Tech giants race to get AI gadgets on shelves for holiday rush

The Apple HomeView, an iPad-like device meant to hang on walls or perch on tabletops that will showcase its AI-upgraded Siri virtual assistant, during a launch of smart home products in New York City, US, October 13, 2026.

Shannon Stapleton | Reuters

With the holidays just months away, tech companies are betting this is finally the year that AI starts showing up under the Christmas tree.

Apple, Amazon and Microsoft have all announced new devices in the past week with the aim of bringing generative artificial intelligence firmly into the home. Nearly four years after the launch of ChatGPT, the leading consumer tech companies are touting improved personal assistants and speedier on-device chips with AI capabilities as they try to sell new laptops, tablets, phones and smart home computers.

Success is far from guaranteed. In addition to the weakest consumer sentiment data in 12 years due largely to stubborn inflation, and growing fears about the potential safety risks of AI, there's a learning curve that comes with the new technology. Jitesh Ubrani, an analyst at IDC, said tech companies want to introduce AI to consumers to lay the groundwork for more aggressive device launches in the coming years.

"This is really about getting devices into consumers' hands, into consumers' homes, slowly teaching them how to use it, and getting feedback from them," Ubrani said, adding that new gadgets from Apple, Amazon and Microsoft aren't expected to sell in large volumes, at least not yet.

Getting affluent early adopters on board now could be considered a win given the macro headwinds. Hardware prices across the board have risen, driven by soaring costs for components, especially memory and storage, as power-hungry AI servers suck up most of the capacity. Those price hikes have led to plunging shipments this year of new smartphones and laptops.

Analysts applauded Apple for introducing HomeView at a reasonable price given all the component shortages.

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