Apple’s long-rumored HomePod with a screen—which I used to call ‘HomePad’ but now seems likely to be called ‘HomePod Touch’—is expected to launch in early 2026. Here are two reasons it can’t come soon enough.
#1: Amazon’s Echo Show is now getting littered with ads
Smart speakers with displays have been on the market for a very long time. The most prominent example is Amazon’s Echo Show.
Thanks to new Echo Show hardware and an upgraded Alexa+ assistant, you’d think that Amazon would be way ahead of Apple. But it seems the product has actually been getting worse in a key area.
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy writes at The Verge:
In recent months, full-screen display ads with the tag “sponsored” have been appearing on current Echo Shows, and users are not happy. These ads are new and very intrusive, appearing between photos when the Show is set to Photo Frame mode or between content if it’s set to show different categories (such as music, recipes, news).
As I type, the last-gen Echo Show 8 on my desk just showed an ad for an herbal supplement between a snapshot of my daughter dancing at her aunt’s wedding and a baby picture of my son. The ad reappeared two photos later, and then again. And again. […]
As these new “sponsored” ads become more pervasive, it feels like a bait and switch. There was no indication on the packaging that you were buying an ad-supported product. There’s no discount for buying an Echo Show with ads, as there is with Kindles. And, because these ads are there almost constantly, they’re more intrusive than the voice assistant suggesting a service or product you might want after you just engaged with it.
We all have different tolerance levels for ads, but I know that if I owned an Echo Show, this kind of unwanted behavior would make the device instantly unusable.
To make matters worse, Pattison Tuohy adds: ”On top of that, Alexa Plus — the company’s big update to its voice assistant — is now also throwing in full-screen ads for its own services. The Echo Show has become a rotating billboard in my office.”
HomePod Touch can’t arrive soon enough.
#2: New Siri on HomePod Touch could finally put AI concerns to rest
In case you haven’t heard, Apple has an AI problem.
Okay, it’s far more complicated than that. For example, the company just shipped a bunch of new Apple Intelligence features in iOS 26 to many millions of users.
But if you want to rehash the “Apple is doomed in AI” narrative, your best argument is simply to point at Siri.
Siri has gotten a handful of AI upgrades in the past year, but the big changes that hopefully make for a “brand new Siri” are still MIA.
Rumors indicate those big Siri upgrades are coming around March or April, alongside the new HomePod Touch product.
Siri’s new powers were reportedly so crucial to the HomePod Touch that Apple pushed its original intended release back a full year.
Top comment by Matthew Kovacik
“HomePod Touch could be the poster child for what the new Siri can do”
That is not true. The iPhone is, and always has been, the “poster child” for Siri. It’s already a portable “HomePod Touch”, as well as the iPad.
The HomePod Touch/HomePad is simply going to be an iPad with good speakers and microphone quality, likely with other sensors to assist with intelligence. One that is dedicated to be positioned on your countertop, table, wall, or possibly even kitchen appliance.
The key benefit to the HomePod Touch/HomePad is to have a HomePod with an interface that opens up the door for personal customization, similar to the AppleTV gaining the ability of the AppStore.
Right now, the HomePod is very limited and closed off similar to the first 3 generations of the AppleTV. Siri, regardless if it’s “dumb”, can only do so much with its current hardware and interface limitations in the current HomePods.
I’m also willing to bet, if/when Apple announces this new type of HomePod, they will likely make a huge point about it not having any Advertisements, and likely making fun of the competition with it.
If they still had live in-person keynotes, that would definitely be a moment where the crowd would explode with applause, cheer, and laughter.
In other words, HomePod Touch could be the poster child for what the new Siri can do.
Apple no doubt wants to start silencing its critics around the topic of AI.
Launching a compelling new Siri, alongside a brand new product to show off that AI prowess, could be a good first move.
Do you expect to buy a HomePod Touch when it launches? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments.
Best Apple Home accessories
- TP-Link Tapo 2K camera with HomeKit Secure Video
- Smart air purifier with Matter
- HomeKit Garage Door Opener
- HomeKit smart plug 4-pack
- ecobee Smart Thermostat Essential
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