The Apple Intelligence home invasion is about to start

Apple is rarely the first to bring a new technology to the masses. Going back to the first Mac, most of what it brought (menus, windows, the mouse) came from XEROX PARC. The iPod was not the first portable music player, the iPhone was not the first smartphone and the Apple Watch was not the first smartwatch (remember the Pebble?). Apple excels in making technology easier to use. And it plans to do that with the smart home. 

The problem today

When we look at today’s smart home devices they tend to fall into four groups:

1. Google Home
2. Amazon Alexa
3. Apple HomeKit
4. Proprietary offerings

If we put the fourth group aside, consumers tend to focus on the first three. And, of those, Google and Amazon are typically the lowest cost options. But no matter what you choose, interoperability across platforms tends to be biggest problem. Once you buy a few devices from one platform, you tend to be locked in.

There is a way around that lock in. Tools such as Homebridge and Home Assistant bridge that compatibility gap. While that offers lots of flexibility, there are a lot of people that simply want a plug and play solution rather than messing around with setting up a Raspberry Pi or installing and configuring software on their Mac. 

Apple sees this complexity and has, it seems, found a way through it.

What do we know?

There are lots of rumors and supposed leaks that hit the press when it comes to Apple’s plans. But there are some sources that are more trustworthy than others. Two of those more trusted sources are Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Here’s what Gurman recently said:

“Apple Inc., aiming to catch up with rivals in the smart home market, is nearing the launch of a new product category: a wall-mounted display that can control appliances, handle videoconferencing and use AI to navigate apps.

The company is gearing up to announce the device as early as March and will position it as a command center for the home, according to people with knowledge of the effort. The product, code-named J490, also will spotlight the new Apple Intelligence AI platform, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the work is confidential.”

The rumored development of a screen based device by Apple is not new. But the timeline tells us that Apple’s ambitions around AI, HomeKit and hardware have come together.

I suspect, this will give rise to a new operating platform I’m calling homeOS. 

Of course, creating a platform and a control station is just part of the solution. We also need smart devices that can be used for lighting, security cameras, door and window locks and other sensors. Kuo has news on that front.

“Apple is making its first foray into the smart home IP camera market, with mass production scheduled for 2026.”

Kuo’s intelligence comes by understanding supply chains and manufacturing arrangements. He says Apple’s partnership with Goertek has become more normalised and that Apple has a goal of producing over 10 million units from this deal. 

While 10 million sounds like a lot – it’s really a drop in the ocean when you consider the number of households in the market. But given the number of HomeKit devices already in use, adding its own camera products will give this a boost.

The expansion of Apple Intelligence

Apple is betting a lot on the success of Apple Intelligence. While there are many who say Apple has not done enough with its foray into AI, those that have followed Apple closely know that the company is working from a tried and tested playbook.

Apple Intelligence has barely reached what I’d call Version 1. It’s only just a public beta test with many functions still in development. But Apple’s slow movement is very deliberate.

There’s a strong focus on protecting user privacy (something we’ve already seen in its health-related products and services) and making sure that each new feature is robust and ready for the public. It’s also making those features easy to use.

For example, if I want to summarise a document, this can happen on the device without the need to copy anything to an external third party service. Image creation will also be done, wherever possible, by using AI models on-device.

If Gurman’s prediction of a ‘command center for the home’ is correct, we can expect a lot of the processing of data to happen on device. His means we’ll likely see the equivalent of a small computer (see how the miniaturization of the Mac mini matters beyond aesthetics) with a neural processing unit that will be able to learn how you use devices in your home and make recommendations or automate actions to improve energy use. Or to identify when someone you know is at the door and when a stranger is present.

None of these capabilities are new. Many other products can do this. Ring doorbell cameras can tell you when a parcel is delivered and smart lights and switches can tell you how much energy is being used. But Apple’s ability, proven time and time again, is to make those sorts of features more intuitive and to integrate them through a superior user experience. 

When Apple releases its new command centre for the home, we will see Apple Intelligence become embedded in everyday life in ways we can scarcely imagine. I suspect we will see the arrival of the Knowledge Navigator that was prognosticated back in 1997 by Steve Jobs’ usurper, John Sculley.