Apple May Launch A Display-Equipped HomePod

According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is allegedly developing a new HomePod product for 2024 with a built-in display. The conjecture is supported by data from independent supply chains, including Tianma, a Chinese display maker. The next HomePod will have a radically different appearance from the current models since it will have a 7-inch display, giving it the appearance of a speaker and a tiny tablet or a speaker and small tablet, like the Amazon Echo Show or Google's Nest Hub.

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According to Kuo, Apple is rethinking its approach to smart homes by introducing new gadgets and functionalities. Apple just unveiled a new premium HomePod with a familiar design in addition to the HomePod Mini. With all-new internal parts, it has the same appearance as the model that was introduced in 2018. Because of Matter, a new smart home standard that aims to unite smart home devices, Apple is concentrating more on the smart home. The new HomePod supports Thread, the Matter-backed wireless protocol created exclusively for Internet of Things devices, and Apple is one of Matter's launch partners.

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"The new Matter smart home connection standard provides customers with more flexibility and interoperability to connect a broad variety of smart home accessories across multiple ecosystems," said Matthew Costello, Apple's vice president of Hardware Engineering and Operations. "With Thread functionality, the new HomePod may act as a border router, securely enabling communications to Thread-based devices around the home."

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Having a touchscreen display on a smart speaker makes sense for Apple, which also makes the iPad. Many people already own and like their iPad, so it would be a familiar interface that could also run several popular iPad apps out of the box. Trade Algo reported in January that Apple was also working on a smart display that could be used to operate your smart home. It would essentially be a low-end iPad that you could install on a wall to manage your lights, thermostat, and other devices.

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It's uncertain whether Ming-Chi Kuo is referring to the same gadget. This smart home tablet might be branded as a HomePod, or Apple could be developing two distinct devices—a wall-mounted tablet and a countertop HomePod with a tablet.

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