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New 'HomePod' Hub With 7-Inch Screen on Track to Launch This Year

Oscar_440 said:
Apple turned off the possibility of iPad being a home hub. Now they're presumably gonna present an iPad alike home hub...
Good decision towards being a client oriented company.
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smulji said:
Or any iPad for that matter
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Exactly I have the last iPad that came with the chin Touch ID and now it’s useless collecting dust at home since I find the mini more useful for my purposes and I get annoyed an Apple products becomes laggy and that’s that it has plenty of space. Why did they get rid of iPads being able to be a home hub?
 
Someirishguy said:
If it becomes the central ‘brain’ of a smarter home, that brings Apple Intelligence to all 9 of my HomePods (assuming Apple Intelligence can do some smart home stuff), then it’s a day one purchase.

If it’s a less functional touch screen than all my other touch screens (iPhones/iPads), that sits in one place, then, eh, no
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Such a device will almost assuredly support Matter v1.4, so yes all our HomePods should be fully connected.
 
turbineseaplane said:
Correct.

The problem is the pricing most likely

Like you said it needs to be inexpensive and something you don’t mind having around that is just money you kind of threw away on it

At the 349 and up this will probably be, it’s gonna have a hard time.

Another problem with Apple is they are so high on their own supply, they think everything they make should be expensive even when it clearly is not the case in given markets
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Unfortunately [or perhaps fortunately] for us buyers of Apple products, Apple has chosen the high end as their market space. That means that they formulate their entire product strategies aimed at the high end: a good thing because it brings us well designed/built products, a bad thing because pricing will sometimes be high end irrespective of what the rest of the market does.

However we can hope. ;~)
 
I think there's definitely a strong market here for this sort of device, assuming they can hit a reasonable price point.

For instance: My parents use a Google Nest Home because they love being able to have photo albums shown, and visual feedback for when using voice commands - but the Nest implementation is godawful. I would replace with one of these in a heartbeat.
 
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jmgregory1 said:
An interesting possible use case for a stationary HomePod Hub with a screen would be to show at a glance calendar events, to-do’s, location, etc., not just for a single user who set it up, but for all users within a household (or business). Obviously it would require everyone to agree to share details, and that might be problematic for safety/security.

But beyond this possible use case, I’m just not sure what the selling point will be for a household of people already in the Apple ecosystem.
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You bring up a really good use case. Thanks for that.

As to "I’m just not sure what the selling point will be for a household of people already in the Apple ecosystem" I have an answer: extension of that Apple ecosystem to include the [IMO important] smarthome space.
 
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211 said:
This is a problem looking for an answer. As many have already said, Apple already has the iPad, iPhone, tv and HomePod. I cannot see how this product could not be accomplished with its existing products.

Apple should look into how existing products can complement each other (eg. HomePod minis as rear surround speakers) and actual devices that cannot be done with their existing ones (eg. Doorbell/security cameras, WiFi and backup storage mesh systems, integration with 3rd parties (eg. TVs, washing machine, fridges, etc. so we don’t need to use their individual apps) and of course, better Siri and Home app
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As one of the sponsors of Matter, now at v1.4, Apple has been looking "into how existing products can..." My expectation is that Apple jumping in with a [hopefully solid, not cheapie low-end] smarthome hub will be a big boost for the space.
 
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WarmWinterHat said:
I'm sure this camera will work with multiple video services, right? :rolleyes:
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Unfortunately cameras and security are the two key components that Apple-supported Matter v1.4 still fails to include. That means the old game of which vendors will work to comply with Apple's requirements, a PITA for us consumers. <sigh>
 
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Allen_Wentz said:
As one of the sponsors of Matter, now at v1.4, Apple has been looking "into how existing products can..." My expectation is that Apple jumping in with a [hopefully solid, not cheapie low-end] smarthome hub will be a big boost for the space.
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If you look at what Google's done with their Pixel Tablet, they've created a speaker dock so that when you dock the Pixel Tablet, you get the Home Hub UI. This is something Apple can do with a HomePod speaker dock and existing iPads. I prefer this idea, actually.

 
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HomeKit is a remote control for your home. It is not in any practical way “home automation”.
 
swester said:
I think there's definitely a strong market here for this sort of device, assuming they can hit a reasonable price point.

For instance: My parents use a Google Nest Home because they love being able to have photo albums shown, and visual feedback for when using voice commands - but the Nest implementation is godawful. I would replace with one of these in a heartbeat.
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Just as this conversation has gone along, I'm more and more interested in this device specifically for some older relatives

Being able to populate the calendar and their photos remotely and call them on video on a fixed location "station" like this would be really really useful
 
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I had an old iPad sitting in a drawer. Repurposed it to display and control my home battery and solar PV system in real time ( free " inverter " app written by the guy who wrote the BBC Basic language back in the 70's )
 
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Joshuaorange said:
their mantra of 70% profit margin just doesn’t work in this price range.​
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LOL! No one in any industry succeeds with a 70% profit margin! 😂

macmac30 said:
Ummm, I can do all of that already with my iPad...
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It'll offer more, but that isn't the point. One of the key buyer cases is for families and multi-person households, where a single iPad might be tied up by one person. This provides a central home hub where weather and news could be seen at a glance, recipes scrolled through. people's schedules could be seen, appliances, lights, and HVAC controlled, etc.

Plus, one could say the same thing about the iPad:

“I can already do all that with my Mac…”​

Yet, millions own both Macs and iPads.

I can readily see someone who's into home hubs, central control, or tech gadgets, wanting to own this as well as an iPad — or as well as a Mac and an iPad.

I can also see a receptive market for households who are Apple-centric, with various individual Macs and iPads, still wanting a central Apple Home device that everyone can use.

As several have pointed out, it would also be a great device for non-techie parents or grandparents — or older relatives — to stay connected. Or, for those who have a single Apple device, say a Mac, adding something iPad -like to their kitchen, dining room, or living room.

If priced right, I can also see many people and households who are just considering home hubs — and wanting the Apple experience — looking at this.
 
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smulji said:
If you look at what Google's done with their Pixel Tablet, they've created a speaker dock so that when you dock the Pixel Tablet, you get the Home Hub UI. This is something Apple can do with a HomePod speaker dock and existing iPads. I prefer this idea, actually.

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Google's approach [from $549] appears solid. Apple's approach may indeed be similar. My guess is a specific hub hardware device that via Matter facilitates all other [current OS] Apple devices to be equally functional.
 
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Saturn007 said:
LOL! No one in any industry succeeds with a 70% profit margin! 😂



It'll offer more, but that isn't the point. One of the key buyer cases is for families and multi-person households, where a single iPad might be tied up by one person. This provides a central home hub where weather and news could be seen at a glance, recipes scrolled through. people's schedules could be seen, appliances, lights, and HVAC controlled, etc.

Plus, one could say the same thing about the iPad:

“I can already do all that with my Mac…”​

Yet, millions own both Macs and iPads.

I can readily see someone who's into home hubs, central control, or tech gadgets, wanting to own this as well as an iPad — or as well as a Mac and an iPad.

I can also see a receptive market for households who are Apple-centric, with various individual Macs and iPads, still wanting a central Apple Home device that everyone can use.

If priced right, I can also see many people and households who are just considering home hubs — and wanting the Apple experience — looking at this.
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yeah ok 🧐https://www.apple.com/shop/product/...s-kwgo-pla-catchall--slid---product-MW693AM/A
 
coolerkid said:
Thanks Apple for more products nobody asked for instead of the ones people are begging for.
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?? Just curious. I for one am asking for this product, and I am pretty sure that I fit solidly into Apple's target demographic. What [other than cheap that some want but is not Apple's chosen market space] are "...the ones people are begging for?"
 
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If we’re honest, a properly-functioning Siri device would be fantastic.

Plus, it’s doubtful it would be price competitive with an Echo Show, because as someone who has one, it rotates ads every 5 seconds or so. Apple wouldn’t do that.

I’d say it’s at least $250 in the size of an Echo Show 8.
 
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