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Apple's Upcoming Smart Home Accessory Could Feature 'Squarish' Display
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I have a Google display hub in my kitchen and it is pretty handy. I like seeing the audio that is playing and having touch control of it. Can easily ask it things, set timers, etc. It can show the doorbell when someone rings it. I get that it is not for everyone but for some they are, just like anything.
If this launches arguably with near-identical technological capability as an iPad, how is Apple going to differentiate them? Are they going to arbitrarily bifurcate the feature sets so the HomePad has exclusive software features that an iPad is perfectly capable of running but won't have in order to pressure people into buying? If they do it will be the beginning of Apple's fall from grace.
As many have said already. iPad and HomePod already exist. I don’t see the benefit of sticking them together, unless, as someone said earlier, you can stick an iPad on its base. Even so, what Apple really needs to focus on is HomeKit. It’s a mess on what is available, what should work and how, connectivity, etc. There’s also Siri. Apple tried to sell HomePod, which relies on Siri to work properly and have functionality. Which it doesn’t. Then there’s Apple Intelligence, which doesn’t seem to have a clear direction on what it can do, but Apple trying to play catchup on something it should have had a head start way back when Siri was introduced in iPhone 4S
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HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Much like TV wall mounts, there's plenty of brackets for positioning an iPad on any wall or countertop and those can be had for very little cost. Here's just two examples of MANY...
If you want the sound portion and can only think Apple, pair it with a HP in the same vicinity. Else, there's plenty of fish in the speaker sea and you could USB out to one for a wired connection too.
So trying to "think different": since the "always listening" feature is a thing that has been generally accepted by the masses, what if this is an always watching & listening device? In other words, what if the arm is motorized to make the camera "look" at you as you move about the space (to see those hand signals at a distance in this rumor). Think immobile robot with moving head vs. old iMac where you physically put the screen where you wanted it.
I don't know if that would be good or bad- personally, I'd think even more undesirable than the always-listening devices- but so many in the world have whole-heartedly bought the latter, so maybe there is some market for the former?
Yes, the spy concepts spike when you add "vision" to the device... but so do the help features. For example, if I'm doing something and the screen is not already pointing at me so I could see some step-by-step instructions, maybe I ask it to turn towards me and show me the steps? Or video "Captain's Log" purposes as I'm doing things... basically a selfie camera that stays on the narrator without having to use arms & hands?
Again, I don't think I'm interested in such a device but I struggle seeing the "as is" popular when iPads already on hand can likely bring the screen & camera benefits (and go with you when you leave the home)... and HPs and similar can deliver the audio.
It's hard to imagine what this is for unless there is a big thing it does that is not yet apparent.
If you want the sound portion and can only think Apple, pair it with a HP in the same vicinity. Else, there's plenty of fish in the speaker sea and you could USB out to one for a wired connection too.
So trying to "think different": since the "always listening" feature is a thing that has been generally accepted by the masses, what if this is an always watching & listening device? In other words, what if the arm is motorized to make the camera "look" at you as you move about the space (to see those hand signals at a distance in this rumor). Think immobile robot with moving head vs. old iMac where you physically put the screen where you wanted it.
I don't know if that would be good or bad- personally, I'd think even more undesirable than the always-listening devices- but so many in the world have whole-heartedly bought the latter, so maybe there is some market for the former?
Yes, the spy concepts spike when you add "vision" to the device... but so do the help features. For example, if I'm doing something and the screen is not already pointing at me so I could see some step-by-step instructions, maybe I ask it to turn towards me and show me the steps? Or video "Captain's Log" purposes as I'm doing things... basically a selfie camera that stays on the narrator without having to use arms & hands?
Again, I don't think I'm interested in such a device but I struggle seeing the "as is" popular when iPads already on hand can likely bring the screen & camera benefits (and go with you when you leave the home)... and HPs and similar can deliver the audio.
It's hard to imagine what this is for unless there is a big thing it does that is not yet apparent.
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So, what are the chances this display turns out to be what triggered all the new iPad Mini rumors and we end up with no new iPad Mini?
Maybe this is a lost in translation thing, and the sources meant the edges are squared off. Because a square aspect ratio on a smart display that plays video would make no sense.
I got a Google hub for free and it's basically a countertop clock with a cute frog showing the weather that can be seen through the adjacent window (without the frog).
I can't wait to see what Apple Intelligence will bring 🥱.
I can't wait to see what Apple Intelligence will bring 🥱.
Here comes the Apple show at an amazing price of $199! This is dead on arrival.
Apple focusing valuable resources on something no one is really asking for as opposed to, say, a less expensive Studio display.
Yep. I already have an older iPad propped on my desk for similar tasks and it be nice to just have a built-in app for this. I could see this product being useful for a lot of people.
I’m hoping that it’s a dedicated Home Hub, with an A18 for Apple Intelligence. If you have one, it becomes the default hub and “upgrades” all your HomePods to have AI also (all AI processing would be done on the AppleHub, with requests routed from the HomePods). That would be awesome and a day one buy!!
I really wish MacRumors would cease using Gurman as a quote source.
I've seen male toddlers potty training with better accuracy.
I've seen male toddlers potty training with better accuracy.
Reminds me of this...which I still regret not buying this for $35 bucks a thrift store a few years ago! (It was pretty yellowed though)
A standalone HomeKit hub seems like it would be a low-demand device. HomeKit presently only makes sense for a household that has standardized on an Apple Ecosystem. Such a household likely already has an AppleTV or HomePod(s). In other words, it already has a HomeKit hub.
Another problem is HomeKit itself and the devices which support it. In my own case, I have ceiling fans that are a PITA to configure for use with HomeKit. Blinds that wouldn’t work until HomeKit was updated. Then they stopped working after another HomeKit revision. Thermostats that regularly disconnect from HomeKit and require a router reboot to reconnect. And many devices (ovens, dishwasher, washer, dryer, refrigerator, etc.) just don’t support HomeKit and all require separate variable-quality apps from their manufacturers. [N.B. This isn’t due to some hodgepodge of old and new devices. My house and all the devices in it are less than two-years old. There’s no excuse for such new devices not to support it. Apple has clearly dropped the ball.]
All of my flakey HomeKit devices work fine when controlled manually or with their own apps. So, there is clearly something amiss with HomeKit and Apple’s relationship with manufacturers that nominally support HomeKit.
Apple needs to fix HomeKit and expand device support before a dedicated hub makes any sense.
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It’ll be able to serve as a Home hub and have Siri precedence like the HomePods. They removed the Home hub function from the iPad: https://www.macrumors.com/2022/06/22/ipados-16-no-ipad-home-hub-support/
You can also cut an iPad Smart Folio in half and use the back half to attach an iPad to a fridge door or to an enamel whiteboard. You only have to route a charging cable to it.
Maybe it’s to support both vertical and horizontal FaceTime.
Good point, but if it’s on a robotic arm, it should be able to rotate. In fact, there were previous rumors that it would be a rotating display.Maybe it’s to support both vertical and horizontal FaceTime.
Maybe the tech is too difficult to pull off and they’ll have to settle. It seems like Apple does that too much these days.
My guess is that it’s not going to be a dome with an iPad attached to an arm sticking out of the top 😂🤣