As Bloomberg News reported Monday (May 9), the device had been scheduled to launch last year but was put on hold while Apple worked on developing an updated version of its Siri digital assistant, a crucial part of the smart home display’s interface.
Apple had hoped to unveil the display this month, the report added, citing sources familiar with the matter. But with Siri delayed again, the company has been forced to postpone the smart home display.
The report notes that the delay highlight’s Apple’s need to catch up in the AI space. Siri is an important part of the company strategy, though Apple has pushed back many long-expected features, leading to tension between its software and hardware ambitions.
While the smart display itself has been ready for months, the report says Apple now aims to debut it around September, when it expects that the new Siri will be ready.
PYMNTS has reached out to Apple for comment but has not yet gotten a reply.
Apple has been at work on the device, codenamed “J490” and at one time known as the “Home Accessory,” since 2024.
According to Bloomberg, the display, a tablet-style device that can be mounted on a user’s wall or rest on a speaker base, is designed to function as a home’s AI hub. The user interface features a collection of circular app icons similar to an Apple Watch’s home screen.
Among its selling points is a facial recognition system that recognizes users when they approach the device, and use that information to offer up personalized data like calendar appointments, and music and news preferences, the report said.
In a column last month, PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster argued that Siri helped illustrate Apple’s Apple’s “uneven history with AI,” as the company approached the assistant as a feature instead of a platform that could connect users with the company’s services and apps.
“The decision to partner with Google and use Gemini as the backbone for a dramatically upgraded Siri is regarded as a Hail Mary move designed to shore up Apple’s weakest flank and preserve the relevance of the iPhone and Services ecosystem,” Webster wrote.
“But it also confirms that Apple is renting intelligence rather than owning it. AI, in this configuration, is a defensive layer wrapped around an existing business model, not a force reshaping it.”
