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Apple is planning for a major push in the smart home market and the touch-based HomePod is part of that lineup.
Apple is planning for a big shift in the smart home segment
Apple’s next HomePod release faces further delays. According to TF Securities International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the company intended to build the purported HomePod with a display earlier this year, but it was pushed back to the first quarter of 2025. As per the analyst, mass production has been delayed even again since the company is still working on the software that will operate on the device.
The redesigned HomePod is not anticipated to go into mass production until the third quarter of 2025, following the WWDC 2025 in June, according to Kuo. It is anticipated that the device will be released by the end of the next year if everything goes to plan.
The analyst claims that Apple intends to market the display-equipped HomePod as a smart home device. This device is anticipated to come with more sophisticated specs than its predecessors; it is said to include a square-shaped display and an A18 chip, which supports Apple Intelligence capabilities.
This upgraded HomePod is one of several smart home devices Apple is reportedly exploring, with rumours also hinting at the integration of Apple Intelligence elements into these appliances.
A TV set, a wall-mounted tablet, and a smart home camera are among the various smart home devices that Apple is reportedly developing. According to Kuo, the latter will use Apple’s HomeKit smart home technology and be compatible with the updated HomePod when it arrives in 2026.
Apple is also said to be developing identity solutions for smart home devices, but it is unclear how these will operate. The company recently received a patent for a smart home camera that can recognise a person even when their face is hidden by using previously stored photos. The new smart home camera will accurately identify a person by scanning their upper body in addition to their face. It will be used to register members of the house, much like the FaceID or Touch ID feature.
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