A release in March 2025?
According to Bloomberg, Apple plans to launch this product next March. Apparently it would take the form a touch screen (two iPhones placed side by side
) to place on a wallsimilar to a control panel
home automation that can already be found commercially.
It would also have an integrated FaceTime compatible camera and different sensors. This system would also be used to identify certain hand gestures at a distance (and execute actions). It could identify the user to activate different requests, or even detect the number of people nearby.
External sensors could be placed in wall outlets near the device, but these accessories may come later or be canceled altogether. The product will be a standalone device, meaning it can operate almost entirely on its own. But you'll need an iPhone for some tasks, including some initial setup steps.
.
Ce HomeAccessory -with its little code name J490- would be equipped an A18 chip (and at least 8GB of RAM) to support Apple Intelligence features. The beta versions had also revealed a new category of products (like what exists for HomePods (which falls under the AudioAccessory
).
This real command center for the home
would centralize Apple apps, Apple Intelligence capabilities and HomeKit integration. This launch would mark an important step for Cupertino in the home automation segment, already well occupied by Google or Amazon, while capitalizing on its own secure ecosystem and AI. Depending on the price chosen, this hybrid HomePod could perhaps compete with them, but nothing is less certain…
Reminder of the different rumors
In 2021, Mark Gurman was the first to suggest that Apple was working on new HomePods with screens and cameras. In March 2023, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo looked at this product. For him, this HomePod could sport a very different look from the current model, in particular to integrate this 7-inch screen. It should offer better integration with other Apple products, marking a significant change in its home automation strategy
.
Subsequently, Mark Gurman (again) mentioned this product equipped with a speaker, alongside Apple TV features, a FaceTime camera and Siri compatibility. The journalist of Bloomberg expected at the time, a launch around the end of 2023 or early 2024.
At the end of the year, the leaker and collector of Apple prototypes, Kosutami on X (ex-Twitter) shared some information on an upcoming HomePod model with an LCD screen practically compared to the second generation HomePod (released in 2023), but which would have a large LCD touch screen. Subsequently, other rumors mentioned a model under development under the code name B720
.
Finally, and this is perhaps the surest of all the clues pointing to a new device, a beta of TVOS 17 referred last February to an unpublished device but identified as Z314
. The code revealed that there was several internal development versions but also production versions currently being tested. The product could therefore have reached an advanced stage in the process.
Finally, this version also brought several SwiftUI frameworks to the HomePod firmware, but also a system tool, which is normally used to debug the user interface (and therefore a screen) when unresponsive in iOS apps.
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