At the start of 2026, shocking news emerged from the tech industry: Apple is fully committing to the AI sector, and its next blockbuster product will most likely no longer be the iPhone, but a series of AI hardware and an upgraded intelligent assistant. A battle for the gateway to the “post-smartphone era” has officially begun.
According to the latest electronics news, Apple is secretly developing an AI device resembling an AirTag in appearance and functionally similar to the widely mocked Ai Pin. Thickened from the original AirTag design, this device is equipped with dual cameras (wide-angle + standard), three microphones, a speaker, and magnetic wireless charging similar to the Apple Watch. It focuses on computer vision and voice interaction, operating without a screen. While it remains unclear whether it needs to be paired with an iPhone, the inclusion of physical buttons and an independent speaker demonstrates Apple’s intention to endow it with independent interaction capabilities.
Slated for release as early as 2027, the product has garnered high expectations within Apple, with an initial planned mass production volume of 20 million units. This decision comes as a surprise, given that the similar Ai Pin launched by Humane—a company founded by former Apple employees—suffered a catastrophic failure due to severe overheating and sluggish response. With sales falling short of 10,000 units, Humane eventually sold parts of its business to HP for a mere $116 million. iFixit, a renowned teardown website, even bluntly criticized products like the Ai Pin for “overcomplicating simple functions,” noting that needs easily achievable through apps were unnecessarily turned into hardware devices.
Beyond this core AI device, Apple has revealed multiple AI hardware plans, including AirPods with built-in cameras, desktop lamp-shaped robots, AI glasses without display functions, and a household smart device equipped with a robotic arm. The latter features a small display and speaker, with a rotatable base that allows it to follow users around the room—reminiscent of a HomePod with a “face.” It may launch as early as spring 2026.
Software Upgrade: Siri and Technical Compromises
In addition to hardware, Apple’s upgrade to Siri has also attracted significant attention. According to Bloomberg reports, Apple plans to unveil the all-new Siri, codenamed “Campos,” at WWDC in June 2026, with an official release in September. This version will be deeply integrated into iOS 27 and macOS 27, fully replacing the existing Siri interface.
The new Siri marks a transformation from a basic voice assistant to a full-fledged Chatbot. It can not only perform ChatGPT-like functions such as web search, email composition, image generation, and file analysis but also cover all of Apple’s core applications, including Mail, Music, Photos, and more. Its most prominent feature is “Screen Awareness,” enabling it to directly analyze on-screen content such as Excel spreadsheets and images, and execute operations like photo editing or financial report summarization. Similar to Perplexity and ChatGPT, it can also conduct web searches, summarize content with citation sources, and directly control the device to make calls, set timers, and other commands.
Notably, this upgrade comes with technical compromises. To keep up with the generative AI trend, Apple will pay Google approximately $1 billion annually. The basic version of Siri runs on the 10th generation of Apple Foundation Models (developed by Google, with 1.2 trillion parameters), hosted on Apple’s own Private Cloud Compute servers. The premium Campos, meanwhile, operates on a customized version of Google Gemini 3 and adopts a revised computing architecture—abandoning Apple chips in favor of renting Google’s servers equipped with powerful TPUs (Tensor Processing Units). Additionally, Apple has replaced its AI leader (John Giannandrea retired, with Craig taking over) and recruited numerous talents from Google. However, Apple has also prepared a Plan B: Campos features a flexible underlying design that allows for the replacement of Google’s model at any time. It is reported that domestic large models have been tested, clearly in preparation for entry into the Chinese market. Currently, Apple is internally debating whether to limit Campos’ long-term memory function to balance user experience and privacy protection.
Apple’s series of moves stems from anxiety in the AI era. Apple executives have expressed concerns that users may no longer need iPhones in a decade, as competitors such as OpenAI, Meta, and Google actively layout AI hardware to seize the gateway to the “post-smartphone era.” Fortunately, Apple boasts core advantages including self-developed chips, on-device AI processing capabilities, a mature supply chain, and a complete ecosystem. These strengths position it to realize concepts like “screenless AI devices” through its engineering prowess. As OpenAI’s CEO noted, the future battlefield of AI lies not in the cloud but at the terminal. By making dual efforts in hardware and software, Apple is striving to become the controller of the industry’s commanding heights in the next decade.
