Apple’s new ‘HomePad’ will offer three reasons to put it in every room of your house

Apple is planning a big smart home push in 2025 that will come with at least three product launches. One of those devices is a brand new smart display product I’ve been calling the ‘HomePad.’ Here are three reasons you may want to put HomePad in every room of your house.

Apple Photos slideshows

Mark Gurman writes that the HomePad “can turn into a slideshow display for [users’] photos.”

Digital photo frames are nothing new, but they’ve always come with a key barrier that kept me from investing: the requirement to manually send photos to the frame.

Users of third-party services like Google Photos can get around this, but as an Apple Photos user, there’s never been an effortless way to get my photos on to a digital frame.

HomePad will be the first product that can do that.

My wife and I would love to have more photos represented in our home, but aren’t great about getting photos printed and framed. Putting a HomePad in every room will provide the benefit of different surprise and delight moments as the device surfaces special memories from the past.

Siri with Apple Intelligence

Here’s Gurman again:

[Apple] expects most people to use their voice to interact with the device, relying on the Siri digital assistant and Apple Intelligence. The hardware was designed around App Intents, a system that lets AI precisely control applications and tasks, which is set to debut in the coming months.

Apple’s existing HomePod hardware doesn’t support Apple Intelligence, so it’s stuck with the legacy version of Siri (at least for now).

Siri’s transition to the Apple Intelligence era has been messy, but this spring’s iOS 18.4 update will bring big changes.

The forthcoming App Intents system will give Siri access to hundreds of new in-app actions, so it can do things it never could before. Where Siri often fell short of user expectations previously, with iOS 18.4, the promise is that it will be the truly intelligent assistant we always wanted.

Putting HomePads in every room will provide access to this powerful new Siri from wherever you are. And the more that Siri can do, the more likely users are to grow dependent on the assistant.

Budget-friendly price tag

Apple seems to have learned from its mistake with the first HomePod, whose premium price tag made widespread home adoption a hard sell.

Reportedly the HomePad’s cost will “[approach] the cost of competitors’ products.”

Likely that puts the price tag in the $150-200 range. Not inexpensive, but definitely on the low end for an Apple product.

One main compromise to hit a lower price is that the screen may be smaller than desired, with a roughly 6-inch square display. But that smaller form factor should make the price point easier to hit, and provide another reason to buy multiple HomePads.

HomePad wrap-up

Apple’s new smart home push will create a unique opportunity for the company to sell multiple units of the same product to users.

That was true with HomePod and HomePod mini, and to a lesser extent the Apple TV 4K. But with the HomePad, and future Apple security camera and doorbell products, it will be even more of a trend.

Do you expect to buy the HomePad? Will you get multiple units? Let us know in the comments.

Best HomeKit smart home accessories

• ecobee smart thermostat
• TP-Link Tapo 2K camera with HomeKit Secure Video
• WELOV smart air purifier with Matter
• meross Garage Door Opener
• HomeKit smart plug 4-pack

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