Previously, Apple had reportedly delayed its smart display, or smart home hub, due to issues with getting the Apple Intelligence-powered Siri upgrade to work as intended. While work on the products are still underway, it looks like there’s now a chance that the lower end model – the one without the robotic arm – may see a release by the end of the year, as was rumoured back in September of last year.
As part of the paid Q&A section of the Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman of Bloomberg reports that the lower end model is expected “to finally hit the market by the end of this year at the earliest. Though nothing has been set in stone yet.
Considering Siri is a big part of even the lower end model of the smart home hub or smart display, this could mean that issues with it could be resolved ahead of schedule as well. If not, then the product, code-named J490, will be released next year as per the original plan for Siri.
The higher end model of the smart display, or smart home hub, is code-named J595, and “has become a major priority at Apple. That being said, its release is expected to be a year or two after J490. The newsletter also mentions that to get it ready to market faster, Apple has “pulled some bolder features from the device”, though these could still reappear in subsequent models. If nothing else, the robotic arm is probably not one of said features being delayed to future versions.
(Source: Bloomberg)
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