Apple may make monitor that doubles as smart home display

Apple's future external display may have it pulling double duty when the Mac is off, with claims it could also be used as a smart home display.

Apple's lineup of external Mac displays is impressive, with the Apple Studio Display and Pro Display XDR offering great picture quality when paired with a Mac or MacBook. However, Apple is looking into ways to employ the monitor when it's not actively being used with a Mac.

As part of the "Power On" newsletter for Bloomberg on Sunday, Mark Gurman claims Apple is working on multiple new monitors, and that one would also function as a smart home display when the Mac is idle.

That display would echo the Studio Display in running on an A13 chip, but instead of just powering audio and camera features, the chip could enable the display to be an independent device. In a low-power mode, the screen could show useful information as if its a smart home display, such as notifications or the weather.

The concept isn't entirely new, as Apple is trialing something similar with the StandBy feature of iOS 17. However, its use on a Mac display could offer a lot more information than the small screen of the iPhone could display.

Gurman reckons that Apple's still a fair way off from offering a smart monitor to the public, with a release in 2024 "at the earliest."

18 Comments

Japhey 1772 comments · 6 Years

About 1 year ago

This is what I want for the Apple TV…for it to present as a smart display while it sits idle.

dewme 5737 comments · 10 Years

Japhey said:

This is what I want for the Apple TV…for it to present as a smart display while it sits idle.

Exactly!

This is especially true considering how inexpensive 4K TVs are compared to decent monitors. Plus, all of my Macs are in home office space while my TV is in family space. It would be nice to be able to sequence through security and doorbell cameras from the TV when I’m in the family room/kitchen/dining space.

Amazon’s FireStick 4K has the camera capability, which is good, but it’s otherwise an advertising screen when not being used. The Apple TV isn’t far behind depending on the top level selection but it eventually falls through to a screen saver.

Eric_WVGG 969 comments · 8 Years

I was just lamenting that the Studio Display doesn’t work as a HomeKit hub… I was going to fire off a Feedback suggestion, when I realized that there’s no Wi-Fi in there.

Pity for all that A13 power to mostly go to waste. What a bizarrely over-engineered product.

crofford 98 comments · 8 Years

As I've said many times before....I'd immediately buy a 65" iPad. Nowadays, I'd even by four or five.

purplepear 7 comments · 2 Years

I do hope they think to include stand alone Apple TV functionality in any future screen powered by an A series chip..

I am kinda surprised they didn’t do that with the Studio Display..