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Gurman: Apple Still Working on Combined HomePod and Apple TV With FaceTime Camera
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This would be cool - especially with the work Apple has done on center stage.
I bought into the HomePod hype; it's a very expensive, underwhelming toy that did not meet expectations. They didn't work at all in our Great Room so I moved them into our bedroom where they are just okay. This article is simply wishful thinking; there's no basis of fact, data or leaked documentation. Nothing to see here except rumor, speculation and innuendo.
Apple is still working on a new HomePod product that combines a speaker, Apple TV functions, and a FaceTime camera, according to reliable Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman.
In the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said he "absolutely" thinks that a new HomePod is coming that will likely be "at the center of Apple's approach" to the home.
Gurman first suggested last year that Apple was working on a combined Apple TV with HomePod speaker that has a camera for video calls through a connected television set. In April 2021, Gurman said the device's other capabilities would include standard Apple TV box functions like watching video and gaming plus smart speaker uses such as playing music and using Apple's Siri digital assistant.
At the time of the original report, the product was said to be in the early stages, and that Apple could choose not to launch the product or change key features. However, based on Gurman's latest reading of the situation, Apple's original plans are still firmly in place.
Apple discontinued its original high-end HomePod in March 2021, which left many wondering if the company was working on a successor. The HomePod mini, a smaller version of the HomePod which launched in 2020, has been much more popular thanks to its lower price, so it wouldn't be surprising if Apple eventually launched another version of the HomePod mini down the line with new features, as Gurman suggests. But what a device would look like that combines a HomePod, Apple TV, and FaceTime camera still remains unclear.
Article Link: Gurman: Apple Still Working on Combined HomePod and Apple TV With FaceTime Camera
I'm thinking it will more like $800 +/- $200.
Because Sonos has an $800 soundbar. ...without a facetime camera and video streaming box.
btw, potential is there for this product to be a full fledged computing device. Granted my office is set up with my desk is the middle of the room and tv is on the wall. But Apple silicon plus 8gb RAM and a little more storage than the ATV with wireless magic mouse/trackpad/apple keyboard compatibility and voila it is a computing device.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
My original personal video conferencing device was some kind of 56K(bps) based hardware that worked (poorly) through dial up. It was a clunky camera in a box on both ends that linked to a TV. It was very nice to gather several people in front of the big screen and see several people gathered in front of the big screen on the other end. Quality was crap and it was SDTVs in those days too. But that was much better than a phone call (with no picture) and generally one-to-one communications via phone.
In corporate environments, it's a very common thing to have a conference camera clipped on top of a big screen TV in the conference room. Group at one table in location A can readily- and visually too- interact with group at another table in location B.
So I can see some attraction to FaceTime via the main, biggest screen in the house. I just question the application as described here. Instead, there's a bunch of existing options already on the market for clipping a camera to a television for this kind of purpose. If Apple wanted to do this, that seems like a better option so that AppleTV and/or some kind of AppleTV-Homepod monster could be located ANYWHERE instead of very carefully positioned in one place so that you deliver your end of a FaceTime conversation looking like you are looking AT the person with whom you are speaking.
But obviously, I'm overwhelmingly against the concept of jamming these 3 things into one box, at least through my own lens. There's likely people out there who would absolutely love this thing so if Apple actually rolls it out, I hope they enjoy it.
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Does it come with a 100% rewritten HomeKit? Because if not, then what's the point?
The reason Apple is unsuccessful in the home is not that the HW is problematic, it's that HomeKit is GARBAGE. It changes every release, but it never gets better, it just moves the bugs around.
I have a builder friend who would love to be able to start a side business of "upgrading" the homes he sells to be fully automated. But there's no way he can do this right now, not when HomeKit is amateur hour. And not as long as Apple simply cannot comprehend that the meaning of AUTOMATION is that the AUTOMATION FSCKING WORKS, EVERY TIME, no if's or buts. Right now Apple's pathetic junk gives zero developer help (no debugging, no logging, no code reuse) and constant random failure. There is no way anyone can build a business on this!
The reason Apple is unsuccessful in the home is not that the HW is problematic, it's that HomeKit is GARBAGE. It changes every release, but it never gets better, it just moves the bugs around.
I have a builder friend who would love to be able to start a side business of "upgrading" the homes he sells to be fully automated. But there's no way he can do this right now, not when HomeKit is amateur hour. And not as long as Apple simply cannot comprehend that the meaning of AUTOMATION is that the AUTOMATION FSCKING WORKS, EVERY TIME, no if's or buts. Right now Apple's pathetic junk gives zero developer help (no debugging, no logging, no code reuse) and constant random failure. There is no way anyone can build a business on this!
I prefer to keep my devices separate, so I’m not concerned about ads on TV. My Roku Ultra is a pretty great device, IMO.
Add an OLED cleaning cloth for $129 also
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
I've long thought a "HomePod sound bar with Apple TV built in" would be a nice product to offer.
I really can't say I'd want one with a camera though.
I'm sure whatever they do here will be "weird" in some way that will make me not want it.
I really can't say I'd want one with a camera though.
I'm sure whatever they do here will be "weird" in some way that will make me not want it.
Even if you placed some value on the HomePod for audio reproduction, Apple presently focuses on improving audio quality in their other products, completely avoiding external speakers. I dare say it’s their Achilles heel of sorts. Yeah show one good product on the speaker category that we all remember? Not headphones, speakers. Yes the iPod HiFi was a lemon.
What on earth is this gonnna look like? It sounds like a frankenstein monster. If it turns out to be a smart soundbar with a small display for music-info etc, sure, but why would it have a camera, so who ever calls me can see me on the nostril-cam from the far end of the living room?
Siri works fine for me, understands me most of the time, and the commands work well.
I would never have an Alexa, no anything from google inside my house.
I would never have an Alexa, no anything from google inside my house.
A pair of my HomePods mini is connected to Apple TV and Siri keeps saying she does not know where I am when I ask her about the weather. Do you have that issue?
It’s interesting to see how many rumors about new products to come. In the end keynotes are about better battery and cameras, faster processors on the same products for years now and that’s about it. oh and there is one more thing … it will cost you more every year … I doubt we shall see such complex product … but maybe a SoundBar with Atmos and Siri …
Yeah, this. Siri needs to be aware of other Apple devices on the network too. For example, if I ask Siri to set a timer and I'm on my Mac she will say she can't set a timer on the Mac. Aside from adding that capability, why doesn't she say "I can set a timer on your iphone" and do that?
One of the advantages of having several Apple devices is the integration but it feels like they're leaving a lot of things on the table that are obvious wins.
Wondering if the camera is more likely to be incorporated for Apple Arcade games ala the Wii has done for motion-related games.
Facetime might be just another added feature - although I don't see myself sitting in front of my TV to talk to family and friends.
Facetime might be just another added feature - although I don't see myself sitting in front of my TV to talk to family and friends.
We didn't even mention how Siri is not even close to what Alan Kay's knowledge navigator suggested in 1987. Its disappointing how far we haven't come.
Knowledge Navigator Deconstructed: Building an Envisionment - UX Articles by Center Centre
Jared Spool discusses how a successful envisionment that focuses on the user's ideal experience can lead a design team's direction for years to come, and explores the many creative techniques for making that vision clear to everyone involved on the project.
articles.uie.com
Only reason the HomePod mini sold "decently" is that it was sub-$100. That's a bit of a sweet spot for people to impulse buy tech. Like other users have said, the AppleTV 4K is still too expensive so I can only assume a combo product is going to be even in the realm of consideration for the average user that is just fine with a stick streaming device and FaceTime on their phone.
Apple is still working on a new HomePod product that combines a speaker, Apple TV functions, and a FaceTime camera, according to reliable Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman.
In the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said he "absolutely" thinks that a new HomePod is coming that will likely be "at the center of Apple's approach" to the home.
Gurman first suggested last year that Apple was working on a combined Apple TV with HomePod speaker that has a camera for video calls through a connected television set. In April 2021, Gurman said the device's other capabilities would include standard Apple TV box functions like watching video and gaming plus smart speaker uses such as playing music and using Apple's Siri digital assistant.
At the time of the original report, the product was said to be in the early stages, and that Apple could choose not to launch the product or change key features. However, based on Gurman's latest reading of the situation, Apple's original plans are still firmly in place.
Apple discontinued its original high-end HomePod in March 2021, which left many wondering if the company was working on a successor. The HomePod mini, a smaller version of the HomePod which launched in 2020, has been much more popular thanks to its lower price, so it wouldn't be surprising if Apple eventually launched another version of the HomePod mini down the line with new features, as Gurman suggests. But what a device would look like that combines a HomePod, Apple TV, and FaceTime camera still remains unclear.
Article Link: Gurman: Apple Still Working on Combined HomePod and Apple TV With FaceTime Camera