Apple

Apple reportedly gearing up for new HomePods and smart devices

Two HomePods, to be exact, and some other home devices.

by
Joe Rice-Jones
August 8, 2022

Image: KnowTechie

Good news today for HomePod fans – Apple is reportedly getting a larger, high-end HomePod ready for release. The company is also working on an updated HomePod mini and several other smart home devices.

In his weekly Power On newsletter, that news comes courtesy of Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. He was asked if Apple was still working on new home devices, and the answer was, “[Apple has] at least four new smart home devices in its labs, but not all will see the light of the day.”

One is a larger, more powerful HomePod that should be closer to the original. Gurman says this will use the S8 chip, which is coming in the Apple Watch Series 8.

The second is an updated HomePod mini. Maybe that will use the same chip? It could also come with Bluetooth 5.2 and possibly the new improvements from Bluetooth LE Audio.

Then, an additional two devices might not make it out of the testing labs. The first is a device for the kitchen. It combines an iPad and a speaker and sounds like a Google Nest Hub or Amazon Show competitor.

The last device combines an Apple TV, camera, and HomePod. This would be a media hub, with the camera pointing towards use as a video calling device. The camera would also be perfect to use with Apple Fitness+ for evaluating your workout form.

If everything Gurman mentions gets released, we should expect two new HomePods from Apple either later in 2022 or early 2023.

He believes only one of the other smart devices will be released, either late in 2023 or early 2024. My money’s on the Apple TV hybrid, as Apple wants to continue pushing its way into Health and Fitness.

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