merely put: Apple is reportedly engaged on a brand new model of its HomePod speaker as a part of a revamped good house technique. Well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that the redesigned HomePod with an built-in 7-inch show may launch as early as the primary half of 2024. Kuo mentioned Tianma Microelectronics would be the unique provider of shows for Apple’s new HomePod.
Cupertino is clearly hoping that the HomePod with a display screen will improve its versatility, permitting for tighter integration with different {hardware} merchandise.
Apple launched the primary HomePod in 2017 and launched it in February of the next yr. Initial opinions had been combined, resulting in weak gross sales. This in the end prompted Apple to discontinue the gadget in March 2021 after launching the smaller, extra inexpensive HomePod Mini.
However, Apple is not keen to surrender on the full-size HomePod. Earlier this yr, the corporate unveiled a brand new model of its good speaker, that includes a 4-inch woofer with 20mm of journey together with a financial institution of 5 horn-loaded tweeters (every with its personal neodymium magnet) and an inner low-frequency calibration Microphone automated bass correction. The second-generation HomePod additionally consists of 4 far-field microphones for Siri entry and helps spatial audio through Dolby Atmos. It prices $50 lower than the unique, at $299.
Guo believes that Tianma has a golden alternative. Assuming all goes properly with the show on the HomePod underneath improvement, suppliers could also be requested to supply panels for future iPad fashions.
Kuo did not say a lot, however it’s not exhausting to think about a HomePod with a show that might help multi-touch, and presumably have at the very least one digital camera as properly. If all of this involves fruition, it may problem the market share of comparable units like Amazon’s Echo Show and Meta Portal.
Image credit score: HomePod by Howard Bouchevereau, Smart Home by Stephan Bechert
