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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.
Ok, but CEC does toggle back to the other devices. But again, you do you

you still, however, havent answered me about what you think the homepod needs an aTV for…
 
Ok, but CEC does toggle back to the other devices. But again, you do you

you still, however, havent answered me about what you think the homepod needs an aTV for…

That was a response to someone else saying the HomePod would offload Apple Intelligence to the ATV, so I asked about what would happen if they had an HomePod and not an ATV.

I don't think they need each other, or should they.
 
I have a hard time imagining how can Siri with AI be so amazing on these devices that they are being held hostage like this. Instead of releasing the devices already with actual improvements to heir core functions, they are just pumping the inevitable disappointment. AI done this way is just a massive vehicle for consumer product ens**tification.
 
I think its possible for apple to allow LLM siri to work on for the new HomePod mini.

However it will come in one of three ways.

1. Most likely piggy back off of your Apple TV 4K (A17 pro only)
More likely would be piggy back off a smarter HomePod-family device. The HomePad probably would have
Apple TV like performance since it is driving a larger screen ( than other Pods) anyway.

The Mini coverts the voice to text and text shipped to HomePad hub and smarter stuff comes back.

If both the tv and new mini get Bluetooth 6 and Wi-Fi 7 they have the means of strong communication between devices.

Wi-Fi 7 doesn't necessarily increase range.


Ask Siri a question it gets fired to the TV that does all the LLM work on device and fires it back to the HomePod to reply.

If LLM work is larger than bounded range of the A17 Pro it is going to the cloud anyway. Dispatching exclusively to a local hub isn't necessarily the best , low latency path from the Mini. If it fits within the bounds of local processing then it is better as more private and more energy efficient.


However my 1st gen HomePod mini’s have always been unreliable and adding this into the mix is just another point of failure in my eyes.
there connection is poor (not necessarily Mini's fault ) or their ability to preprocess the info before passing to the internet is poor. Or the backend they were connected to is poor (in this case wrong blame assignment).

2. Make the new mini completely independent which would require a specialist SOC (no re-using Apple Watch chips)

Quite unlikely. If wanted more expensive Pods then could put the same SoC that was in the AppleTV above in them. The problem is that the price doesn't work for the mini. A more expensive mini runs into the same problems that the more expensive HomePod ran into (fewer buyers ).

The HomePad will present a screen so likely it will come with a higher price. If it is AppleTV+MiniPod priced ( i.e., > $250) then the system has enough revenue to cover a faster chip. In short, need to add some value besides "better LLM chatting" to justify higher price.

A 'specialized' chip isn't going to make the RAM any cheaper to do more complicated LLM workloads. Most of the voice to text can be done local but that is not outside the bounds of a Watch chip. (that technically isn't LLM work. LLMs only work AFTER you have tokenized what is said. )

The HomePod 2 was essentially re-engineered to be cheaper to produce because no one could justify the cost.

right.

3. Have the new HomePod mini rely fully on cloud. No processing on any device apart from pinging the cloud to send questions and receive answers.

Amazon lost billions on shipping everything to the cloud. It is a dubious idea at large scale.

As stated above LLMs do not work on 'voice" data. They work on tokens. Really short command sentences a limited set of common Apple features don't really need a huge LLM to figure out. 'Set a timer for xx minutes' , 'pause play' ' resume play' , 'skip this track' , etc.


Of course this would be a step back on apples privacy commitments.

Not necessarily. If the Mini is running as a proxy to an AppleID account then have the basis for setting up a
Private Cloud Compute dispatch.

Yes private cloud compute is a thing but Apple have always praised themselves on only sending complex commands to the cloud and doing basics on device wherever possible.

It wasn't "complex commands" . It was "too complex to do locally commands" . It was always an estimated workload filter as how to alter the dispatch of the require. Someone with a Mac Studio Ultra Maximum memory would not dispatch as much stuff as a iPhone. It wasn't going to be the same for every single Apple ecosystem device.

The Mini would just 'punt' more than other stuff. That has implications as to whether Apple has enough 'back end' to handle all of those. "Set a timer for 10 mins" is bit much to fire up a PCC session , drag in local and user specific context , and then immediately flush it all out again.
 
… Why cant they just release it now??? This is so confusing to me as to why they just wont release new TV’s and HomePods…
 
I wish the HomePod could just be used as a wireless mic and wireless speaker for another device that has Apple Intelligence, where like a Mac mini could be the actual device that processes everything, but the HomePod is just connected to it. Easily another continuity feature for Apple to add to their arsenal.
 
… Why cant they just release it now??? This is so confusing to me as to why they just wont release new TV’s and HomePods…

The HomePod updates are pretty likely entangled with what they want to do with the "HomePad". And the "HomePad" is entangled in the Apple Intelligence.

As for AppleTV. Technically, HomePods runs on tvOS. Again that starts to make much more sense once there is a "HomePad". ( that appleTV has a voice interface it makes some sense now ... watchOS is a bit more dependent upon iPhoneOS and not as voice focused. ) . They are both "Apple Home Hub" devices so same OS makes sense there also. What Apple wants to do with "Apple Home" has been a 'bumpy road' ( not quite like Apple Intelligence) .

That is probably a lighter coupling than trying to sync up HomePod product line launches. However, probably also thrown off a bit with RAM pricing apocalypse once it got delayed out of 2025.
 
I wish the HomePod could just be used as a wireless mic and wireless speaker for another device that has Apple Intelligence, where like a Mac mini could be the actual device that processes everything, but the HomePod is just connected to it. Easily another continuity feature for Apple to add to their arsenal.

slippery slope. When the HomePod really didn't have that much access to personal data ( the music in personal library isn't your data. it is openly licensed data) , that is not much of a security hole.

Apple allows the HomePod to recognize difference voices and Home App is suppose to connect those to specific AppleID accounts. However, 'guest'/random voice gets limited, but default access to the primary user's account .


[ Doesn't mention Mac . A mac can send music to a HomePod via AirPlay. But the other way around isn't mentioned.]

If that cascades to the cloud for processing, what other data gets intertwined with that?
 
More reason why Tim Cook needs to go. No one, I mean absolutely no one is buying the AppleTV because of Siri. We want 120hz, not enhanced Siri. The sales of AppleTV is lost revenue for 2025. And this guy keeps getting crazy bonuses and RSUs?? Get him out.
 
My Apple TV 3rd gen from 2013 is begging to be put into retirement at this point. I have to use it upside down so that the HDMI doesn't disconnect randomly. Airplay for videos has been broken since iOS 26, so its audio only. And the only video service that still works natively is Prime Video. I've been holding out this long because I don't want to buy a 2022 device in 2026, but this is getting ridiculous.
 
More reason why Tim Cook needs to go. No one, I mean absolutely no one is buying the AppleTV because of Siri. We want 120hz, not enhanced Siri. The sales of AppleTV is lost revenue for 2025. And this guy keeps getting crazy bonuses and RSUs?? Get him out.
John Ternus gave us the MacBook Neo and Mac Mini at $499. He also fixed all of Johnny Ive's thinness over utility problems in about a year. He knows what people want, I think its time he steps in.
 
slippery slope. When the HomePod really didn't have that much access to personal data ( the music in personal library isn't your data. it is openly licensed data) , that is not much of a security hole.

Apple allows the HomePod to recognize difference voices and Home App is suppose to connect those to specific AppleID accounts. However, 'guest'/random voice gets limited, but default access to the primary user's account .


[ Doesn't mention Mac . A mac can send music to a HomePod via AirPlay. But the other way around isn't mentioned.]

If that cascades to the cloud for processing, what other data gets intertwined with that?
I guess I see it as everything is still local, it’s no different than your personal Mac mini running all of the Apple Intelligence stuff, only difference is the HomePod is being used as the mic and speaker, but everything is still on your local network. That way the HomePod mini can stay cheap with an S chip but still be able to take advantage of Apple Intelligence. Also I’m assuming that this new HomePad device will essentially be a HomePod but with a more powerful chip to process AI locally, so that would still fall on the slippery slope you described, but I’m 100% sure Apple will be doing that. So my idea is just a continuity feature that can take advantage of owning more Apple devices.
 
No more interest until wireless rechargeable HomePods or HomePod Mini's that are built for outdoors. I mean, come on now Apple.

It would be cool if they created some speakers that rivaled Soundcore on the Beats side of things that integrated with the HomePod network seamlessly, but that would make too much sense for scattered ass Apple development currently.
 
Add a camera and place the a19 pro in it and raise the price to 199 and allow it to compete with the next playground console.
 
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