Smart home
Siri May Soon Be Able to Control Robot Vacuum Cleaners for You
Apple Home App Updates
At WWDC 2024, Apple announced that it will soon allow users to control their robot vacuum cleaners via the Home app. After the functionality is rolled out later this year, commands may be relayed to the vacuum cleaners via Siri. These include commands to clean floors, change cleaning modes, or check the battery status.
The core functionality of robot vacuum cleaners will be supported via the Apple Home app, according to the company. These include managing power controls, setting the cleaning mode, and performing vacuum and mop cleaning, and checking charge status.”
Guest Access on Apple Home
Device owners will be also able to provide guest access to smart home devices to those people who don’t visit their homes too often. In addition to that, they can also set schedules for when guests can access their homes with smart home keys utilising the ultra wide-band (UWB) technology, it further added.
This functionality will be rolled out when iOS 18 is released to the public, which Apple says will happen in the Fall. As per the previous trends, this might coincide with the launch of the upcoming iPhone 16 series in September.
iOS 18 Eligible Devices
While iOS 18 is bringing upgrades to existing features in addition to new ones, not all iPhones will be eligible. As per the company, only the iPhone XR and newer models up to the iPhone 15 Pro Max (as of now) will receive the update. This means the iPhone models that received the iOS 17 update last year will also be updated to iOS 18.
However, the newly announced features powered by Apple Intelligence (or artificial intelligence) will only be available on handsets running on the A17 Pro SoC, which means the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, according to the company.
Apple TV Set Could Compete With Offerings From Popular TV Manufacturers
Gurman writes that Apple is “evaluating” the development of an “Apple-branded TV set” in his newsletter, which suggests that the company is at a very early stage. However, MacRumors points out that this is not the first time that word of Apple’s plans to make its own TV have surfaced online — the company was rumoured to be developing its own TV as early as 2009.
Apple’s purported TV set would arrive as part of several smart devices being developed by the company, according to Gurman. The journalist previously revealed that the first of these devices would be a wall-mounted smart home hub that could control other devices and offer support for features like video calling.
However, Gurman says that if the smart home hub fails, Apple could “rethink its smart home ambitions once again”. The company is said to be working on a more advanced version of the smart home hub, equipped with a robotic arm, that could arrive with a higher $1,000 (roughly Rs. 84,400) price tag.
If the company is thinking of developing its own TV set, the company would face competition from several manufacturers such as Sony, Samsung, LG, and Sharp — these firms offer a range of TVs across price models, while Apple can be expected to introduce a model with high-end specifications.
Apple’s TV set could also offer support for features available on its TV box that include Siri, HomeKit, and more. It’s currently unclear whether Apple will use the same operating system — tvOS — on the purported TV set.
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Apple’s Wall-Mounted Display Might Not Support Third-Party Apps
According to the report, Apple’s first smart home device powered by Apple Intelligence will comprise a 6-inch display that appears to resemble two iPhone units placed next to each other. It will reportedly be equipped with a camera and built-in speakers that enable support for video calls, and it can be used with optional bases that are equipped with speakers.
Apple is also developing a new operating system for the new wall-mounted display that is codenamed “Pebble”, according to Bloomberg. It will reportedly feature a customisable home screen that shows icons for various apps, while widgets will provide information at a glance.
The first-generation smart home device, codenamed J490, is expected to feature support for the company’s applications such as Apple News, Apple Music, FaceTime, and Safari, but it is unlikely to include an App Store, as per the report.
While the wall-mounted display is expected to operate independently, it will reportedly require an iPhone to be set up. There’s no word on the hardware powering the device, but we can expect to offer performance on par with Apple’s A17 Pro chip or an M1 chip, along with 8GB of RAM.
Apple has spent over three years on developing the new wall-mounted display and the company plans to launch the device in March 2025, according to the report. It could be available in black and silver colourways.
Meanwhile, another advanced smart home device that is equipped with a robotic arm that can move a display is reportedly in development. It is unclear when Apple plans to launch this device, but it could be priced as high as $1,000 (roughly Rs. 84,400). Meanwhile, the wall-mounted display is expected to have a much lower price tag, according to the report.
Apple Picks Goertek to Produce New Products Arriving in 2026
In a post on Medium, Kuo states that Apple is planning to launch its first smart home IP camera device in 2026, which will offer wireless connectivity with Apple’s other devices, as well as software integration with Siri and Apple Intelligence. According to supply chain analyst, the company is looking at a long-term goal of annual shipments of over 10 million, and has picked China-based Goertek to be the sole assembler for the product.
Apple’s second product will be an upgraded version of the company’s AirPods truly wireless stereo (TWS) earphones, Kuo claims. The analyst predicts that the company’s upcoming AirPods will also focus on health-related features, and that these earphones will be assembled by Goertek
Earlier this year, Apple announced that the AirPods Pro (2nd Generation) would be updated with support for using the headset as a hearing aid — the company received approval from the US FDA in September.
In 2023, a patent related to a wireless audio product was spotted online, that suggested Apple was working on AirPods sensors that could measure brain electrical activity, while another report claimed that Apple was designing a new AirPods Pro model that could monitor body temperature using inbuilt sensors.
Citing supply chain reports, Kuo claims that Goertek’s relationship has Apple has “normalised” in the second half of 2024, months after it lost many orders due to “supply compliance issues”. Goertek is expected to be the sole supplier for the smart home IP camera, and the primary supplier for the next-generation AirPods.
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