Apple announced its HomePod back in February of 2018, meaning that the original HomePod is coming up on five years old with zero updates to the hardware. Then in March of 2021, instead of giving us a new HomePod, Apple just decided to discontinue the product altogether, keeping the HomePod mini as its only “smart” speaker on the shelves.
Even though customers were not huge fans of the actual “smart” nature of the HomePod, customers loved the sound it brought at that form factor and the ability to pair two HomePods to give themselves an amazing stereo surround sound experience. There have been rumblings that 2023 could be the year that Apple finally brings back the HomePod mini’s long-lost sibling with a much-needed update.
HomePod Max?
Parker Ortolani posted earlier today his ideal concept and vision of what a new and re-invigorated HomePod could look like in 2023. First he renamed it HomePod Max, bringing Apple’s audio nomenclature into the mix. Then, he added a gorgeous new beige color option and a purplish hue color for this new HomePod Max.
But more importantly, he brought in the idea of a new interactive touchscreen at the top of the HomePod Max and called it homeOS. With the original HomePod and the current HomePod Mini, there is a touch-sensitive panel on the top of the device that allows you to control the HomePod to a certain extent:
- Ignite Siri with a long press
- play/pause any audio
- increase/decrease volume
- certain colors indicate the state of the HomePod
Top comment by Pedro
If the primary goal is to offset the cost of entry and get the HomePod to $249 where it managed to sell, then adding expensive components, like a round OLED display is going to do the opposite.
Give it the HomePod mini's components to take advantage of an economy of scale (more minis are sold, which pay for the price of tooling, manufacturing and component assembly) and add the original HomePod's larger speaker drivers which accounts for the additional $150. They might even get it down to $199 with that strategy.
HomePod doesn't need a display. Most homes with entertainment already have displays around the house. Most TVs these days have built in AirPlay even if they're not attached to Apple TV's. This can be accomplished in tvOS, not extra hardware. When HomePod is playing, it should leverage a nearby TV to display currently playing music and artwork and to add visual references to Siri's answers.
Hey Siri, what's the weather? HomePod answers, while current weather and the forecast shows up on the nearest TV. Hey Siri, who was Martin Luther King? Siri gives a synopsis on the HomePod and displays a photo and bio on the TV. Hey Siri, turn off the lights. HomePod in the living room knows where you are, turns off the living room lights and displays a pop up Home app notification on the living room TV.
Parker’s vision of this new homeOS will take this interactivity to a level that makes much more sense, visually, for HomePod owners. Some of his ideas are:
- A calling interface similar to iOS
- A timer with a ring corresponding to the countdown
- Homekit controls
- Intercom controls
- Audio playback controls and visualizer
- Ability to choose Bluetooth connectivity
- More
Parker envisions a display that can be used as the primary way of interacting with the HomePod, rather than using your iOS, iPadOS, or macOS device as the primary way to control the device.
9to5Mac’s Take
It does seem about time that Apple gives its customers a new version of the larger and better-sounding HomePod. It’s rare for apple to take a successful product, like the HomePod, off the shelves without a clear successor. Perhaps Apple wanted to go back to the drawing board, because even though the HomePod had amazing sound quality, it lacked the features of a modern “smart” speaker (especially compared to Google and Alexa speakers)
What do you think? Should Apple release a new HomePod with revamped homeOS? Or is the HomePod Mini enough for now?
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