Apple’s homeOS 26 Still in the Works Despite Skipping WWDC

Quick Summary

• Apple’s rumored smart home operating system, homeOS 26, was not unveiled at WWDC 2025 despite speculation.
• Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman reports that Apple never intended to announce homeOS at WWDC and initially planned to unveil it in March with new hardware.
• The delay in unveiling is partly due to postponed Siri AI features, with concerns that releasing the OS without these features could degrade user experience.
• Gurman suggests a consumer-focused event would be a better platform for introducing homeOS rather then a developer-oriented conference like WWDC.
• Products possibly running on homeOS include:

– A HomePod with an integrated display showing weather, music, videos, etc.- A squared-display tabletop device with built-in camera and advanced smart technology.
– A premium $1,000 tabletop alternative to rival Amazon Echo Show (still years away).
– Other devices like security cameras and Face ID-enabled door locks may also be part of the ecosystem.

Indian Opinion Analysis
The delay in Apple’s launch of homeOS raises interesting implications for India’s burgeoning smart tech market as global advancements frequently enough impact trends domestically. With increasing reliance on connected devices by Indian households-especially those adopting voice assistants and IoT-enabled products-the eventual rollout of Apple’s ecosystem could present challenges to competitors like Google Nest or Amazon Alexa which currently dominate the Indian market for affordable plug-and-play solutions.

Apple’s integration of advanced AI-driven personalization may shape consumer expectations locally but affordability will remain key given price sensitivity among Indian buyers outside metropolitan areas-a $1,000 premium tabletop may have niche appeal but limit broader penetration in such regions. Furthermore, delays underscore how interoperability between hardware/software remains critical during launches-a lesson echoed across tech markets including India’s emerging developers catering parallel demands here!

Read More