Rumored smart home products in the pipeline at Apple could provide the next leg up in the company's growth story, an Apple stock analyst said Wednesday.
Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Apple plans to launch a new product to serve as a smart home hub. The wall-mounted display can control home appliances, including video doorbells and security cameras, the report said. It also can do video conferencing and answer Siri voice prompts.
The device has a roughly 6-inch touchscreen and looks like a square iPad, Bloomberg said. When not in use, it can turn into a slideshow display for photos.
Apple is gearing up to announce the device as early as March, the report said.
"Someone needs to simplify the home appliance sprawl," Melius Research analyst Ben Reitzes said in a client note Wednesday. "We think this product category could finally make sense for Apple given advancements in technology that can interpret images and movements using cameras/sensors and tap into Apple Intelligence."
The control panel could enhance the artificial intelligence ecosystem that Apple is building, Reitzes said.
"With advancements in Siri and access to OpenAI, these innovations could make it the perfect time to surpass Amazon Echo/Alexa and Meta's Portal in capabilities, including integration with security," he said.
Apple Stock Is On IBD Tech Leaders List
Reitzes rates Apple stock as buy with a price target of 265.
On the stock market today, Apple stock rose a fraction to close at 225.12.
Meanwhile, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo posted a research note Tuesday that said Apple plans to enter the smart home camera market.
"Apple is making its first foray into the smart home IP (internet protocol) camera market, with mass production scheduled for 2026, targeting annual shipments in the tens of millions," Kuo said.
Apple stock is on the IBD Tech Leaders list.
Follow Patrick Seitz on X, formerly Twitter, at @IBD_PSeitz for more stories on consumer technology, software and semiconductor stocks.
