I’d also heard rumors of an Apple Ring (for wearing on a finger), but that’s not mentioned in this article.
Apple is reportedly working on bringing no fewer than six new product categories to market soon, in part as Tim Cook’s swansong as CEO of the company.
Following the news that Apple CEO Tim Cook will be replaced by Ternus in late 2026, a new report has detailed the products his teams are working on. Speaking during an interview with TBPN, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple has products in six new product categories in the works. This is alongside its usual product refreshes, like new iPhones, iPads, and more.
Apple’s 2024 Apple Vision Pro release was the last time it entered a new category. The spatial computer has so far failed to capture the imagination of the larger market, but that hasn’t deterred the company from entering new markets in the future.
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Gurman believes that there are six new product categories in Apple’s future, all of which have previously been reported. Those new categories include:
AirPods with Apple Intelligence
Apple Intelligence pendant
Security camera
Smart display
Smart glasses
Tabletop robot
Few details were given as to when these products will be announced or what they will be capable of. But, rumors about all of them have proliferated in some cases for years.
Naturally, since we just bought the AirPods, they will jump ahead! I have yet to set down and do the hearing test so it can adjust to my hearing loss on my left side, but it’s all going to continue to remain interesting in the next few years…
Security camera, tying into the Home system would be good, currently I have a Logitech Doorbell camera, but it’s a tad flaky and Logi doesn’t seem to be all that interested in updates or support, so still looking for one that will fit into the Home system.
Six new products, yes. I’m not sure I’d characterize new AirPods with Apple Intelligence, smart glasses, or a smart display as new categories for Apple.
I’d previously heard that Apple may introduce a HomeKit compatible competitor to Ring doorbells, so maybe that’s related to the security camera idea. Personally, I’m a HomeKit user, but I have Amazon Alexa running in parallel in my house and a bit of Google Home (or whatever it’s called) in another property. I’ve always put more effort into HomeKit, so it works just fine for me, including security cameras. My Ring doorbell is about the only thing that connects to Alexa, which I mostly use as a bedside alarm and for assorted queries, like “What’s the weather?”
The real advantage for me is being able to control my HomeKit household from my iPhone or Mac – or even my Apple Watch, via voice.
Normally, I’d think that Apple should leave the HomeKit accessories to third parties, but if it’s true that HomeKit – I guess it’s called Apple Home, now – is “falling behind”, then maybe Apple should do more to kickstart the market.
I, too, use HomeKit, via an earlier 4K AppleTV brick, primarily as the connection to my Logitech doorbell camera, but now it seem Logitech has dropped the doorbell camera, so I’ve been looking for something to replace it without having a subscription to go with it… It drops out from time to time, sometimes it doesn’t ring the indoor bell, it’s more often the camera notification that gets my attention that a person is in sight… To reset it, I’m stuck with flipping the breaker off/on, since the A/C installer put the doorbell transformer up in the attic, out of reach! Anyway, so far so good, with HomeKit, also looking at whether additional cameras will hook into homeKit… Not finding, so still looking… I do have a mini Alexa, unplugged.. Thought it might be handy, but the old iHome alarm ball in my nightstand shows all I need.,
In any case, we’ll all be watching, hoping for magic stuff to play with! I did re-find a couple old iBooks, a couple MacBooks, reminders of what was, like a lot of stuff in the garage!