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Become a Six Colors member to read exclusive posts, get our weekly podcast, join our community, and more!By Jason Snell for Macworld
It’s time for Apple to get back into the smart home in a big way
Apple’s current strategy in the home tech market is a bit murky. It launched the HomePod and Apple TV 4K in 2017 and HomeKit support seems to have become much more widespread lately, but it also killed the AirPort line of products and has stood by as competitors like Google and Amazon snap up companies like Nest and Eero.
This past week we learned that the company has hired a new head of home products, which makes me ask the question: What exactly does Apple expect Sam Jadallah to do? Is his job to make deals with HomeKit partners and make the HomePod more successful? Or is this the sort of thing that happens when a company shifts gears because it’s realized that its old strategy wasn’t working?
There are no end to the opportunities for Apple in building more devices for the home. It just has to decide if it wants to compete in that market, or write it all off. I’m increasingly coming to believe that Apple needs to do more, not less, in building home products.