Apple's Smart Home Display to Resemble Iconic iMac G4 Design With Small Square Display

[doelcm82]

Yes, it will be as successful as Apple Vision pro - while great on paper, lack of real world usage will just kill it with time. lol

It will be as successful as the HomePod. It's a HomePod with a screen.

I think the more expensive version with the robotic articulated arm will be useful for FaceTime. And if the FaceTime caller is using an Apple Vision product, the robotic arm would allow the caller to "look around".

That product would work well at home, but you could also place several of them around a conference table in a business, so Vision Pro users could call into a meeting. They could pivot to directly address real people in the room or other remote callers.

People in the room IRL would see the personas of remote callers on the device's screen. If remote callers weren't using AVP, their regular FaceTime feed would be on the screen instead.

People calling remotely would see the room, with the other devices digitally removed, and other callers' personas in their place (or an enlarged FaceTime window for callers who weren't on AVP.

This isn't based on the rumors, but on where my imagination takes the rumors. I think AVP plus telepresence is a good combination. Apple's other rumored robotic device is a screen that can move itself from room to room.

 

[jwdawso]

The iMac G4 is one of the best designed products ever, period. So if it is basically like a baby version of that, I'll buy it. I can't wait for this product!

I had one and loved it! At that time I could not afford a new one, but I was fortunate to get a hand-me-down from my sister. My youngest daughter enjoyed it for many years when I handed it down to her. I upgraded the memory and disk drive which kept it going. The good old days!!

 

[Think|Different]

Try using your imagination, people. There’s endless use cases for this that exist as is and if it runs its own fork of an OS, than it does stuff no other device will do. Millions of these competitor devices exist in homes across the country, I’m looking forward to Apple’s.

 

[citysnaps]

I chuckle every time I see the critics’ “lack of imagination” thrown around.

Requires imagination to see a use for it = no practical commercial use case

Simple as that.

I chuckle at all of the past comments/predictions here on newly announced Appel products. Here are just a few gems:

iPod: Who asked for a thousand songs in your pocket? (mocking Steve Jobs' on-stage iPod introduction).

iPhone: A non-mechnical keyboard? Flop.

iPad: Just a big iPhone with a feminine hygiene product name.

Watch: If I need to know the time I'll just look at my iPhone.

 

[doelcm82]

So, an iPad mini mounted on top of a HomePod mini

Yes, all the advantages of an iPad mini and a HomePod mini combined.

 

[DarthDon]

The newly introduced device must incorporate a minimum of a 10 gigabyte Ethernet port. This feature facilitates the connection to your internet router, thereby establishing a seamless Wi-Fi 7 mesh system.

Furthermore, the device should support the latest Bluetooth technology, enabling effortless connectivity with your AirPods and other devices. This seamless handover between devices is further enhanced by the inclusion of a microphone and speaker for FaceTime sessions. This and the camera will automatically transition between room with you.

Power supply should be provided via USB-PD (Power Delivery). DP (DisplayPort) facilitat the connection to a biger screen for Apple Music, Apple TV, and mirroring the display of your device. Do we still need a additional HDMI port?

10 gigs one need only for network. Or dou you have a 10 gig/s internet connection? Latest BT isn't important as you wish (it comes anyway). Power supply like the mac mini - simple... External screen - what for?

 

[CouldBeWorse]

This is still my favorite iMac design and I think that it would be smart to repurpose it for this devIce. What I would love is for Apple to give us the ability to repurpose an iPad mini to do something similar - a souped up version of Standby Mode would be cool.

 

[XboxEvolved]

I had one and loved it! At that time I could not afford a new one, but I was fortunate to get a hand-me-down from my sister. My youngest daughter enjoyed it for many years when I handed it down to her. I upgraded the memory and disk drive which kept it going. The good old days!!

By the time I was in college in 2005-2006 (around there somewhere) they were getting a little outdated, but in a certain computer lab they had like 3 of them and I always specifically wanted to use those because they were so cool. I often think about buying one off of eBay and fixing it up.

 

[pbau]

It will be as successful as the HomePod. It's a HomePod with a screen.

I think the more expensive version with the robotic articulated arm will be useful for FaceTime. And if the FaceTime caller is using an Apple Vision product, the robotic arm would allow the caller to "look around".

That product would work well at home, but you could also place several of them around a conference table in a business, so Vision Pro users could call into a meeting. They could pivot to directly address real people in the room or other remote callers.

People in the room IRL would see the personas of remote callers on the device's screen. If remote callers weren't using AVP, their regular FaceTime feed would be on the screen instead.

People calling remotely would see the room, with the other devices digitally removed, and other callers' personas in their place (or an enlarged FaceTime window for callers who weren't on AVP.

This isn't based on the rumors, but on where my imagination takes the rumors. I think AVP plus telepresence is a good combination. Apple's other rumored robotic device is a screen that can move itself from room to room.

Haha, yes, Apple is most likely thinking like you - no company will spend 4k $ to make one person wear a headseat just to call someone on an ipad like device - this is just crazy

 

[scrapesleon]

recycling old design do better

 

[citysnaps]

Sure, you will be able to play your Wheel Of Fortune AAA class game on it while attempting to ask Siri for weather... Go ahead buddy, until the software that Apple is offering does not open up to more developers it will be just a crappy experience (while iOS is great - their HomePods, TVs are just not catching up... i do not even mention the "AI")

Thank you for making my case. Much appreciated.

 

[Promostyle]

Too much attention given to Mark Gurman’s rants. Also, this ages him.

 

[Karma*Police]

What’s the point when Siri, the most important piece of this “smart” device is so incredibly flawed?

I have several HomePods but I rarely use it other than as speakers for music and to ask the most basic questions (usually weather) and setting alarms.

Just ask Siri to convert 1 million baht into US dollars and behold the uselessness and stupidity of Siri.

 

[doelcm82]

Haha, yes, Apple is most likely thinking like you - no company will spend 4k $ to make one person wear a headseat just to call someone on an ipad like device - this is just crazy

Some companies will. Companies bought big LCD screens when they cost many thousands of dollars.

But I laugh at your idea that Apple Vision devices will cost $4K in the future, or that companies will make companies make one person wear the headset JUST to do one thing. Remote employees who wear their comfortable Apple Vision 4 Ultras to do productive work will call in to the meeting with it (by responding to a calendar notification), because taking off their AV4U headset and picking up an iPad is too much of a hassle.

 

[gco212]

Man, that is an obnoxious design. This is the type of product I want to blend into the background when not in use, and this thing wants to be the centerpiece of the room.

 

[DaniTheFox]

10 gigs one need only for network. Or dou you have a 10 gig/s internet connection?

Certainly. There are countries using this technology for several years. They eitler have a single optical fiber or a shared GPON network.

 

[nerdAFK]

Wait, but why?

 

[Vanarak19]

Ready to replace all household google home and minis if they do the design and pricing right.

Give me something without a clock, and another with a screen and camera and I’ll buy 10

 

[macscreenwriter]

Apple is so late to the party on the home stuff it's ridiculous. They should have spent thee R&D money on the Apple Car and the Apple Vision Pro to creating home products.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

This supposed product does not interest me at all. Wouldn't you rather have an iPad instead?

There are all kinds of wall brackets like "little TV" wall brackets that can allow a person to utilize perhaps a former iPad lying in a drawer for "hub" functionality like this... with which one could also use ANY powered speaker vs. only one from Apple and thus as locked down as HPs.

I just don't see the point of a function-minimized iPad hard-affixed to a HP. I'd rather have a fully-functional iPad and a HP or any other speaker used in the same ways. This will need to do something oddly special (and hard to imagine) to make more sense than maybe reallocating an old iPad with a counter or wall bracket for positioning it and about any kind of speaker. These kind of brackets can be had for well south of $50.

And note, you'd have a "whole" iPad too.

 

[one more]

Why can’t this be done with the software alone? With all Apple’s green talk they want people to buy another stand-alone device with a rather limited use, instead of making sure connected homes can be controlled with any device, from Apple Watch to a Mac? 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[vegetassj4]

Waiting on the Home Display mini

 

[doelcm82]

What’s the point when Siri, the most important piece of this “smart” device is so incredibly flawed?

I have several HomePods but I rarely use it other than as speakers for music and to ask the most basic questions (usually weather) and setting alarms.

Just ask Siri to convert 1 million baht into US dollars and behold the uselessness and stupidity of Siri.

So if Siri improved, your objection would go away?

One of the biggest complaints I heard about the original iPhone was that it wasn't really a smart phone. A smart phone had basic functionality like cut and paste, and a smart phone allowed users to install apps. iPhone didn't have those things and since there was no possible way for Apple to add those things to the iPhone... because Apple doesn't do things like that--the iPhone was doomed.

I decided to test your proposal, but since my old HomePod is in another room, I asked Siri on my MacBook Pro. It returned several web results, and I selected one. The answer is $29,687.20. I know that on the HomePod, Siri would tell me "I found some web results. Ask again on your iPhone." If only the HomePod had a screen...

Apple is revamping Siri so that it can evaluate web results and do a lot of other things that will make it seem smarter. I expect these future devices to have the capability to use future Apple Intelligence features.

 

[moabal]

I tried using my iPad Air as a home hub, but the issue is Siri prioritization. It goes to HomePods if they are in the vicinity and not the iPad, even though the iPad processes, the request much faster.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Why can’t this be done with the software alone? With all Apple’s green talk they want people to buy another stand-alone device with a rather limited use, instead of making sure connected homes can be controlled with any device, from Apple Watch to a Mac? 🤷🏻‍♂️

...because Apple probably smells $499+ instead of "free" or $5-$20 for an app. 💰💰💰