New rumors about "Home accessories" from Apple: with AI and a square screen
Apple is said to have been working on a combination of iPad, Apple TV and HomePod for some time. New technical details have now been leaked.
Apple HomePod 2: It doesn't have a real display.
(Image: Apple)
Is the planned "Tabletop Robot" from Apple just a HomePod with a flange-mounted, rotatable iPad with a special arrangement? New speculation from the USA suggests so. As 9to5Mac claims to have learned from informed sources, there is to be a new "HomeAccessory" that has already been discovered in the company's backend code. It bears the code name J490. There are also initial details about the form factor and hardware.
Square screen with A18
A square screen ("squarish display" – is said to be built in – plus a current A-18 SoC to enable Apple Intelligence. An integrated camera should work with FaceTime and other video conferencing apps, users could be identified and then addressed directly for Siri's "Personal Requests" (this is currently only possible by voice).
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Similar to Apple TV devices, apps should also be able to run on the "HomeAccessory", and a lock screen with various clock displays is also planned. It is still unclear whether Apple plans to simply call the device HomePod. Companies such as Amazon and Meta have already tried many combinations of loudspeakers and video conferencing devices, but these have not been real hits. Apple's current problem is that the HomePod is too weak to run Apple Intelligence.
Differentiation from the "Tabletop Robot"
It is still unclear whether Apple's planned "Tabletop Robot" with an automatically moving screen arm is a different product or whether it corresponds to the "HomeAccessory". Both could also become separate product lines, with the (technically simpler) "HomeAccessory" first. Apple is said to be planning a whole small division for home robotics, where devices could serve as an alarm system, for example – a bit like Amazon's own home robot, but on wheels.
The idea that Apple could give its HomePod a screen is an old one. There was speculation about this as early as 2022. Time and again, it was said that Apple could merge the iPad, Apple TV and HomePod into one device, which would also make perfect sense for the smart home. But little happened in practice. Apple first discontinued the HomePod, only to follow up later with the HomePod 2, which only brought moderate innovations.
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