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

[EugW]

I think I would have a use for this sort of thing, if it actually "is a thing" that is..

Could be perfect to buy and put at my aging relatives place as a "family facetime communicator"

As it is now with their iPads, they always struggle to hold them in a way where we can see them easily and/or isn't shaking the whole time -- the experience mostly sucks

Something like this could be perfect for that

Yes, a FaceTime Home Hub appliance, which is less complicated than an iPad.

I realize that an iPad is not complicated, but this would be even more simple, and at a lower price than an iPad. As mentioned, I was thinking $249 - $299. Not exactly cheap, but significantly less than an iPad 10th generation.

 

[Lioness~]

Cheaper control hubs, then iPad's, would be great for us that especially don't walk around and talk to Siri.
I would buy one or more, for sure.

 

[sir1963nz]

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.

Now go an have a look at Apple Books , its a steaming pile of **** across all of its devices.
I have ATVs, Home Pod minis, Macs (typing this on a 16" M3 MBP), iPads, iWatch heck I still run Apple Server on some Mac Minis..... but I am using Zigbee for my Home Automation, I use Calibre for my eBook management, and I am shifting to RaspberryPi for my server needs.
I have zero Apple subscriptions, I dont care how many new emojis Apple adds, the new iPad system prefs layout in MacOS is crap (I just use search now, the interface is garbage), Don't use Siri, etc.
I used to be a Fanboy ... but Apple had done nothing that interests me for years and I stopped watching any of the developer conference stuff etc etc etc yers ago too.

 

[vantelimus]

Unless they fix HomeKit and recruit more manufacturers to support it, this kind of device is useless. Getting a fully automated home with reliable device connectivity has been virtually impossible with HomeKit up to now. I doubt a dedicated device with a screen will change the situation.

 

[vantelimus]

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.

Buy a HomePod mini if you want a cheap HomeKit hub. You’ll find it to be a wonderful speaker. As hub, it is hobbled by limited support [none of my brand-new high-end kitchen and laundry appliances are supported] and inconsistent implementations of HomeKit [my blinds stopped working last year when HomeKit was updated by Apple] and extremely painful configuration [they try to make it easy, but it took several attempts to get my fans connected to HomeKit]. Apple home automation is the biggest disappointment in the Apple ecosystem.

 

[sir1963nz]

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? 🤷🏻‍♂️

Yep, and why can Apple devices not form a WiFi mesh, in fact why can they not act like the older Airports too, or allow you to throw a RAID array onto one so it will act as a Time Machine Hub.

Unless Apple makes a lot of money out of something that lose interest
AppleBooks, behaves like it was built 20 years ago...complete garbage, Use Calibre now
Server, still run Mac 2012 Mac Minis, but moving to Raspberry Pi, Will move away from TimeMachine because of this
I had a number of Photo books printed via iPhoto, 3rd party Apps only now
Apple Home/Matter..junk, its YEARS behind Zigbee in functionality and device support, I now run Hubitat, old iPads work fine as a front end (web page), no special App needed
I am moving to JellyFin for my multimedia needs, its simply way better for my needs
EVERY Mac I owned (512KE when they were new) I had upgraded RAM and storage from 3rd parties , and I repaired a few myself too. REAL GREEN ideals are Repair, Upgrade, Reuse, then finally recycle, Apple skips the first 3 while virtue signalling.
Unless you use Thunderbolt you can not daisy chain displays, even docks do not support 2 displays. However if you boot into Windows on your Mac, you can do this, just like Windows machines can. Its NOT a hardware issue, its Apple choosing to stop you.

Apple seems to be pushing users towards their stores. I have zero Apple subscriptions, I want to see MY stuff , not Apple Store unless I go to it.

My IOS app purchases plummeted when I could not make the on the Mac which is a far superior way to find Apps.

 

[sir1963nz]

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

My Home pods are just used as speakers, the sound quality is good for their price.
Dont need or want anything else.

 

[maximit]

I still have a G4 15" iMac in the basement on my work bench. I run "Apple Remote Desktop" on it and connect to one of my other modern Macs in the house to browse the web etc. The design on the G4 iMac is still a pleasure to use today with the adjustment arm.

 

[bLackjackj]

As Steve would have said,..YUCK! Where is the modern design team when you need them,..I think they are all working for LoveFrom now!

 

[Agent007]

I think they're grasping at straws with this. The Vision Pro obviously didn't work out the way they planned and that wasn't long after they abandoned the car idea. I'm very curious to see what Apple becomes in the next 15 years.

 

[zach-coleman]

I think they're grasping at straws with this. The Vision Pro obviously didn't work out the way they planned and that wasn't long after they abandoned the car idea. I'm very curious to see what Apple becomes in the next 15 years.

This is something Google and Amazon have been selling for years. It’s a useful element of a smart home. I have no idea why people are reacting like this.

 

[burgman]

Now go an have a look at Apple Books , its a steaming pile of **** across all of its devices.
I have ATVs, Home Pod minis, Macs (typing this on a 16" M3 MBP), iPads, iWatch heck I still run Apple Server on some Mac Minis..... but I am using Zigbee for my Home Automation, I use Calibre for my eBook management, and I am shifting to RaspberryPi for my server needs.
I have zero Apple subscriptions, I dont care how many new emojis Apple adds, the new iPad system prefs layout in MacOS is crap (I just use search now, the interface is garbage), Don't use Siri, etc.
I used to be a Fanboy ... but Apple had done nothing that interests me for years and I stopped watching any of the developer conference stuff etc etc etc yers ago too.

I agree without a complete overhaul of home ecosystem that has Alexia functionality with Home privacy, this doesn’t interest me at all. Make product that surpasses my Echo Show 10 will suck me in.

 

[EugW]

This is something Google and Amazon have been selling for years. It’s a useful element of a smart home. I have no idea why people are reacting like this.

Dunno about Amazon but it seems Google is only half-heartedly supporting this. The current Google Nest Hub model came out over 3.5 years ago and reportedly is quite laggy, but there is no evidence of any update in the pipeline. Furthermore, the bigger Nest Hub max hasn’t been updated since 2019, almost 5.5 years ago. People are getting worried it will become another dead Google product line.

 

[rizzo41999]

I like that you have that as your computer in your signature.

I still have mine too.

View attachment 2442654

However, as mentioned, I would be surprised if this new iPad-HomeHub thingy has an articulating arm, or any arm at all. I think it would more likely be just a tilted screen attached directly to a hemispheric base.

Respect, great collection! I too have a Cube, between that and the G4 - reminds me what’s possible in design!

 

[svish]

Wonder how Apple will price it. Maybe it will be announced at WWDC

 

[Newbee2025]

Not used to apple being a “me too” brand that would stoop to these new lows by doing what others already have an ugly display with speakers and calling it a home accessory.

They used to be good at saying “no” to dumb ideas… this one seems dumb…

I wager it will not see the light of day.

 

[Newbee2025]

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

Exactly my point - super
Dumb idea. So unlike apple - I’m calling this one busted. Won’t make it out the door lol.

 

[alexhardaker]

I feel like this sort of product is needed to boost the use of the smart home.

Setting up smart homes still seems a bit too techy for the average person, with all the maintenance required. It could be simplified with Apple’s help.

HomeKit has never really taken off either. They built the platform, but left developers to make it take off which hasn’t worked.

I would rather use Apple smart home software for their stance on privacy. This sort of device could help make the adoption of the smart home mainstream and boost HomeKit use.

 

[Neodym]

How about an iMac that resembles the old iMac?

Problem would be to counter the weight of modern-sized screens on a lever like with the original iMac. That concept worked well with the original 15“ monitor and also still with the 17“. But the 20“ was already borderline, as it lost the easy elegance of the original, both visually and when moving the screen.

Putting even a 24“ screen on such a stick would require an unwieldy and most probably ugly base, which would be way too big for modern electronics (unless you’d want to squeeze a DVD changer and a tape drive into it). Just take a look into the Mac mini forum here on MR, where people constantly complained about the old Mac mini case being waaayyy too big for the M-CPU based electronics inside.

So while even a 24“ screen would already be a challenge for that old design, people are currently asking for a 27“ iMac (and secretly hoping for a 32“ one).

 

[johnsawyercjs]

I’m guessing one reason Apple is developing this new home hub, with a small built-in screen as its main controller interface and limited functionality compared to an iPad, is that it allows them to make a smaller, less complicated, and thus cheaper device for this somewhat dedicated purpose, than incurring the added expense of a bigger screen or one which requires an iPad. This lower cost and smaller size would also allow more people to buy more than one for different locations in a house. A home hub can benefit from a built-in display, but it doesn't really need a display the size of an iPad, even one the size of an iPad mini, when used as just a controller and a simple FaceTime device. One way Apple might see it, is that all the functionality and size of an iPad “gets in the way” of using it as just a home hub. And many people who might want to try home automation might not have an iPad to use to control their Apple TV or HomePod, assuming they even have one of those.

On the other hand, I see no real good reason why Apple should have discontinued the ability to use an iPad as a home hub, for people who already own an iPad and are willing to dedicate it to this use, and for whom all the extras and size of an iPad don’t actually get in their way of using it as a home hub. This would be especially handy for people with older iPads they’ve replaced with newer models.

But I suspect another one of Apple’s reasons for developing a dedicated home hub with a built-in display as a controller, instead of allowing people to use an iPad as a hub, is that it forces people who want a dedicated home hub with a built-in display, to buy yet another device. Let’s hope Apple eventually (or sooner) makes HomeKit less buggy and more useful, or else this supposedly upcoming device that uses it might flop.

 

[Neodym]

Any notion of “target demographic” aside, why are YOU using an Amazon Echo? For a lot of people the answer is that Siri stinks as an assistant when compared to Alexa. Until that is fixed, what device is used as a front end (phone, tablet, computer, speaker, other) won’t make any difference and won’t change attitudes toward what Apple is doing with this type of device.

I’ve read reports about Alexa having lost the ball and quality of voice recognition and answers deteriorating. On top Amazon is said to question the whole Alexa infrastructure, as it seemingly didn’t bring the desired purchases boost management was hoping for.

So unless Amazon decides that having Alexa as a general smart home platform has a value on its own, current Alexa users can’t be too sure that their smart home platform of choice is still around in a couple of years.

 

[clg82]

I use my HomePod on a daily basis for both music and podcasts so this will be a nice addition to be able to add to my Apple HomeKit set up

That's about all their useful for....

 

[Mr_Ed]

I’ve read reports about Alexa having lost the ball and quality of voice recognition and answers deteriorating. On top Amazon is said to question the whole Alexa infrastructure, as it seemingly didn’t bring the desired purchases boost management was hoping for.

So unless Amazon decides that having Alexa as a general smart home platform has a value on its own, current Alexa users can’t be too sure that their smart home platform of choice is still around in a couple of years.

Even if that was true (and it may be, for all I know), my point regarding how Siri has compared (past and present) to other assistants such as Alexa still stands.

 

[JoshuaBru]

Actually, I think the right product would be a homekit hub with a place to set your ipad down for charging using the "Smart Connector" to provide the UI either when docked or not.

In reality, the base should also be functional as a wireless access point(and provide 2-4 RJ45 ports for upstream or downstream and a separate backbone WiFi channel).

Making a unique product only for homekit hub interaction is so old school to be laughable to be coming from the "innovator" Apple.

Exactly

 

[wanha]

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

100% no. Portability isn't always automatically a virtue.