Apple develops a completely new OS for upcoming product category

The iPhone has been Apple’s primary moneymaker for a very long time, though the Mac and iPad lineups also help. But the company has recently begun considering new product categories like XR (Extended Reality). To power the Apple Vision Pro the company had to design visionOS, and now it’s reportedly working on another new operating system: homeOS.

This news comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, renowned for his extremely accurate insights into what goes on behind the scenes at Apple. The new OS is being developed to run smart home products that Apple wants to sell. Products that, according to Gurman, will also be running Apple Intelligence.

One of these alleged upcoming smart home products is an iPad robot. This will reportedly be an iPad connected to a mechanical arm. The iPad will use Apple Intelligence to mimic a personality while the use cases for the arm still remain unclear.

Another smart home product Apple is said to be working on is a cheaper option that’s just a display. This will be used for FaceTime and for controlling other smart home devices, similar to other such products on the market today. Gurman says both products will heavily rely on Apple’s AI offerings.

These devices are another attempt by the company to diversify its offerings. Much like with the Vision Pro, Apple is expected to come up with a new phrase to define and differentiate its products from the competition. For example, even though the Vision Pro is clearly a Mixed Reality headset, Apple calls it “spatial computing”.

Unlike Mixed Reality, however, Apple will have a lot more competition to fight against in the smart home market. XR remains a niche interest, but smart home devices have been available for purchase for years. The company will have to unveil something truly unique if it hopes to hit it big.

As Gurman notes, Apple is a big enough company to afford its latest two mistakes: expensive XR headset and being late to the AI party. But it can’t keep messing up indefinitely if it wants to retain its spot as one of the most successful companies in the world.