We've heard rumors that Apple is working on a HomePod with a display to act as a smart hub for years now. Although we're still far from official confirmation, the latest from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman's latest Power On newsletter suggests that Apple is at least continuing to work on innovative ways to combine its devices, including creating a hybrid between HomePod and iPad, but that we should Expect this new Apple home hub to appear this year.
In the newsletter, Gurman explains that Apple has been testing several novel ways to combine its different offerings. “There was a device that would combine Apple TV, FaceTime, and HomePod into a single system, plus a HomePod with a screen that rotates like a robotic arm,” Gurman writes. “Apple has also explored the possibility of creating iPad-like smart displays that can be magnetically attached to a wall.”
As exciting as these Franken devices seem, so far they appear to have been just experiments. However, that doesn't mean a smart home device with a screen isn't part of Apple's more distant future. Gurman notes that Apple has been talking to suppliers about the idea, such as China's BYD, which is involved in manufacturing some iPads, but suggests we'll likely wait until 2025 at the earliest, perhaps later.
Would a HomePod with iPad be too little, too late?
There are examples of Apple entering a specific product category late and still finding success: Its first pair of over-ear noise-canceling headphones, the Apple AirPods Max, were only released in 2020. And while they may be too expensive to consider Fully conventional, it's surprising how many you see in cities (or, perhaps, how many knockoffs you see, but either way, it shows how popular they are).
Does this mean that every time Apple's HomePod with display hits the market, even if it's another year away, it will surely influence Apple lovers? We're not so sure.
Apple certainly has the technology and marketing to make most of its products fly, but that hasn't been the case with the HomePod. Apple's smart speaker is far from a disaster, but right now it looks like it will always be Amazon's second-best smart speaker, whether it's the Echo, the smaller Echo Dot, or in this case, the Echo Show with a screen. The Echo Show 10 is an incredibly smart take on a smart display, even following some of the concepts Apple apparently toyed with, like a moving display.
Apple would probably have to do more than bring us an iPad-like display on a HomePod-like smart speaker to tempt those who like the idea of a smart display away from Amazon and its (powerful) ecosystem, and convince those they haven't done it yet. accept the idea that they really need it in their homes.
Then again, if Gurman is right and Apple's plans involve combining a bunch of different offerings into a single device, maybe instead of releasing its own latest version of an Amazon Echo Show, maybe Apple can bring us something completely different. As long as Amazon doesn't overcome that hit in the years between now and any Apple plans…
