Bloomberg: Apple Working on New Apple TV With Integrated HomePod Speaker and FaceTime Camera

[RamGuy]

I did have a full 7.1 Klipsch speaker setup with a Yamaha RX-V3900 back in 2008-2009 and it wasn't until around 2016 I sold it and replaced it with a Sonos 5.1 setup consisting of their Sonos Play Base, Sonos Sub and Sonos Play 5's as surround.

I didn't really miss my Klipsch setup at all. I was starting to run into issues because my Yamaha RX-V3900 didn't feature ARC so I had to route all my HDMI through the AV receiver which was fine in the late 2000s but it became a problem in the mid-2010s when I had had to replace my Pioneer Kuro LX5090H with a 4K OLED in 2016.

Without ARC I had to replace my expensive AV receiver as there was no way for me to get 4K or HDR when having to route everything through it. My LG OLED did feature toslink/optical output but the supported surround formats when using it was really lacklustre.

We sold all the speakers and the AV receiver and got ourselves the Sonos system instead. And to my surprise I found the sound quality to be better. It didn't get as loud and the subwoofer didn't go as deep and didn't feel as responsive but the overall audio felt better. I suspect this is mostly because of Sonos True Play and Loudness EQ. I suspect a more modern AV receiver has become much better but my RX-V3900 even though it featured an auto optimising mode using a microphone was dreadful when it came to optimising my speakers. And configuring the correct dynamic compression was also a nightmare. The louder my volume the better it all sound but the problem is that we won't be running loud volumes most of the time. The True Play and Loudness EQ on the Sonos are applying a much better dynamic compression making the audio sound better regardless of the volume level.


Sadly it doesn't come without its own set of problems. I got myself the Nintendo Switch and as I had to rely on optical from the TV to the Sonos Play Base I couldn't get surround from devices like the Nintendo Switch as it requires multi-channel PCM and my LG OLED does not support it using toslink/optical.

Now we are rocking the Samsung HW-N960 7.1.4 solution. With HDMI you can connect up to two devices directly to it making it support pretty much all kinds of surround options. And it features ARC from my LG OLED so we are capable of getting almost all surround options besides the lossless ones. But nothing is perfect and the software on this thing is the usual Samsung quality. Meaning horrible. So when my Apple TV is using its matching frame rate or matching dynamic range features it's about a 2-in-10 chance that my HW-N960 will freeze and has to be manually rebooted.


And when it comes to things like Dolby Atmos these up-firing speakers are never able to really do much. Having dedicated speakers in your ceiling will be much better compared to having these soundbar solutions trying to bounce audio off your ceiling. My Samsung HW-N960 is supposed one of the best for Dolby Atmos and I have to admit that the height portion of it all is non-existent.

Going back to AV receiver and dedicated speakers is no option for me. And that's mostly because of the wiring. There is no way I'm going back to running wires from a huge dedicated AV receiver to all my speaker. But I suspect that most of the companies are going to move into offering better wireless options.

 

[enrvuk]

A soundbar with Apple TV built in, why not? A soundbar with a camera, better still, but only if it supports Zoom.

 

[joecomo]

My AppleTV is connected to a Home Theatre with a 9.2 speaker system. I can't imagine why I would ever want an integrated tinny little 10W speaker. I hope there will be an option without a useless paperweight built in that does nothing but make it bulky and more expensive. My TV's integrated speakers got particularly bad reviews and they still manage to sound better and more room-filling than a homepod.

And a facetime camera. Talk about completely useless. I use my TV for watching TV, I don't want a camera watching me. All a facetime camera means to me on a set-top box is an ugly spot with electrical tape over it.

The only silver lining to this would be getting a 10% discount on the old model, even though it probably will only get 2-3 years before streaming services stop supporting it.

Well I wouldn't mind an option to connect a tiny facetime camera and a mic to the Apple TV, so that they could sit on the screen. Convenient way to call grandma and have a video chat in the family - could be used as a surveillance camera in case of absence. Can't think of any more use-cases for this however.

 

[Doomtomb]

It might become a commodity for some. My main issue with moving Apple TV / tvOS into a speaker is that the speaker's lifespan tends to be quite a bit longer compared to whatever SoC and software Apple is putting into the device.

A good sounding soundbar should be capable of lasting for a very long time. Whatever SoC and software Apple are integrating into it will become end-of-support long before the speaker itself feels outdated.

I don't want my home theatre software to be directly linked to my speakers or my television, for that matter, as the software will feel out-of-date and slow long before I will feel any need to replace the speakers or the television itself.

This is the whole reason why I'm not using WebOS on any of my LG OLED's. And WebOS is known to be some of the best Smart-TV software solutions out there. Not to mention how much ads and tracking these companies have started to add to their Smart-TV software.

Apple TV is rather cheap and it provides me with a much better experience without any ads or tracking. And it's getting updated all the time. Something WebOS on my Smart-TV certainly isn't. LG abandons it as soon as your TV is getting 1-2 years old. Your one-year-old TV doesn't even get the latest version of WebOS.

That is a very good point and I've also had similar experience with WebOS, indicative of many of the smart TV solutions. Roku is even cheaper than Apple TV but seems to be OK with software updates. I suppose 8K or some push into gaming would bring a new wave of upgrades on hardware if I were thinking for Apple's sake.

 

[lederermc]

Apple is working on a combined Apple TV with HomePod speaker that has a camera for video calls through a connected television set, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

From the report:
Following disappointing sales, Apple discontinued its original high-end HomePod in March, leaving many wondering if the company was working on a successor. The HomePod mini, which launched last year, has been much more popular thanks to its lower price.

Apple unified its engineering teams for HomePod and Apple TV last year, suggesting an integrated device offering the best of both worlds could be in the offing.

However, according to today's report, the product's development is still in the early stages, and Apple could choose not to launch the product or change key features.

Apple is known to be working on an updated version of the Apple TV that will allegedly have a gaming focus with an updated remote control, a faster processor, and increased storage capacity, although it seems likely that today's report is referencing another potential future product. Signs of the new Apple TV have been showing up in iOS since January 2020, so we are expecting to see a new Apple TV launch in 2021.

Today's report also mentions that Apple is working on a concept for a future HomePod design that has an iPad connected via a robotic arm, which could follow users around a room during video calls.

Article Link: Bloomberg: Apple Working on New Apple TV With Integrated HomePod Speaker and FaceTime Camera

If they let me add 4 mini homepods for dolby 5.1 that would be nice.

 

[Phil.O]

You just reminded me of the “What have the Romans ever done for us” sketch in The Life of Brian.

let’s start with System 7 and the Mac Clones back in 1995

It's technically possible, but why not? Well because Apple.
Name me a single OS that Apple has created today, which they allow you to install on 3rd party hardware, or an OS that they have licensed out to a 3rd party?

Closest they got was when Jobs was thinking about allows Sony Viao's to run OSX

 

[insomniac86]

You just reminded me of the “What have the Romans ever done for us” sketch in The Life of Brian.

let’s start with System 7 and the Mac Clones back in 1995

Nice! And we should never say never.

My reference should have stated since OS X 10.0.
I'd say it's highly unlikely that Apple would do such. Unless.... you want to county CarPlay as being on non Apple hardware.... Then you have me.

 

[Phil.O]

Actually I agree with your main point, just couldn’t resist the snark. Thanks for being a good sport.

I wouldn’t include CarPlay though. That would then include every Mac Mini or Pro that has a non-Apple display like I do (32 inch Samsung TV).

Nice! And we should never say never.

My reference should have stated since OS X 10.0.
I'd say it's highly unlikely that Apple would do such. Unless.... you want to county CarPlay as being on non Apple hardware.... Then you have me.

,

 

[jamesjingyi]

Just get the beam. I have one and its one of my better purchases for the TV. I wouldn't wait on Apple or even lock yourself into their environment.

Yeah I have 2 Sonos Ones so I probably will, it was just for the 2nd tv... 😅

 

[DoctorTech]

Granted I've been wrong a couple times in my life (my wife never let's me forget), but this sounds like a weird combination.

1. An Apple TV with a single speaker? Do people not want stereo sound anymore when watching TV?

2. The large HomePods weren't popular because they were considered too expensive. How does throwing in an Apple TV, a screen, and a remote make it any less expensive?

3. Does this combination provide anything unique? We can already do FaceTime calls with our phones, laptops and tablets quite easily. We already have media streamers in all our TVs built in. Many of us already have smart speakers in our homes.

In short, I hope I am wrong again, but I struggle to see the value of this "product".

I agree with everything you said. I have a pair of full sized HomePods that I run off my Apple TV 4K and it sounds amazing (the battle scenes in GreyHound were absolutely incredible). I would love to see an upgraded Apple TV with better graphics so we could have better gaming and better HomeKit integration but I don't know that I really want a FaceTime camera in my living room. I have several Eufy cameras around my house but they watch over exterior doors and my garage, I intentionally avoided putting cameras in living areas.

 

[Arran]

I can’t see this being a real product. Most current Apple TV’s are likely hidden away in a cabinet. HomePod speakers are in the corner of the room. The tv screen itself is in the center of the wall. This product wants to be all three of those devices...

Yeah, but for non-Apple-devotees, there's often just a soundbar right below the TV with two wires: Power in and HDMI. Easy-Peasy-Simple.

This predicted device could offer the same form-factor as that simple, familiar soundbar. With just the same two wires

But by contrast, it would offer: endless streaming entertainment, Hi-Fi music, video-calling, voice activated assistant and who-knows-what-else. Still in one box with two wires.

If Apple prices it right, it's a no-brainer swap-out getting that into people's homes.

 

[cmaier]

It's technically possible, but why not? Well because Apple.
Name me a single OS that Apple has created today, which they allow you to install on 3rd party hardware, or an OS that they have licensed out to a 3rd party?

Closest they got was when Jobs was thinking about allows Sony Viao's to run OSX.

You don’t remember the HP iPods? The Motorola iTunes phones?

 

[vipergts2207]

Yeah, but for non-Apple-devotees, there's often just a soundbar right below the TV with two wires: Power in and HDMI. Easy-Peasy-Simple.

This predicted device could offer the same form-factor as that simple, familiar soundbar. With just the same two wires

But by contrast, it would offer: endless streaming entertainment, Hi-Fi music, video-calling, voice activated assistant and who-knows-what-else. Still in one box with two wires.

If Apple prices it right, it's a no-brainer swap-out getting that into people's homes.

Until it needs to be replaced with another expensive device in 3 years time.