At least one Apple leaker thinks that the big, gigantic, recently mythical HomePod may make its return sooner than anyone originally thought.
Rumors have recently been growing about the return of a large HomePod 2. It’s been a bit of a snowball with rumors of a return growing in number and frequency. While it seemed that we may be on track for a launch later this year or sometime in 2024, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman thinks we might actually be right around the corner.
The reporter took to Twitter yesterday to speculate that the return of the big HomePod “should also be coming fairly soon.”
The next HomePod should also be coming fairly soon https://t.co/WsByewy7hmJanuary 16, 2023
What can we expect with the new HomePod?
While hearing that the big HomePod may make a return “fairly soon” may excite the concept market, Gurman is pouring cold water on anyone expecting to see major changes with the new generation. According to the leaker, "the return of the larger HomePod size is still set for this year, but I wouldn’t expect anything revolutionary about it."
Gurman did say that we can expect the new generation to feature an "updated touch control panel on the top and the S8 chip from the best Apple Watches in a design similar to the model from 2018." Other than that, the reporter says that the rest of the HomePod experience is expected to remain the same.
The biggest change to the new HomePod could be the price. The original HomePod came in at a staggering $349 which, after seeing intense price pressure from Amazon and Google, was too much for the big speaker to handle. Hopefully, when Apple brings it back, it can come in at….$199. Please?
Regardless of the lack of big features or design changes, the potential relaunch of the HomePod is exciting news for fans of the original and those in the market for a high-quality smart speaker. Right now, the best smart speaker you can buy from Apple is the HomePod mini.
