AI at home: smartphones, smart home and appliances

Understanding the topic

The AI we use without noticing

Even before chatbots, artificial intelligence reached our homes inside features we take for granted: the camera that improves a night shot, the keyboard that suggests a word, the filter that stops spam, the robot vacuum that recognises an obstacle. Now manufacturers are adding generative assistants to the same devices, able to summarise, translate, write and answer by voice far more naturally.

On the device or in the cloud?

This is the most useful distinction. A feature that runs on the device processes data locally: it is faster and more private, but needs recent chips. A feature that goes through the cloud is more powerful, but sends data to the maker's servers and often depends on a subscription. That is why many new features arrive only on the latest models, and some are available in certain countries before others.

A home that talks to itself

Lights, locks, thermostats and plugs from different brands long struggled to talk to each other. The Matter standard, backed by the main manufacturers, was created so that devices from different ecosystems work together. With the new generation of assistants, the stated aim is to move from single commands ("turn on the light") to broader requests ("get the house ready for the night"). How much of this truly works, and at what cost to privacy, is worth checking story by story.

What we follow

• AI features on iPhone, Android and other smartphones, and which models get them
• voice assistants: Alexa, Siri, Gemini and their updates
• appliances, TVs, glasses and wearables with AI
• privacy and the data collected at home

Latest news on AI at home

• The AI graveyard: a running list of projects and startups that didn’t make itTechCrunch AI · 24 Oct
• The iPhone Duo should have been an iPadThe Verge AI · 23 Oct
• Now Google says it might use your Gmail and Google Photos data to target adsThe Verge AI · 23 Oct
• Retro gaming is being overrun with AIThe Verge AI · 23 Oct
• Revealed: Expensive gas behind ‘nearly 90%’ of rise in UK electricity billsCarbon Brief · 21 Oct
• A new gas line or cash to electrify? California lets households choose.Grist · 18 Oct
• Julia 3.0, abbiamo provato l'IA di Roma Capitale: il certificato arriva in pochi secondiHDblog · 24 Oct · in Italian
• La fotografia torna al centro degli smartphoneAGI Innovazione · 23 Oct · in Italian
• Apple porta l'IA in Pages, Keynote e Numbers: cosa cambiaTom's Hardware Italia · 23 Oct · in Italian
• Grok Bot ora usa le app dello smartphone, ecco cosa può fareTom's Hardware Italia · 23 Oct · in Italian

Timeline

The most widely covered story of each day, newest first. The list grows over time; each headline links to the original article.

• 24 Oct The AI graveyard: a running list of projects and startups that didn’t make it (TechCrunch AI)
• 23 Oct The iPhone Duo should have been an iPad (The Verge AI)
• 22 Oct Apple punta su un’AI invisibile e privata, ma Siri AI ritarda in Europa (Punto Informatico)
• 21 Oct Gemini su Android Auto con Personal Intelligence: quando arriva (Punto Informatico, 3 outlets)
• 20 Oct Gemini on Android Auto can access my photos, emails, and calendar now – why I’m OK with that (mostly) (ZDNET AI)
• 19 Oct People are using AI to make their smart TVs dumb again (TechCrunch AI)
• 18 Oct A new gas line or cash to electrify? California lets households choose. (Grist)
• 17 Oct Pas de Homeview et de SiriAI: le bras de fer continue entre l’Union européenne et Apple, qui "veut en vérité priver les Européens d'un droit"? (BFM Tech)
• 16 Oct Apple Intelligence con Alibaba in Cina, ma senza Siri AI (Punto Informatico)
• 15 Oct Black Forest Labs' open-weights image model FLUX 3 Image Klein runs on consumer GPUs with just 8 GB of VRAM (The Decoder)
• 14 Oct Google Messaggi: protezione antitruffa con Gemini su Android (Punto Informatico)
• 13 Oct Ecco la nuova Apple TV 4K: arrivano Siri AI (ma non nell'UE) e chip A19 (DDay.it, 2 outlets)
• 12 Oct AI less regulated than milk, Microsoft president says in warning over safety (The Guardian AI, 2 outlets)
• 11 Oct Will the HomeView be Apple’s first smart home success? (TechCrunch AI, 2 outlets)
• 10 Oct Auricolari Motorola Moto Buds a 24,90�: ANC dinamica, audio hi-res e 42 ore di autonomia, prezzo da non credere (Hardware Upgrade)
• 9 Oct Oakley Meta HSTN in doppia offerta: gli smart glasses con Meta AI partono da 299€ (HDblog)
• 8 Oct „Welcome home“: Apple kündigt Vorstellung neuer Produkte für den 13. Oktober an (ComputerBase)
• 7 Oct Svelata Leapmotor C10 MY27: più autonomia, 571 CV e infotainment con ChatGPT (DDay.it)
• 6 Oct Boston Dynamics appoints former Amazon exec Rohit Prasad as new CEO (The Robot Report)
• 5 Oct Streit mit der EU: Siri AI frühestens in Monaten auf iPhone und iPad (Heise KI)
• 1 Oct Google’s new Guided Vision feature can help you read the fine print (The Verge AI)
• 29 Sept Google: Alphabet klagt gegen EU-Anordnungen zu Android und Suche (Heise KI)
• 28 Sept Robonomics on the threshold: Economic autonomy, smart cities, and crypto wallets for humanoids (The Robot Report)

Frequently asked questions

What does on-device AI mean?

It means the processing happens directly in the phone, computer or appliance, without sending data to a server. It is faster and better for privacy, but needs recent processors and smaller models than those used in the cloud.

Do I need a new smartphone to use artificial intelligence?

Not for apps such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini: they work on almost any phone because they run in the cloud. AI features built into the system, however, are often reserved for the latest models, because they need suitable chips and memory.

Are voice assistants always listening?

The devices wait for the wake word and, according to their makers, send audio to the servers only after recognising it. The settings let you review and delete recordings and switch off the microphone: it is worth checking them, also because the terms change with updates.

What is Matter?

It is an open smart-home standard, backed by the biggest manufacturers, that lets devices from different brands work together and be controlled from the app or assistant you prefer.

Is an appliance "with AI" worth buying?

It depends on what it actually does. The AI label is used both for useful functions, such as recognising the load or obstacles, and for plain marketing. Before buying, find out whether the feature works without a connection, whether it needs an account and for how many years the product will receive updates.

Other FAIND topics