Apple’s StandBy Mode in iOS 17 was the natural progression towards a dedicated Apple Home device. Now, thanks to a new leak, we can see what a HomePod with a display could look like, and it might not be what you’d expect.
@kosutamiSan on X revealed images of a rumored HomePod prototype with a touchscreen display that sits on top of the speaker, where you’d find the touch panel on the HomePod and HomePod 2.
Sources close to 9to5Mac have verified the images, known as B720, internally. 9to5Mac says, “This prototype is being actively worked on by Apple, which confirms that we’re talking about a new product and not something that the company has experimented with in the past.”
The report adds, “Although Apple hasn’t yet decided when (or if) this HomePod will see the light of day, B720 is an advanced-stage prototype, which suggests that it’s something the company plans to introduce in the near future.”
So we could, in fact, see that long-anticipated HomePod with a display after all, but why is the display on top?
Update - October 24: KosutamiSan has since revealed the image in this story was posted as a joke. The original story from October 23 is below.
iFuck thought had never made a HP with touchScreen before, but it is happened, it used to be my AprilFool's joke🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/FUvS4HcYj7October 21, 2023
Please don’t release this product, Apple — iMore’s take
StandBy on iOS 17 is really cool; it displays widgets and important information at a glance, yet its quirks, like reliance on FaceID, have made me want a dedicated Apple device with a display for my home more than ever before.
A HomePod with a display makes so much sense, you could use it just like StandBy but have one in multiple rooms in your house, like the kitchen or your desk, to get glanceable information when needed. We’ve seen products like this before. The Amazon Echo Show is incredibly popular, but for people in the Apple ecosystem, it doesn’t quite fit the bill, and for those who don’t trust Alexa and Amazon’s privacy policies, it’s an even harder sell.
That said, the HomePod model with a display in these leaked prototype images shows a device that looks identical to the HomePod 2 with a flat display on top, and that just doesn’t seem worthwhile at all. The hope for a HomePod with a display is an angled screen so you can easily see information and interact with the display, not a small circular panel that is realistically only going to be able to show tidbits of information like the Dynamic Island.
Hopefully, Apple is testing multiple prototypes of HomePods with displays, and the company will make the right decision to release the home widget hub we’ve all been waiting for. If this B720 prototype does hit the shelves, it’ll be a hard pass from me.
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