Athira Sethu
Kochi, 13 November 2024
Apple is apparently preparing a new product that could easily help the company transition into the smart home market and take on Amazon and Google. According to Bloomberg, the company will roll out wall-mounted displays for this purpose, probably by early March 2025. The product, code-named J490, according to Bloomberg sources, would be the command center of the house, in charge of controlling appliances as well as exercising video calls and apps with the help of AI.
This new product has been ushered in by the CEO Tim Cook after more than three years of development. The device has an inbuilt camera and recharging battery with speakers by its side. The gadget will be available in both silver and black.
The product comes in with a touch interface, however, Apple expects that most of its users will use voice commands through Siri and a new AI system called Apple Intelligence. It will feature the option to browse the web, play music, check the calendar, and display photos, like Amazon’s Echo Show. This device, also like Amazon’s, will be able to manage appliances in the home as well as act as an intercom via Apple’s FaceTime software.
Integrating with Apple’s HomeKit, the device will enable the user to control his or her smart home devices such as lights, locks, and thermostats. It will also concentrate on security: provide notifications with live video from a smart camera.
According to other reports, it is also working on a far more advanced version that might include the robotic arm that can move the screen. The price may go up to $1,000. The standard one would be priced more competitively, around the price of Amazon’s Echo Hub or Google’s Nest Hub.
It will be a product sold stand-alone, but will nonetheless need to hook up to a client device, namely an iPhone, for initial setup and some usage. Then perhaps users will buy multiple units and put them around their houses to become part of daily life.
