do so. The company is incorporating Alexa Plus in its Echo Show lineup, including the new Echo Show 21. Meanwhile, Google has also begun rolling out its Gemini AI for some Nest speakers in December.
However, both Google and Amazon’s smart home hubs rollouts are still limited and not yet available to the wider public.
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