Home LivingSmart HomeHomePods with screens are coming, according to Apple’s own codeA new Apple beta appears to confirm that not one but two screen-enabled HomePod devices are in development – and one is nearing productionWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Home LivingSmart HomeHomePods with screens are coming, according to Apple’s own codeA new Apple beta appears to confirm that not one but two screen-enabled HomePod devices are in development – and one is nearing productionWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
A new Apple beta appears to confirm that not one but two screen-enabled HomePod devices are in development – and one is nearing production
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Apple)
(Image credit: Apple)
Rumours of anAppleHomePod with a built-in displayhave been circulating since 2021, and what appeared to beprototypes leaked in late 2023. And it looks like the mythical smart home devices are getting much closer to launch. According to Apple’s own code, a new tvOS device is imminent and it appears to have a screen.
The code is in the latest tvOS beta. tvOS is the operating system of theApple TV4K, but it’s also the operating system of the HomePod and HomePod mini – albeit without the visual user interface. And in the latest developer beta of the operating system there are references to a new tvOS device dubbed Z314, which according to 9to5Mac exists as both internal development and production models. The latter suggests that the device is close to launch.
Why Apple’s code appears to reveal the next gen HomePod
The new device appears to have the same A15 processor as theiPadmini 6, which is a significant change: the current second-gen HomePod is based around anApple WatchS7 processor and the mini has an S5. The A15 is a much more powerful processor, which probably wouldn’t be necessary if the new device wasn’t doing more than just audio.
As9to5Macreports, there are also new features in the tvOS beta that suggest a display in the new device – in particular, the presence of a system tool called hangtracerd, which is used to deal with user interface issues iniOSapps.
Previous leaks indicated that Apple had been testing tvOS on the iPad mini, which seems to corroborate reports that Apple’s future HomePod plans included one with a large display – and that means the device isn’t the same one as the apparent prototype HomePod, whose display was a smaller circle on top of the device. That suggests there are going to be two flavours of screen-enabled HomePods: one that looks much like the current generation, and one more flexible and capable one that may look closer toAmazon’s Echo Show.
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