Apple’s AI Strategy and the Delayed Smart Home Vision
Apple’s ambitions to revolutionize the smart home experience, powered by a significantly upgraded Siri, are facing considerable hurdles. Delays in the development of a new Siri model are impacting the release of several novel products intended for launch in 2025, potentially pushing them to a September 2026 release—or beyond. This situation highlights a broader shift in Apple’s AI strategy, increasingly reliant on external partnerships to accelerate development.
The Stalled Smart Home Initiative
Last year, reports surfaced regarding three unreleased Apple products codenamed J490, J491, and a third, more experimental device. The J490 was envisioned as a competitor to the Amazon Echo Present 8, essentially a HomePod mini with a screen and an Apple Watch-like interface. The J491 was reportedly a wall-mountable version of the J490, while the third device was a tabletop robot incorporating the same functionality. All three were intended to be powered by a revamped Siri, designed to control appliances, music, and communications within the home.
Though, the launch of these products, originally slated for spring 2025, has been indefinitely postponed due to ongoing issues with the new Siri model. The delays suggest that Apple’s pursuit of a truly “intelligent” assistant is proving more challenging than anticipated.
A Shift in AI Strategy: “Apple Runs on Anthropic”
Apple is increasingly turning to external AI models to bolster its internal capabilities. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple now “runs on Anthropic” for many of its AI workflows, utilizing Anthropic’s Claude models for development, evaluation, and model alignment. This signifies a departure from Apple’s historical preference for building AI systems entirely in-house.
Anthropic’s models are valued for their safety-focused design, structured reasoning, and conversational clarity—qualities that align with Apple’s goals for its future assistants. While Apple continues to develop its own Foundation Models and on-device AI layers, Anthropic provides crucial support for advanced reasoning and large-scale training.
The Google Partnership and Cost Considerations
Alongside its reliance on Anthropic, Apple has also partnered with Google, integrating Gemini models into its AI platform. This layered AI architecture allows Apple to select the best tools for specific tasks while maintaining control over privacy and user experience.
Initially, Apple considered rebuilding Siri entirely around Anthropic’s Claude model. However, negotiations stalled due to Anthropic’s pricing, which Gurman reports as several billion dollars per year, escalating to double that amount over the following three years. Apple ultimately deemed this cost prohibitive, leading to the agreement with Google, which reportedly costs around one billion dollars annually.
Looking Ahead to WWDC 2026
Despite the setbacks, Apple is still expected to showcase improvements to Siri and introduce refined “Liquid Glass” controls at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in 2026. However, the full realization of Apple’s smart home vision, powered by a truly advanced Siri, remains uncertain and dependent on continued progress in AI development and strategic partnerships.