Apple’s rumored smart display could soon take on the Google Pixel Tablet, if it shakes off a potential identity crisis.
Just hours after Apple revealed its familiar-looking HomePod 2, the rumor mill is now predicting that the company is planning to launch a cheap iPad-style controller as part of a renewed smart home push.
Bloomberg (opens in new tab) says that an upcoming range of Apple smart displays will start with „a low-end iPad“ that’ll mount to your wall or other surfaces via magnets. It’ll apparently be a basic smart home controller and FaceTime device – which are arguably the least interesting parts of an iPad for most people.
Quite how Apple intends to separate this rival to the Amazon Echo Show and Google Nest Hub from its traditional iPads isn’t yet clear. But if it’s to achieve that low-end price and avoid cannibalizing affordable tablets like the iPad 10.2 (2021), it may have to run some alternative software to a full-blown iPadOS.
Bloomberg claims the device will be „more of a home gadget than a regular iPad“, suggesting that it will be part of a separate line. Google has developed a completely new operating system called Fuchsia for its Nest Hub displays, so it’ll be interesting to see if Apple follows suit for its smart display with a fork of iPadOS.
