Apple’s first smart display needs to make the smart home just work
Some Apple Home users have shoehorned iPads into wall-mounted home controllers. However, reports indicate Apple is developing a dedicated home control device. | Photo By Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
The smart home has an interface problem. Searching for an app on your phone, fighting with a confused voice assistant, and fiddling with a “smart” display to turn off a light is enough to send anyone running back to the wall switch. But now, Apple is taking a crack at solving the frustrations of smart home control — and it has the opportunity to actually make the smart home work.
Next year, the company will reportedly launch an “AI wall tablet for home control,” and it’s said to be developing more devices for the home (including cameras, a tabletop robot, and maybe even a TV). Among other features, such as video calling, this new smart display will reportedly be a hub for Apple’s home automation platform, Apple Home, providing a communal...