There are already 3 Apple TVs and 6 HomePod minis in my house. We're good on Thread. And so is anyone who has at least 1 of those. No need for a dedicated device to get a Thread router into people's houses. If they don't already have an Apple TV or a single Home Pod mini, they aren't getting this dedicated Home product, I can promise you that.
AC powered? So is the iPad when you plug it in. But more versatile since you have options on the cable, length, and charger, which is important for wall mounting.
Wall mounting is achieved easily with any thing made for iPad.
What Apple needs to provide is the software. That's it. The hardware already exists, and makes more sense.
Sounds like you're well covered with nine Thread router devices, unless your home is gargantuan, or you have really well insulated/solid/metal-stud walls. But just like Zigbee, you DO benefit from having more routers sprinkled around the house. (One is always the Border Router, which controls the network, the rest, though, strengthen the network and help prevent weak spots where sensors drop off the mesh.)
I have 3 wall mounted iPads, so I've spent quite a bit of time with this issue, which is why I was and am quite excited by this rumor.
I didn't have 3 iPads laying around at the time, so I had to buy them. I got used to save some money, but they couldn't be TOO old because I wanted to be able to keep iOS up to date for at least a few more years.
I would have happily paid up to $199-ish for this device, since I paid almost that for used iPads ANYway.
My AC comment wasn't that you can't plug an iPad in, obviously, but that it goes into a deeper sleep than the straight AC-powered Apple TV or HomePod. Because of that deeper sleep, which it does even when it is plugged in, it made an unreliable Home hub. Still works fine as a Home controller, but not a hub. But that is just one more thing that this device could possible do that an iPad can't.
In any event, I wasn't arguing against an iPad being a good wall mount option. (I've got 3! haha) Just that this potential device could be even more "fine tuned" to this purpose, and if I could get one for around the same as a used iPad, it would be an instant buy for me.
This thing doesn't need to be any more powerful than, say, an AppleTV HD. And the screen doesn't need to be the fanciest either. Their WORST current iPad display would still be great for this kind of device. So they could do it for a good price. Doesn't mean they will, but if they did, I'm in.
In any event, this type of device clearly doesn't sound like something you'd want to buy. And that's totally fine. But I would in a heartbeat, for the right price. This device could make so much more sense if it was designed just right for the purpose.
