Apple, in an effort to compete with rivals in the smart home market, is close to launching a new product category: a wall-mounted display that can control appliances, facilitate videoconferencing, and use AI to navigate apps.
The company is preparing to announce a new device as early as March, intending to market it as a command center for the home. The product, code-named J490, will also highlight the new Apple Intelligence AI platform.

Tim Cook, the Chief Executive Officer, is confident that the new product can establish Apple as a significant player in the smart home market, where the company has lagged behind Alphabet Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. in recent years. He has prioritized this device for the company's engineering and design teams and is eager to launch it after more than three years of development.

The device has a roughly 6-inch screen and looks like a square iPad. It’s about the size of two iPhones side by side, with a thick edge around the display. There’s also a camera at the top front, a rechargeable built-in battery, and internal speakers. Apple plans to offer it in silver and black options.

The product features a touch interface that resembles a combination of the Apple Watch operating system and the iPhone's newly launched StandBy mode. However, the company anticipates that most users will primarily interact with the device using voice commands, utilizing the Siri digital assistant and Apple Intelligence. The hardware is designed around App Intents, a system that allows artificial intelligence to precisely control applications and tasks, which is expected to launch in the coming months.

The product will be marketed as a device that allows users to control home appliances, chat with Siri, and hold intercom sessions using Apple’s FaceTime software. It will come preloaded with Apple apps for web browsing, listening to news updates, and playing music. Users will also have access to their notes and calendar information, and the device can function as a slideshow display for their photos.

Apple is already planning a more expensive follow-up version with a robotic limb that can move the screen around. Apple plans to market that technology as a home companion with an AI personality.