The Future Is Bright: How APPLE's iPad Pro Could Revolutionize Smart Homes

Keeping in line with the blazing trail it has always set, APPLE thrives on providing people from all walks of life with some of the most innovative products and software available today. And among the wide range of products that APPLE offers, two in particular are getting a lot of attention as we await this year’s “Big Announcement”, set to be brought before the WWDC. These APPLE products are the high-end iPad Air and the visionary iPad Pro. So, why do I believe that the promised upgrades will be so game-changing when it comes to APPLE’s flagship tablets, and more specifically, the iPad Pro and its reported switch from LCD to OLED technology, could be paving the way for the smart home of the future?

APPLE's Leap to OLED: A Game-Changer for the iPad Pro

The iPad Pro’s move from LCD and Mini LED to an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display means more than just a technological leap. The ‘Tandem OLED’ assembly, APPLE’s term for it, will bring images to life like never before. OLED on iPad Pro can infuse blacks, and other colours, with a lively vitality Users will be able to see deeper blacks and more vibrant colours than ever before.

Why OLED Matters for APPLE Users

And should you think this leap to OLED is just about prettier pictures, think again. There are real, tangible benefits here that affect us in everyday use, from a smoother viewing experience when watching fast-paced games and sports, to extended battery life on the iPad because OLEDs use less energy. But there’s one proposed application of OLED technology – one that could potentially change the way we think about our homes – that might end up being the most important for APPLE, and for the rest of us.

A Transformative Feature: The Always-On Display

Although the move to OLED is a good evolutionary step, the next leap we’d love to see APPLE take to fully realise the potential of the iPad Pro as an all-in-one portable computer is an always-on display. We’d use the word ‘display’ because, if it’s truly on all the time and you’re not touching it, interactivity is limited. APPLE has brilliantly introduced this technology in the iPhone and APPLE Watch, the iPad is up next. Think of all the smart home devices you can control, gather information from, and stimulate with a truly smart home display. Think of all those things you could access at a glance – notifications, missed calls, messages, time/date, stock quote, weather, news, notes to self, your single most important thing to tend to. Think of it being truly on all the time.

The Ultimate Smart Home Display

We see a smart home controller with Home Kit controls, a swipe-based music playlist, video, news feeds, and notes. The device should stay on, on standby, with time, date, weather and notification, and become the major centrepiece of your living room, which you don’t need to wake up to interact with. Imagination is your limitation.

Repurposing APPLE's iPad for the Smart Home

The idea of turning a tablet into a smart home control centre is nothing new, of course, but APPLE’s latest advances would make that prospect actually achievable. Finally, the always-on display means that the tablet could present information and controls in a way that’s more responsive and available than ever, with the iPad Pro at the very centre of the 21st-century smart home.

Siri: The Bridge to a More Integrated Smart Home Experience

If APPLE is indeed planning a major artificial intelligence upgrade for Siri – which rumours have hinted at after the keynote at WWDC – the prospect of a smart home display for the iPad Pro is more enticing than ever. The addition of deeper integrations with the APPLE voice assistant would be a clear signal that APPLE intends to enable you to have access to Siri’s functionality in more parts of your surroundings – the kitchen, the study, the living room – and utilise the new iPad Pro features to help make your home smarter and your life easier in the process.

The Intersection of Innovation and Utility

We may have to wait for an iPad Pro for the always-on display to reach its full potential, but if APPLE truly commits to this feature across its APPLE silicon-based devices, we’ll finally have something that harnesses OLED’s most awesome feature, and brilliantly integrates Siri in ways we never imagined we needed.

Beyond the Screen: Understanding APPLE's Vision

APPLE’s technology advances are less about the devices than the creation of a more unified, easier, and integrated life for its adherents. The endlessly iterated form factor of the iPad Pro is a window into APPLE’s longer-term vision of technology that is more accommodating, intuitive and indispensable for the home and life.

APPLE: A Catalyst for Change

What we haven’t always acknowledged is that APPLE has always been more than a technology company. From the very beginning, APPLE has always been a visionary force, shaping how we imagine the future, how we act in the world and what we aspire towards, with every product upgrade and every new way of thinking about design and interaction. APPLE has inspired us to imagine a future where the mundane is transformed into something extraordinary, with technology as its catalyst.

But that notwithstanding, as we look ahead to WWDC next month, the permutations for how APPLE’s iPad Pro and possible smart home intentions might work are intriguing and plentiful. By adopting OLED technology, and the possibilities of an always-on display, APPLE isn’t just updating a product. It’s asking us to reconsider our relationship with technology and our homes. As we await this next-generation of features, one thing is for certain: the smart home is getting brighter with APPLE.