Apple will launch a new hub for smart home devices next year. This is what the US business magazine reportsBloombergand Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
According to Bloomberg, the device will look like a square iPad with wider bezels. It should have a screen of around six inches (around 15 centimeters) in size – that’s roughly equivalent to two iPhones next to each other.
The Apple iPad Mini shown here has a screen with a diagonal of eight inches. Photo: IMAGO / Wirestock
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The smart home center has speakers and a front camera for video calls. The built-in battery makes the device mobile, but it can also be mounted on a wall using a bracket. There will also be a stand with its own speakers, according to Bloomberg.
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Apple’s smart home center: This is how it should be operated
Users can therefore operate the device via touch screen and a new operating system. Its interface should primarily rely on so-called widgets, which display weather data, for example. Users know this from the Apple Watch computer clock or the iPhone lock screen, among other things.
But Apple relies primarily on voice commands. The voice assistant Siri and the AI functions from Apple Intelligence, which will be available in Germany in April, will implement the orders.
In this video, Apple introduces the most important features of Apple Intelligence:
In addition, numerous Apple apps are said to be installed with which users can surf the Internet, listen to music, view photos, videos and slideshows, as well as access notes and the calendar.
This is how expensive the Apple smart home center could be
According to “Bloomberg”, Apple will present the new smart home center in March 2025. The start of sales is currently unknown. The magazine assumes that Apple will base its selling price on the competition: Amazon’s Echo Hub smart home control panel costs around 200 euros in Germany.
Amazons Echo Hub. Photo: IMAGO / EFE Agency
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The Nest Hub Max from Google, which is only available in the USA, costs the equivalent of around 220 euros.
Googles Nest Hub Max.
Foto: IMAGO/Joan Cros
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According to Bloomberg, a successor product to the Home headquarters could be significantly more expensive. This will be a screen mounted on a movable robot arm. According to the report, this device could cost the equivalent of around 1,000 euros.
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