The following HomePod may combine a seven-inch show panel that may increase interactivity and, presumably, flip the Siri speaker into an clever dwelling controller.
- What’s occurring? Famous Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo thinks Apple will launch a revamped HomePod with a seven-inch show panel early subsequent 12 months.
- Why care? A built-in display would improve the HomePod’s utility by enabling it to double as an interactive controller in your good dwelling.
- What to do? Go learn Kuo’s full report on Medium.
Kuo: A brand new HomePod with a display launching in 2024
The revered analyst thinks the iPhone maker will launch a screen-equipped HomePod within the first half of 2024 (Kuo’s timeframes aren’t as correct as his predictions of unreleased Apple options). Tianma, which presently makes Android shows, would be the unique panel provider for the subsequent HomePod, says Kuo.
Primarily based on this line, Kuo might need made an knowledgeable guess relatively than evidence-based prediction: “Tianma is ready to debut in Apple’s provide chain, changing into a brand new beneficiary of Apple’s revamped good dwelling technique.” The analyst predicts that Tianma’s subsequent orders from Apple may very well be “iPad panels if the cargo goes nicely.”
Rumored Apple good dwelling merchandise within the works
If true, Apple will likely be enjoying catch as much as rivals Amazon and Google, which have provided clever audio system with built-in shows for years. Kuo’s prediction performs into earlier studies from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman relating to Apple’s future good dwelling plans. Gurman referred to as for some eyebrow-rising developments, together with:
- April 2021: Gurman reported that Apple was contemplating constructing a “high-end speaker with a contact display,” claiming such an adjunct would “mix an iPad with a HomePod speaker and likewise embody a digicam for video chat.”
- April 2022: Gurman reported that Apple was engaged on a gadget combining Apple TV and HomePod performance with a built-in digicam for video calls.
- October 2022: Gurman claimed Apple would launch an iPad docking accent in 2023 that you just’d place on a kitchen counter, in your nightstand, and many others.
In Kuo’s thoughts, a screen-equipped HomePod would play into “Apple’s revamped good dwelling technique” that has but to provide tangible outcomes.
How a future HomePod would possibly use a touchscreen
Kuo doesn’t make clear what new performance an built-in display would possibly deliver to the Siri-powered speaker. The present HomePod fashions have round shows on the highest. Nonetheless, these are usually not precise bitmap screens however LED lights that present standing data, like once you’re participating with Siri or resetting the machine.
It definitely feels like the subsequent HomePod may allow tighter integration with Apple’s different merchandise and develop into a succesful good dwelling controller. Why else add a display to it? In our view, going to the difficulty of equipping the subsequent HomePod with a pleasant seven-inch display solely to render extra colourful controls and sophisticated Siri responses on it might be such a waste.
