Apple’s Bold Return to the Smart Home Market: Will It Work This Time?

After years of dipping its toes into the smart home market, Apple appears ready to make a more serious push — with a twist.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is preparing a new wave of smart home devices set to launch by late 2025 and early 2026, potentially redefining what a smart home means — Apple-style.

Among the rumored products is an iPad-like device mounted on a robotic arm. While the idea sounds like a sci-fi gadget, Apple has kept the details under wraps. Could it be an assistant that follows you around the kitchen? A robotic display that adjusts to your viewing angle automatically? Gurman’s report doesn’t say — but speculation is rampant.

There’s also a more affordable version in the works, codenamed J490, which ditches the robotic arm. It was initially slated for release sooner, but Apple is reportedly working to resolve some issues with Siri — a platform still considered clunky compared to rivals like Alexa and Google Assistant.

Apple’s first smart home attempts — including the HomePod and HomePod mini — were met with mixed results. While the hardware impressed, the software left much to be desired. Siri’s limitations and Apple’s closed ecosystem turned many consumers off. On top of that, HomeKit, Apple’s smart home platform, failed to win significant third-party support, forcing Apple to consider making more of the ecosystem itself.

This shift suggests Apple is looking to create a fully proprietary experience — again. Some see this as an attempt to become a luxury version of Xiaomi or Amazon’s Echo line, only with Apple’s premium pricing. That might be a hard sell in a market increasingly resistant to high costs and monthly subscriptions tied to basic functionality.

There’s also growing skepticism about what “smart” home really means. With reports of users being locked out of homes by Amazon systems due to delivery issues or bugs, some consumers are becoming wary of handing over control to tech giants. Apple’s tight control and privacy-first image might give it an edge here — but only if the execution is flawless.

Ultimately, Apple is gambling big at a time when its other innovations, like the Vision Pro, haven’t quite hit their mark. Whether consumers want a robotic iPad or just a speaker that works well without forcing subscriptions remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: Apple isn’t giving up on the home — even if it has to reinvent it all over again.