Apple has reportedly begun early work with overseas suppliers on a future version of its HomePod speaker that would feature a built-in screen.
Even though the development of a screen-equipped HomePod appears to be progressing well, a launch in 2025 seems to be more realistic than 2024, Mark Gurman wrote in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter for Bloomberg.
The Cupertino tech giant is rumored to have considered or is working on or has been exploring other ideas for the smart home, including smart displays for the connected home, a HomePod with a screen that swivels like a robotic arm and a smart sound bar combining the Apple TV, FaceTime and HomePod in one gadget.
A screen-equipped HomePod could arrive in 2025
Gurman wrote in the newsletter that the iPhone maker began discussing a screen-equipped HomePod with its suppliers.
I am told Apple continues to pursue this idea and has begun early work on it with overseas suppliers, including China’s BYD, which makes some iPad models. If Apple finally moves forward with the product, a launch wouldn’t come until 2025 at the earliest. Work on the device is being led by Matt Costello and Brian Lynch, two key executives in the company’s hardware group.
A recent report from 9to5Mac indicated that a HomePod with a fully functional display remains in the works. The publication found evidence in the tvOS 17.4 code suggesting the company has been internally testing an unreleased “Z314” device that seems to be a HomePod with a built-in touchscreen.
“Code reveals that there are internal development and also production versions of this product under test, which suggests that it may have reached an advanced stage of development,” 9to5Mac wrote.
Other possible smart home products from Apple
Gurman has summarized the various home products that Apple has apparently considered selling that he wrote about in the past. However, he wouldn’t specify whether those gadgets are still in active development.
- A sound bar-like device that would combine the Apple TV, FaceTime and HomePod in one system.
- A HomePod with a screen that swivels like a robotic arm to follow you around during video calls.
- iPad-like smart displays that could be magnetically attached to a wall.
Those devices aren’t imminent as Apple’s been “indecisive about what to do in the home for years, and I’ve seen nothing to suggest that has changed,” Gurman wrote.
A HomePod with a swiveling screen may sound preposterous to you. But there’s a precedence for such a product—Belkin’s new Auto-Tracking Stand Pro that offers 360 degrees of panning and 90 degrees of tilting for video.
Say hello to Belkin’s video tracking stand
Belkin’s accessory uses DockKit, Apple’s new software framework for dock accessories that track the location of objects that appear in video frames.
DockKit uses the iPhone camera to frame and track objects and supports improved person tracking using combined body and face tracking for human subjects.
“This feature, known as system tracking, automatically starts as soon as a person docks iPhone onto a compatible motorized stand and launches the Camera app,” reads Apple’s developer documentation.
“For example, system tracking is useful for content creators who want the camera to follow them while they move around their space or instructors on a video call who are walking around a classroom.” DockKit was unveiled at the WWDC23.
DockKit as a sign of things to come
Belkin is the first to utilize DockKit, but it won’t be the last as other companies join this space and existing video-tracking products gain DockKit compatibility.
Apple obviously thinks this emerging product category is worth supporting. But will the company join the fray with “a HomePod with a screen that swivels like a robotic arm to follow you during video calls as you walk around the room?”