MacworldThe best time for Apple to truly embrace smart-home tech was five or 10 years ago. The second best time, of course, is now. The good news is that, according to reports from reliable sources, Apple seems to have finally embraced the home as an area of growth, and a bunch of new Apple-designed home products are on the way.Its a sensible decision, and if Apple does it right, its years-long intransigence in this category might not matter. Lets take a look at where Apple may be going.Coming soonBeyond the Home app and HomeKit themselves, Apples first real foray into the smart home space was the HomePod, an overpriced counter to the Amazon Echo. Although the HomePod has become more affordable over the years, its safe to say that in this category, Apple has been a day late and a dollar short.Still, this year and next may bring multiple new products that could be much more intriguing. This year, according to Gurman, Apple plans to launch a home controller screen running a custom operating system. The screen will be smaller than an iPad and meant for use around the home. Gurman suggests it may come with wall mounting options and an optional speaker dock.Apples HomePod and HomePod mini may finally see more products join the companys smart home offerings.Dominik Tomaszewski / FoundryThis is great news for a lot of reasons. First, Apple already has a lot of the tech required to build a product like this in-house: tvOS to provide a simplified interface base, the Home app, FaceTime and Center Stage, WidgetKit, and a collection of third-party apps connected either directly or from a remote iPhone via a similar process to how iPhone widgets and apps run on macOS today.If the speaker dock report is true, its also Apples entry into the smart speaker with a screen category, which has enormous potential. Ive spent years with an Amazon Echo Show and a Google Nest Hub in my kitchen, and both of them are useful but also deeply flawed.More broadly, though, a product like this sends the message that Apple is serious about wanting to be at the center of a smart home interface. Its a declaration of intent from a company that has spent years fiddling around the edges of the smart home while not really committing to being a major player.Where Apple can playPer Gurman, Apple will launch a smart doorbell with a camerayou know, a Ring, but not from Amazonand a home security camera next. While its obvious to wonder why Apple would enter such well-established categories, after a decade of this stuff, theres very little virgin territory to be crossed. However, there are plenty of opportunities for Apple to establish itself.As someone who has dabbled in smart home tech for years now (and if youre reading this, you probably have, too), let me gently suggest that the smart home category is not fully baked. Its been spinning for about a decade, sure, but making computer stuff work reliably enough for it to be up to the standards of regular home equipment has proved difficult, to say the least.An optimist or an established smart-home tech company might snarl at the idea that Apples going to roll into an established market and take it over. But when I look at the current smart home market, I can think of very few players who have built up such success and such an insurmountable lead that Apple couldnt possibly challenge them.Or, to put it another way, I know smart home veterans feel like theyve been doing this forever, but we are still in the prehistoric era of the smart home. Im not saying Apples going to crack it and revolutionize everything for everyonethat seems sort of unlikelybut it certainly has plenty of opportunity to make things better and sell some products.What Apple does nextThe idea that Apple might take on Ring and make security cameras seems weird, right? I agreeits going to take time to get used to the idea. But heres a rule of thumb to keep in mind as you consider reports about future Apple home products: Apple is Apple and will do it the Apple way, every time.Ring and other smart doorbells have been around for years but it doesnt feel as if they have utter dominance of the market.Esther Shein/FoundryIn the smart home category, this means that Apple will want to enter categories that are either unsettled, populated with cheap, uninspiring, and hard-to-operate gear, or have room for a premium-priced product that just works with the Apple ecosystem. Apple certainly doesnt need to compete with that $25 security camera from a no-name brand you find on Amazon; in fact, you could argue that even in the case of the Ring doorbell, Apple has an opportunity.Picture it: These products are prominently displayed in every Apple Store and on Apples website, along with carefully curated products from partner companies. Theyre upsold to every customer who comes into the store. Theyre more expensive, yes, but theyre from Apple, and theyll automatically integrate with your iPhone, Mac, Apple TV, and iCloud subscription. For a lot of people, thatll be enough.I think we also need to assume that the Matter alliance is going to get its act together at some point here and that in the future, all the smart home tech out there will be more or less interoperable, which allows Apple to very carefully pick the categories it wants to enter. I know that Matters had a rough couple of years, but it has the power of all the industry players behind itand theyre all motivated to end the era of incompatibility across all devices. Matter, or something like it, is required before the smart home era can ever exit its messy, experimental prehistoric period and become something that appeals to everyone.Apples entry into the smart home market is a gamble. I suspect this is happening now due to two factors: First, the tech is really more mature than it has been, including the arrival of Matter and the presence of Thread and Wi-Fi radios in almost everything. Second, Apples Home, Wearables, and Accessories linelargely driven up until now by AirPods and the Apple Watchhas ceased its multi-year growth spurt, leaving the company searching for new revenue opportunities.Congratulations, smart home. Apple thinks youre the next opportunity. Well see how this all shakes out, hopefully starting later this year.