Apple reportedly delays smart home display as next-gen Siri slips

Apple is delaying its smart home display J490 until about September as it waits for a revamped Siri and other AI work, according to people familiar with the matter.

The device was first due in spring 2025 and then was expected in March 2026, but Apple has pushed the launch back while finishing the new Siri.

People familiar with the matter said the 7-inch display uses facial recognition to show personalized calendars, reminders, and music and news preferences, and is expected to run a variant of tvOS 27.

The smart display itself had been finished for several months.

Other planned AI devices, including a pendant, camera-equipped AirPods and smart glasses, are slated for after the Siri rollout and may not be affected unless there are further delays.

A spokesperson for Apple declined to comment.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Apple’s smart display enters a market where software and ecosystem are king

The planned 7-inch display would go up against Google’s Nest Hub line, including the 7-inch Nest Hub 1.
Apple’s device is expected to use facial recognition for personalization. Google’s Nest Hub Max already uses its camera to identify users and surface personal details like upcoming calendar events 2.
The schedule slip adds to criticism that Siri has “significantly lagged” more advanced conversational systems from rivals 3.
Apple is believed to be adopting Google’s Gemini (Google’s flagship AI model) to power a revamped Siri 3.

The Siri bottleneck raises execution risk for Apple’s AI device roadmap

Reports say the display hardware has been finished for months. Siri’s AI software now sets the launch timeline more than industrial design.
People familiar with the matter said other AI devices, including a pendant, camera-equipped AirPods, and smart glasses, are planned for after Siri’s rollout. Those products may stay on schedule unless Siri slips again.
Apple risks falling behind Amazon and Google, which are rolling out next-generation assistants like Alexa+ (Amazon’s upgraded Alexa assistant) and Google’s Gemini for Home (Google’s smart-home assistant experience powered by Gemini) 2.
The industry is leaning toward hardware that stands out through the AI platform it runs, not the shape of the device.