Apple's Upcoming Smart Home Accessory Could Feature 'Squarish' DisplayApple is rumored to be working on a sort of
iPad-like smart display that will serve as a home hub for controlling your
HomeKit and Matter devices. We've been hearing rumors about the device for the last couple of years, and now there's some new information about its potential design.
Called
the "HomeAccessory" internally, the upcoming smart home device has a "squarish display," according to
9to5Mac. The square display would make the product distinct from an
iPad, which has a more rectangular display.
Bloomberg's
Mark Gurman has previously described the smart home hub as "iPad-like" with features adopted from the ‌iPad‌,
HomePod, and the
Apple TV, but he's also described a separate ‌HomePod‌ with a screen, which seems to be simpler.
9to5Mac claims it is unclear whether the square design will make it into the final product, which also seems to have a built-in camera for
FaceTime. The device includes a camera that is able to identify hand gestures from afar, and it can tell one person apart from another for personalized requests. While it can run apps and play media like the ‌Apple TV‌, it will also serve as an
AirPlay receiver like the ‌HomePod‌.
MacRumors spotted signs of the HomeAccessory in Apple's backend code earlier this year. It is a product that is distinct from Apple's other home devices, the ‌Apple TV‌ and the ‌HomePod‌. It seems to run a variant of tvOS much like the ‌HomePod‌, and the test version we've seen described is equipped with an A18 chip, so there is a possibility that it might not be too far off from launching.
With an A18 chip or later, Apple's smart home product would be able to run Apple Intelligence features, and it would support the smarter
Siri that Apple plans to introduce in 2025. Prior rumors have said that it
will debut in 2025 at the earliest, and
9to5Mac says it could come next spring. <div class="linkback">Tag:
Apple Smart Home Display</div>
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Apple's Upcoming Smart Home Accessory Could Feature 'Squarish' Display
