Most analysts agree that Apple’s front room technique is considerably inscrutable. This makes it tough to foretell what the corporate will provide you with subsequent on this space. It’s a stark distinction to Apple’s iPhone lineup, the place you may nearly mark each new product launch in your calendar.
Nonetheless, there’s each indication Apple continues to plod together with new merchandise for the house, and whereas current Apple TV and HomePod releases have been considerably uninspired, the excellent news is that Apple’s long-rumoured “HomePod Professional” remains to be on the horizon — and we might see it as early as subsequent 12 months.
Apple has supposedly been engaged on a HomePod/iPad hybrid gadget for a few years now. No less than, that’s how lengthy we’ve been listening to about it. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman first hinted at a extra superior and highly effective HomePod within the spring of 2021, though he was additionally fast to notice the product was solely in “early improvement.”
Gurman’s report got here at a time when rumours of Apple’s front room plans had been far and wide, with predictions of an Apple TV with a FaceTime digital camera, an iPad with a HomePod speaker built-in, and even a large iPad for the house to function a competitor to Amazon’s Echo Present.
It wasn’t clear what path Apple was entering into, and we’re not satisfied even Apple knew for certain. There’s little doubt the corporate was exploring all these choices in its skunkworks and probably even constructing some fundamental prototypes. Nonetheless, we haven’t heard a lot about any precise improvement of those concepts.
As a substitute, we ended up with a second-generation HomePod earlier this 12 months that was little greater than a spec improve to the one Apple abruptly discontinued two years earlier.
There had additionally been ample rumours of that speaker arriving, though most predicted it might come sooner, and it had been largely forgotten by the point it confirmed up in January.
The Curious Case of the Full-Sized HomePod
Your complete saga of the full-sized HomePod has been an odd one. Not solely did its cancellation seemingly come out of nowhere, however solely three months later, Apple launched the 2021 Apple TV 4K with some nice new options unique to the discontinued HomePod. It even had an image of the HomePod on the again of the field. Additional, Apple had launched a brand new Residence Theatre Audio characteristic for the HomePod solely 4 months earlier than it was discontinued.
Because of this, a pair of HomePods grew to become among the best encompass sound techniques you can add to an Apple TV, and lots of of us snatched up as many HomePods as they may earlier than they disappeared fully — and it remained in excessive demand even a 12 months later.
Some of us believed this was precisely what Apple hoped for; that discontinuing the HomePod would create a man-made shortage and permit the corporate to filter its warehouses with out taking a substantial loss. Whether or not that was Apple’s intention or not, it undoubtedly labored, clearing the stage for the full-sized speaker to reappear as a second-generation mannequin.
The ‘HomePod Professional’
Happily, that’s not the whole thing of Apple’s plans for its good speaker, and it’s essential to not mistake the latest HomePod as a misreading of what’s occurring inside Apple.
Now, respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has weighed in to point that not solely is that this new HomePod nonetheless in improvement, however it’s more likely to be unveiled within the first half of 2024.
We’ve identified for some time that Apple is engaged on a number of HomePod gadgets, together with the newest successor to the unique HomePod. Nevertheless, a few 12 months in the past, we additionally heard that it had begun improvement on a brand new HomePod with a full-sized show — the identical gadget that Gurman stated was in its early phases the 12 months earlier than.
As typical, Kuo’s info comes from the provision chain, the place he’s found that Apple has added a brand new provider, Tianma, to the combo completely to supply shows for this new HomePod. Since HomePods have by no means had shows earlier than, it’s a strong lead that one thing massive is happening. It’s apparently additionally going to be a proving floor for Tianma, which might find yourself supplying iPad panels if issues go properly with the HomePod.
Kuo doesn’t provide a lot perception into what this HomePod will seem like or what its capabilities will likely be. Nonetheless, it’s a protected assumption that Apple goes for a house hub right here — one thing that’s been conspicuously lacking from its HomeKit ecosystem.
Kuo does point out it would mark “a major shift within the firm’s good residence technique,” which echoes Gurman’s feedback two years in the past that this product “would characterize Apple’s most formidable smart-home {hardware} providing so far.”
In fact, that’s not setting a very excessive bar. Whereas there’s a lot to love about Apple’s HomeKit expertise, most of that magic is within the software program. By comparability, Apple’s {hardware} improvements are fairly underwhelming. The newest HomePod affords a quicker processor, temperature and humidity sensors, and built-in Matter help, however these are additionally issues the HomePod mini already had. Apple additionally launched a brand new Apple TV 4K final 12 months, however the one important additions had been extra storage, a quicker processor, and HDR10+ help.
That doesn’t imply the newest Apple TV 4K and HomePod aren’t nice items of expertise, however they’re incremental upgrades to what’s come earlier than — evolutionary somewhat than revolutionary. A brand new “HomePod Professional” — or no matter it’s finally referred to as — might transfer Apple’s residence ambitions forward in a fairly large manner, particularly if it evokes the corporate to proceed alongside that highway in constructing a extra complete Apple-powered residence ecosystem that goes past its computer systems and cellular gadgets.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]