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Apple looks to make a splash in 2025 with AI-infused smart home devices

MacDailyNews

Dec 23

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In 2025, the smart home represents a significant opportunity for Apple, which is expected to launch an AI-powered smart home hub. This device will feature an approximately 6-inch display and a new operating system designed for home control, FaceTime calls, and video playback. And more devices are on the way.

Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
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Also next year, Apple will roll out upgrades to existing home devices: its TV set-top box and HomePod mini smart speaker. That will add an advanced wireless chip dubbed Proxima and better support the new Thread standard for wirelessly linking products in the home.
But that’s just the beginning. Apple is developing several related products, including an in-home security camera that’s designed to work with its hub. As I’ve reported, it would compete with devices from Google and Logitech International SA, as well as Amazon’s Ring and Blink. This device is deep into development, but I expect it arrive after the home hub debuts.
Apple believes it has an edge in this area because of its long-stated commitment to privacy. The thinking is that consumers will trust it more than rivals with in-home security footage. The service also could help Apple sell subscriptions to iCloud, where customers would store the video. (Apple has long been able to do this through a feature called HomeKit Security Video.) People also tend to buy several cameras when they’re securing their house, so this is an easy way to add new revenue to the company’s Wearables, Home and Accessories division.
There’s also another home device in the works that hasn’t been reported before: a smart doorbell with advanced facial recognition that wirelessly connects to a deadbolt lock. The idea is that the doorbell could automatically unlock the door for a home’s residents by scanning their face — just like Face ID lets them into their iPhone.
It’s likely that the doorbell system will work with the many third-party locks already on the market that support Apple’s HomeKit protocol. It’s also possible that the company teams up with a specific lock maker to offer a complete system on day one.

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MacDailyNews Take: A privacy-focused Apple smart doorbell with FaceID, an IP-camera, etc. would each be serious entrants into the smart home market as other companies’ privacy protections, if there even are any, leave much to be desired.

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