Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
New Apple TV and HomePod Mini Remain 'Ready' to Launch
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Abazigal
Contributor
"
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said new versions of the Apple TV and HomePod mini have been "ready" since last year, but he reiterated that Apple has held off on releasing them until the more personalized version of Siri and other Apple Intelligence upgrades are released later this year."
When is Macrumors finaly going to stop with this BS from this BS'er? He "predicted" this four times completley wrong, and now he is coming with this excuse again. And even promoting to PAY for this BS'er with his 'newsletter' is completely nonsense!
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said new versions of the Apple TV and HomePod mini have been "ready" since last year, but he reiterated that Apple has held off on releasing them until the more personalized version of Siri and other Apple Intelligence upgrades are released later this year."
When is Macrumors finaly going to stop with this BS from this BS'er? He "predicted" this four times completley wrong, and now he is coming with this excuse again. And even promoting to PAY for this BS'er with his 'newsletter' is completely nonsense!
Student of Life
macrumors 65816
Playing an AAA title like resident evil 4. That would more than stress it out. Ideally a chip with 12gb of ram would be great.
macduke
Suspended
Our second TV really needs a new Apple TV, so I want to upgrade our home theater TV with this and shuffle the older but still good one upstairs. Hurry up, Apple! Just add Apple Intelligence when it's ready. Did they already manufacture a million of them with box art talking about AI or something? Surely not because the hardware would be so out of date by the time it ships, and since it needs to be plugged in they can't do last second OTA updates like they do with iPhone in box sometimes.
This thing is going to be so old by the time it ships I feel like they're just going to release a new one next year.
I'm hoping we can plug a webcam into this via USB-C port. Even if it's only an Apple accessory, if it supports Center Stage. I'd like to attach one to the bottom of my TV for FaceTime. Using my iPhone is always so clunky and burns through the battery. We live a couple hours away from any family so we use this feature a lot so everyone can sit on the couch and chat in a group.
This thing is going to be so old by the time it ships I feel like they're just going to release a new one next year.
I'm hoping we can plug a webcam into this via USB-C port. Even if it's only an Apple accessory, if it supports Center Stage. I'd like to attach one to the bottom of my TV for FaceTime. Using my iPhone is always so clunky and burns through the battery. We live a couple hours away from any family so we use this feature a lot so everyone can sit on the couch and chat in a group.
All tvs are pretty much smart tvs so no one really uses a external box anymore, depending on tv you buy they have diff built in like roku but the apps like netflix etc can play games even use your phone as a controller etc, i just dont see a large market for apple tv anymore I feel they should of made it baked in with a tv manufacturer collab
Unless Apple is planning something groundbreaking I can’t imagine why we need Apple Intelligence on an Apple TV or HomePod. I doubt anyone will be doing the same processor intensive tasks as on an iPhone, Mac, or iPad.
twistedpixel8
macrumors 6502a
Genuinely curious: what more do you want from it? It’s a box that unobtrusively sits on your entertainment unit.
applefan8254
macrumors 6502a
Please allow us to pair a siri remote to homepod; when falling asleep it's nice to use physical volume and media buttons instead of yelling out commands or looking at a smartphone screen to control media
twistedpixel8
macrumors 6502a
Absolutely not. TV manufacturers use the bare minimum processing power they can get away with and the apps always suffer as a result. It’s deliberate to make you think you need a new TV after a few years.
I’ve always avoided this by using a separate “entertainment” box for all the smart stuff because it’s way cheaper to replace and the TV isn’t fighting for processing power. I still have the flagship Samsung from 2015 in my bedroom working great with a Fire TV stick. The TV is so slow now I can’t even open the TV apps anymore but as a dumb TV that only has to display what’s sent along HDMI, it feels new.
SBlue1
macrumors 68020
Your smart TV is tracking everything you do. The Xbox games you play, the DVDs you watch, what apps and TV channels you use. First thing I did with the smart TV was to turn off the internet.
That's the problem,
I had an Apple TV before ever owning Homepods.
I guess that's where the other options come in such as
1. Design a custom SoC for the Homepod that's beefed up for AI and LLM tasks but that would add a lot more cost to the device and I don't feel Apple are in a good position to make their Homepods more expensive.
2. Rely fully on Private Cloud Compute which would be good for privacy but they would break their promise of
"We want as much AI as possible to be processed on device. The Cloud only kicks in for more complicated requests"
The problem they have is Apple started using Apple Watch Chips in their Homepods as a cost cutting measure which 100% made sense at the time.
But now the AI boom has happened, Apple can either take the full cloud route (which everyone else does) or they need to make their Homepods more powerful to run LLMS on device and then fall back on the Cloud when needed which all Apple Intelligence Devices will do once Siri 2.0 is launched.
Also, going back to developing a custom SOC for the Homepod to do that, the R&D costs wouldn't be worth it and they might as well stick A17 pros in them.
But once again, that will bump the price up massively.
I had an Apple TV before ever owning Homepods.
I guess that's where the other options come in such as
1. Design a custom SoC for the Homepod that's beefed up for AI and LLM tasks but that would add a lot more cost to the device and I don't feel Apple are in a good position to make their Homepods more expensive.
2. Rely fully on Private Cloud Compute which would be good for privacy but they would break their promise of
"We want as much AI as possible to be processed on device. The Cloud only kicks in for more complicated requests"
The problem they have is Apple started using Apple Watch Chips in their Homepods as a cost cutting measure which 100% made sense at the time.
But now the AI boom has happened, Apple can either take the full cloud route (which everyone else does) or they need to make their Homepods more powerful to run LLMS on device and then fall back on the Cloud when needed which all Apple Intelligence Devices will do once Siri 2.0 is launched.
Also, going back to developing a custom SOC for the Homepod to do that, the R&D costs wouldn't be worth it and they might as well stick A17 pros in them.
But once again, that will bump the price up massively.
Powerbooky
macrumors demi-god
Ours are in daily use here by the family since I bought the first one in 2017. One reason to "upgrade" is for more smooth gaming. I'm voting for at least an M3 inside 😁 that would wipe all TV set top boxes of the planet.
Abazigal
Contributor
Stuipdboy1000
macrumors 68000
I'm thinking announcement this week, and pre-orders on Wednesday alongside the AirPods Max 2. At least for the HomePod mini as stock levels in stores are very low or non-existent.
If nothing else I'm sure Apple will want to get the HomePod mini on a more modern chip as it is currently using a chip from 2019 which must be expensive to keep in production for one low volume product. Or they're finally running dry on their stockpile.
If nothing else I'm sure Apple will want to get the HomePod mini on a more modern chip as it is currently using a chip from 2019 which must be expensive to keep in production for one low volume product. Or they're finally running dry on their stockpile.
Yeah, I agree. It's annoying that Apple have delayed the new TV and Homepod Minis due to wanting them to launch with Siri 2.0 or at least the personalised Apple Intelligence features.
The problem is they released the iPhone 16 with the promise of Personalised Siri and it still doesn't exist.
By that logic, Apple shouldn't have released any new iPhone.
I think they should just drop the new devices, advertise the Intelligence Features and say it's coming in the Summer or whatever.
This issue didn't stop them releasing new iPhones.
WarmWinterHat
Suspended
CEC doesn't work/help with local broadcast tv, which we do use quite a bit. Our Roku TV shows all the channels, with a full guide.
Cellophaneskies
macrumors newbie
I really want a second HomePod mini for multi room. Should I wait for the new one? I’m concerned mixing generation might impact the sync between the two or would that be fine?
dustin.haley
macrumors member
I really think they are actually going to be released this time - I’ve been obsessively checking inventory/shipping times. Gurman pointed out they all have slipped for shipping / available for pickup to April 7th. That’s usually a pretty good indicator, so I’d wait.
Syncing between rooms shouldn’t be a worry, it works between HomePod, HomePod 2, and HomePod mini.
Cellophaneskies
macrumors newbie
Thanks. You’d think it would be fine but wasn’t sure if I should nab a last gen before they disappear. Buying a 6 year old product now feels a bit wrong though. I’ll hang tight.. worst case I’ll get multiple and relegate my old on to another area..
They’ve been ready for nearly two years, but we are waiting for the AI update. Now, when it’s released we already have hardware that’s 2 yrs old before we even turn it on! I hope Apple spec bumps everything for this stupid delays.
