Report: Apple Plans New Push Into Smart Home Market

Apple is reportedly developing devices to upset Amazon and Google’s smart home dominance.

These new devices would include new displays and a faster TV top box, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday (Jan. 18), citing sources familiar with the company’s plans.

The push will begin with a tablet — able to be mounted to a wall or other surfaces — that can control in-home functions such as lights and thermostat and handle videos and FaceTime calls, the sources said.

Bloomberg notes that Apple has also toyed with the notion of developing larger smart-home displays, according to the sources. PYMNTS has reached out to Apple for comment but hasn’t received a reply.

The news came as Apple unveiled a new version of its HomePod speaker, a product the company says offers an enhanced listening experience as well as smart-home features such as temperature sensors and smoke/carbon monoxide alarm alerts.

Apple discontinued a previous version of the HomePod home assistant in 2021, the same year reports emerged of an earlier push by the company to challenge Google and Amazon in the smart home market.

Google and Amazon remain leaders of that sector, PYMNTS wrote earlier this month, with the companies showcasing new smart home offerings at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), even as Amazon cut staff in its devices division, which makes Alexa, its smart-home assistant.

Among recent Alexa-related developments is the technology’s integration with Matter, the open-source standard that makes devices interoperable across voice platforms and will accelerate connected home adoption.

Amazon also recently unveiled an Alexa-related collaboration with Disney. By using the new Alexa wake word “Hey Disney,” users can activate new features both at home and in Disney Resorts, the company announced at CES.

Meanwhile, PYMNTS research has seen a growth in demand for smart home technologies, according to the report, “12 Months Of The ConnectedEconomy™,” published in December.

“By November 2022, 33% of all consumers were likely to be using smart home technologies, and half of all consumers were using at least one,” the report said. “This means that roughly 13 million more consumers nationwide were using such technologies in November 2022 than in November 2021.”

PYMNTS findings show that 75 million consumers reported using voice assistants such as Alexa and Google Home to automate chores, make shopping lists or carry out online transactions. In all, the study found that 86 million consumers, or about a third of the adult U.S. population, are using different forms of smart home technology.