Apple is working on a smart display with robotic arm, report says

Apple’s smart home products are about to become a lot more futuristic.

This is according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who detailed the company’s plans for the smart home market over the weekend. Apple is reportedly working on a new operating system called homeOS, as well as two smart displays.

The more advanced of these will have a robotic limb, Gurman claims, and a large, “iPad-like” display. It might cost $1,000 or more, and it probably won’t be ready very soon.

But Apple is also reportedly working on a cheaper smart home display, which won’t have the robotic arm, and will be intended mainly for controlling home appliances and using FaceTime. That one might arrive as early as 2025.

Ultimately, the cheaper display might be a sort of a companion to the more advanced device, though details on how this could work are scarce.

Of course, these devices will run Apple Intelligence, as Apple’s idea is to bring AI features into the home. Apple’s current lineup of smart home devices, such as HomePod and Apple TV, does not pack the necessary hardware to run AI.

Apple recently launched its new flagship smartphones, the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro, with a strong emphasis on Apple Intelligence features. However, those features are mostly delayed while Apple irons out the kinks, and works out how they’ll work in Europe and China, countries which have more stringent AI rules than the U.S.

As far as homeOS goes, it will reportedly be based on the already existing tvOS, and the two operating system will ultimately be merged to become the operating system that powers all of Apple’s smart home devices.