Apple Smart Home Display: Everything We Know

[lazyrighteye]

Correction * It’s going to use Siri which doesn’t work and everyone will complain.

Save this for reference.

Apple will do something and everyone will complain.

 

[lazyrighteye]

It will be called "HomePad" and cost $300.

I think HomePad is spot on. High-five.
Lots of unknowns out there, but thinking this will be so niche that we could see a $199 ppt (though $249 would be my wager). I'm probably wrong.
iPad min 6 form factor would be a great size for this type of device. Also probably wrong here, too. 🤪

 

[macjoshua]

Can't be that hard for them to slap an iPad mini on a HomePod and call it a day. I know that Siri catches a lot of flack for not being as advanced as other smart assistants, but at least it's not as obnoxious and intrusive as Alexa.

 

[ignatius345]

What I really want is something that lets me use Apple TV for FaceTime with a minimum of difficulty.

 

[VuvuzelaiPhone]

An iPad can be had for $249 from many retailers on sale. You expect Apple to sell a large touch screen product for less than that? I don't.

Doesn't an iPad have a large touchscreen? This doesn't make any sense.

 

[Jondude]

Just mount an old iPad on the wall. Log in, open HomeKit and set it so it doesn’t timeout/require login after a certain amount of time. That should accomplish the same thing right?

 

[Bcn]

The picture is showing an Echo Show 15 with an 15,6” screen

Or is it showing a nice butt?

 

[transpo1]

If it looks like an iPad, and works like an iPad…just use an iPad. Then design a REALLY expensive app. This would not have happened with Jobs around.

 

[eifelbube]

It’s gonna be $349 and everyone’s gonna complain.

Save this for reference

Too expensive, certainly. (first to complain?)

 

[DummyFool]

It’s gonna be $349 and everyone’s gonna complain.

Save this for reference

I don't think so, I think more like $449 or $499 or even $549.

 

[riverfreak]

This is one Apple product that will never cross the threshold of my very, very (deliberately and obstinately) dumb home.

 

[roland.g]

We already use an older wall mounted iPad for this. Works quite well.

 

[BushySquirrel]

Ultimately I care more about the Operating Software and how well it will interact with other devices. This is what I want to see. Overall continuity!

View attachment 2151362

yeah i had to buy app to do that and its not as good as a official app could be

 

[5786735]

Could Apple be trying to start an "end-run" around the Google Nest (and other) smart thermostats?

They recently activated the temperature (and humidity) sensors in HomePod and HomePod mini. This seems like a bit of an odd outlier. Yes, you can automate fans and space heaters. But what if Apple wants to replace (or be) the smart thermostat and this product is a new approach to that? Much more than merely a smart thermostat of course, but also a re-think of the concept (e.g., temperature measurement across the whole house vs. a single point) plus the other home automation capabilities.

If you couple this with some small interface that connects to the furnace and A/C but THIS is your point of control...

🤔

P.S. Couple all of that with the "when a person arrives/leaves" triggers to have finer-grained control over energy use. Hmmm.

 

[Red Oak]

As I've been reading this thread, I just learned about this Guided Access... I'll have to look into it. I also have three wall mounted iPads, and just run Home on them.

Granted, I'm the only one that uses them typically, so it isn't strictly necessary (and I do sometimes jump over to Settings or Safari for one reason or another...) but I'm always down for a more streamlined implementation.

That's one reason I'm rather optimistic about this announcement. If it makes a great Home Hub, without the compromises of using an iPad, I'm all in.

How do you charge the iPads? Do you have outlets behind them on the wall?

 

[mediacomposer]

I just want a Echo 5” and 8” replacement - I already have homepod minis everywhere but the remaining Echos will go right in the garbage the second apple has a replacement.

 

[MallardDuck]

More than any other apple product, this is likely to be 'great hardware crippled by lousy software'. Until the home app get's a total redesign, it's a pipe dream.

 

[MallardDuck]

Could Apple be trying to start an "end-run" around the Google Nest (and other) smart thermostats?

They recently activated the temperature (and humidity) sensors in HomePod and HomePod mini. This seems like a bit of an odd outlier. Yes, you can automate fans and space heaters. But what if Apple wants to replace (or be) the smart thermostat and this product is a new approach to that? Much more than merely a smart thermostat of course, but also a re-think of the concept (e.g., temperature measurement across the whole house vs. a single point) plus the other home automation capabilities.

If you couple this with some small interface that connects to the furnace and A/C but THIS is your point of control...

🤔

P.S. Couple all of that with the "when a person arrives/leaves" triggers to have finer-grained control over energy use. Hmmm.

I'd replace my eero's in a heartbeat if apple released one that's remotely competent. The AI in the eero is just dumb, and the constant push to lock it into the (wrong) utility remote off switch is really annoying.

 

[name99]

A lot of us have older iPads sitting around that would be perfect for this if Apple would release an app that autolaunches on one and runs full time.

That’s terrible from a security perspective.
Either you allow the device to Lock Screen (which makes it a hassle to use) or you leave it unlocked… and you can’t detach it from iCloud and your AppleID because it needs those for HomeKit.

 

[ijordano]

This will categorically not happen

 

[ijordano]

A lot of us have older iPads sitting around that would be perfect for this if Apple would release an app that autolaunches on one and runs full time.

You can do this using guided access

Lock iPhone to one app with Guided Access

With Guided Access, you can temporarily restrict iPhone to one app when you let a child use your device or when you want to stay focused on a task.

support.apple.com

 

[v0lume4]

I feel like we've been seeing a lot of "me too" product rumors from Apple lately.

 

[elvisimprsntr]

I’ve already got one!

 

[v0lume4]

The Apple Smart Home Display, Amazon Echo Show, and ZuckScreen show, in yet another modern day development, that George Orwell was a prophet.

The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it; moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment.
—George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four

I've been wanting to give Nineteen Eighty-Four a read so badly. I couldn't be bothered to read back in school, so I only read the Cliffs Notes on it. To be frank, I don't think I would have grasped the relevance of the book at that age had I read it. Today, it seems like cautionary, if not necessary reading given the times.

 

[v0lume4]

A lot of us have older iPads sitting around that would be perfect for this if Apple would release an app that autolaunches on one and runs full time.

Google's upcoming Pixel tablet is marketed to do almost exactly this. It's a smart hub that you can pick up off the dock and then use as a regular tablet. I don't suppose repurposing existing hardware, as opposed to selling us new hardware, would be the Apple way, however.