Apple is developing a new external monitor for the Mac that might act as a smart display for the connected home when idle in low-power mode.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that such a monitor could provide smart standby features when idle, adding it’d be powered by an integrated iOS device chip.
However, Gurman advised against expecting a release until 2024 “at the earliest.”
This sounds like iOS 17’s new StandBy feature that turns an iPhone into a smart dashboard with widgets and more when charging horizontally.
An Apple screen doubling as a smart display in the works
These tidbits were briefly mentioned in the latest edition of Mark German’s Power On newsletter for Bloomberg, claiming such a product would run an iPhone chip.
This wouldn’t be unheard of—the company’s existing Studio Display external monitor is powered by the iPhone 11’s A13 Bionic chip.
However, Gurman went on to note that an iOS device chip in a smart display from Apple would be doing much more work than the A13 in the Studio Display, which handles things like the camera, mic, Hey Siri, Center Stage and spatial audio.
StandBy Mode would be perfect for an Apple smart display
Coincidentally or not, iOS 17’s new StandBy mode feature turns your iPhone into a smart display like Google Nest or Amazon Echo. Apple could expand this feature to support this rumored smart display (mere speculation on our part).
Gurman also claims that Apple is working on multiple external displays, including successors to its current $5,000 Pro Display XDR and the $1600 Studio Display.