Apple reportedly wants to turn your iPad into a smart display - just like Pixel Tablet Tom's Guide Skip to main content Tom's Guide is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's why you can trust us.

Apple reportedly wants to turn your iPad into a smart display - just like Pixel Tablet

By Alan Martin published 16 October 2022 Apple is eyeing a shortcut into the smart home space (Image credit: Apple via YouTube) Compared to the likes of Amazon and the Google-owned Nest, Apple's first steps in embracing the smart home have been relatively small. In terms of dedicated hardware, there's just the HomePod mini and original HomePod - the latter of which has already been discontinued. But according to Bloomberg's well-connected reporter Mark Gurman in his latest Power On newsletter (opens in new tab), Apple has plans to take a shortcut in the race to dominate the smart home. It's reportedly working on an iPad speaker dock that would transform the world's most popular tablet into a smart screen, and it could arrive as early as 2023. "The move would mark one of Apple's most significant pushes into smart-home devices, expanding on its still small foothold in set-top boxes and speakers," Gurman writes. "It already offers the Apple TV and HomePod, but nothing that rivals the Echo Show from Amazon.com Inc. or Google's latest efforts."

A familiar idea

Speaking of those two rivals, long-term followers of smart home tech will know that this idea isn't exactly new. Amazon has experimented with a Show Mode charging dock for its Fire tablets which turns them into portable Echo Shows, and Google has revealed it's doing something similar with the upcoming Pixel Tablet (a feature that was met with a lot of cheering from the audience at their launch event recently). But Apple has a significant advantage over both of them: the iPad is by far the most popular tablet around, with a market share that hovers around the 55% mark (opens in new tab). That's a far larger base to work with and something that could potentially make this work better than it has for Amazon - assuming Apple doesn't limit compatibility to the latest models. Doing so would be a mistake for two reasons: not only would it lock out the majority of iPad owners, but you'd imagine people with an older, slower tablet would love to give it a new lease of life as a smart screen. This isn't the only smart home device Apple is working on, according to Gurman. In the newsletter, he reiterates his belief that HomePod 2 is on the way, as well as repeating his expectation that the company will launch a combined Apple TV and smart-speaker device with a camera for FaceTime. "Until those are ready, though, the 12-year-old iPad could be the company's best bet in making some noise in the smart-home space," he concludes. Next: I ditched my iPad for a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 - and it was better than I thought.Today's best Google Nest Hub Max deals (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)$27.99 (opens in new tab)View (opens in new tab)Reduced Price (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)$99.99 (opens in new tab)$49.99 (opens in new tab)View (opens in new tab)Reduced Price (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)$229.99 (opens in new tab)$163.99 (opens in new tab)View (opens in new tab)Show More DealsWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices

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Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Alan Martin Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. Or, more likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time. More about tablets iPad Pro M2 benchmarked: How much faster is it? iPad 10th gen: 3 reasons to buy and 2 big reasons to skipLatest Best Wordle start words to help you keep your streakSee more latest ► Topics Smart Home Tablets See all comments (0) No comments yet Comment from the forums MOST READMOST SHARED1Best Wordle start words to help you keep your streak2Samsung's massive 75-inch 4K TV just crashed to $579 ahead of Black Friday3iOS 16.1 could be saving the world one charge at a time - here's how4This could be the 200MP camera for the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5Best Buy Black Friday deals are live - big sales on 4K TVs, MacBooks and more1Samsung's massive 75-inch 4K TV just crashed to $579 ahead of Black Friday2iOS 16.1 could be saving the world one charge at a time - here's how3This could be the 200MP camera for the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 4Best Buy Black Friday deals are live - big sales on 4K TVs, MacBooks and more5iPhone 15 with USB-C is almost certainly coming - here's why