Apple surprised quite a few people this week, when they introduced a bunch of new hardware products out of the blue. We’re talking about MacBooks, Mac Minis and more, all of them focused around the new M2 Pro and M2 Max processors. Now they want to enter a new segment, the Smart Display one.
The market is ripe for the taking and Google Nest Hub definitely needs a rival. Apple also got back in the smart speaker game, with a brand new HomePod, showing it’s interested in playing this field. A new report shows that Apple’s smart home plans may be much more complex. The future product will be a smart display, which is basically a lower end iPad that can be mounted in walls using “magnetic fasteners”
It will let you control your smart home products, like thermostats and lights, play videos and also handle FaceTime chats. Apparently people have started using countertop and wall mounted appliances more and more during the pandemic. Amazon has the Echo Show, Google has the Nest Hub, but there’s room for a third option. Apple’s Smart Display machine is said to arrive in 2024.
A “home stand” for iPads could also be in the cards, sort of like a charger/cradle, with extra speakers and features. The one thing Apple didn’t upgrade recently was the Apple TV, but that one is due a new CPU soon.
