Apple may release an iPad-like smart home display next year

Apple is preparing to take a fresh run at the smart home that starts with a rumored smart display that it may release next year. That’s according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who writes in his Power On newsletter today that the display will use a new operating system, called homeOS, that’s based on the Apple TV’s tvOS (much like the software that drives HomePods now.)

Gurman reports that the display will run Apple apps like Calendar, Notes, and Home, and that Apple has tested prototypes with magnets for wall-mounting. And it will support Apple Intelligence — something Apple’s HomePods don’t currently do.

Rumors of such a device have been going around for some time now, with form factors ranging from a HomePod with a screen to a display attached to a robotic arm that swivels to face you on video calls. But products along those lines have been sounding more real, lately.

Another recent rumor suggested that a “HomeAccessory” device coming soon would be square-shaped, and that users might be able to use hand gestures from afar to control it, as 9to5Mac wrote earlier this week. And MacRumors has reported on apparent code references to the device and homeOS.

A display like this sounds more down-to-Earth than Apple’s robotic screen idea. It could also be less fiddly and hopefully less expensive than trying to use an iPad as a dedicated smart home controller (I’ve tried; it’s not a great experience!) We’ll find out if and when it launches — which doesn’t sound terribly far off.