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

[jmgregory1]

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.

No doubt the smart home space has been mostly ignored by Apple, other than speakers and AppleTV. But because each iPhone, iPad and Mac can drive smart home products, what Apple is really missing is the hub. I’m just not sure that a hub needs to be screen-based. Why not just make the AppleTV a hub, or go back to producing an AirPort-like device that each Apple device can connect with to run lights, speakers, etc.?

 

[klasma]

Sorry, what is this going to do for those of us that already have an iPad, iPhone, Apple TVs…?

It’s Apple’s “me too” version of Google’s Nest Hub and Amazon’s Echo Show.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

What do you mean, “if”?

As smulji pointed out above Google already has a likely-similar product that starts at $549, so what kind of pricing do all you folks clamoring for low pricing expect to see? Personally I just insist it be a good solid product and will consider classic Apple [high] pricing to be OK - - if it is a good product like HomePod original and not a crap product like v1 HomePod mini.

 

[jz0309]

Everyone needs to think a little broader here

There IS a market here

I'm more concerned that Apple will price their device "out of it"

You mean like thee IS a market for the VPro?

Sure there is, no doubt about it, just that some people fit into that segment and others don’t.

 

[ScooterComputer]

Three full pages of comments and no one mentions that the ORIGINAL Macintosh shipped with a 9-inch CRT with a 8.5-inch diagonal imaging area???!??!?

We—the O.G. Mac people—got stuff done for -10 years- on that screen size, folks. A 7-inch "HomePod" with anything M1-equivalent or faster is a Mac. Or, rather, should be.

(OK, -I- didn't, not for 10 years… I had to use a Mac Plus and then an SE for a few years to publish a school newspaper, but got myself a 13-inch Trinitron for my IIci in 1990 and had a Radius Pivot display for my SE/30. Then I really got stuff done!)

 

[jz0309]

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

How is that different from syncing photos and/or calendar via iCloud and using an iPad on a stand?

I do get your point/use case, not sure that dedicated HW is needed, nor that Apple has this in mind

 

[klasma]

Why couldn’t this just be a special dock or stand for an iPad?

So that other family members don’t snitch it for non-Home purposes. It’s like wall clock vs. wrist watch. Or like whiteboard vs. notepad.

 

[turbineseaplane]

You mean like thee IS a market for the VPro?

Sure there is, no doubt about it, just that some people fit into that segment and others don’t.

No, I do not

There is way more addressable market here than for Vision Pro in its current form

 

[Allen_Wentz]

No doubt the smart home space has been mostly ignored by Apple, other than speakers and AppleTV. But because each iPhone, iPad and Mac can drive smart home products, what Apple is really missing is the hub. I’m just not sure that a hub needs to be screen-based. Why not just make the AppleTV a hub, or go back to producing an AirPort-like device that each Apple device can connect with to run lights, speakers, etc.?

Agreed. Using Apple SoC appropriately the hub can be anywhere. Apple prototypically proved this with the original HomePods announced ~eight years ago. My guess is that the upcoming hub hardware product will be mostly marketing concept to promote the hub idea. Long term I expect the 'hub' to literally be anywhere among myriad Apple devices like you suggest.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I can’t even believe how lacking in imagination some seem to be

There is lots of potential here and this can be a very different device than an iPad in a dock

My goodness, this is frustrating to read through

In one thread, everyone is complaining that Apple does nothing (myself included at times!) and then in threads where they are maybe doing something everybody complains that it’s pointless

Can we make up our mind?

 

[Lioness~]

Ok, Apple have got it that we use old iPad mini’s to hubs in our homes.
Timmy rubbs his hands, here is a new income source 💰

So, now they want us buy a new device to replace the old iPad’s.
They gotta be cheap and offer something that old iPad’s can’t offer, to be of interest.
Don't make them rely on Siri as Homepods though - that will be a clear no for me.
But I'm intrigued, this far, but not expecting much.

 

[I7guy]

I might want something like this for my bedroom and/or kitchen. We’ll see if it comes to pass and at what price.

 

[citysnaps]

I can’t even believe how lacking in imagination some seem to be

There is lots of potential here and this can be a very different device than an iPad in a dock

My goodness, this is frustrating to read through

Sadly, that seems to be a tradition. People will reflexively/intentionally diss any new product Apple brings to market. iPod (who asked for a thousand songs in your pocket? Flop.), iPhone (seriously, a non-mechanical keyboard? Flop.), iPad (just a big iPhone. Flop.), Watch (if I need to know the time, I'll just look at my phone. Flop), etc...

 

[code-m]

This is becoming a serious issue, people are constantly being information and sensory bombarded to the point of being unhealthy. Forget about the needles e-waste aspect for a second, critical information at times is needed but constant rudimentary information is not. Does someone really need to check the weather every second in many places before heading out, do people need constant news updates that most of the time is rubbish, does someone need to constantly check lights, cameras, deliver, etc on every device always. This sounds like an ADD/ADHD constant stimulation mental and physical health issue causing acute and chronic fatigue.

If anything we need less electronic devices and the one we do have are quite capable, this really is unneeded and the people who do feel it’s needed require a wellness retreat.

 

[citysnaps]

I use Indigo Domotics for home automation (lights, switches, outlets, etc) and SecuritySpy for my outdoor security video cameras. All running 24/7 on a 2019 Intel Mac Mini, going on five years now.

I would love Apple to release an easy to use hub with display that can handle all that. I suspect something like that, along with easy to use software for programming, is what's going to be soon released.

Apple will sell a lot of them if it's easy to program and use.

 

[Premium1]

This still seems to make 0 sense. Most people have the homepods away or out of sight for something like this. Last thing I thought I needed with my homepods is a screen.

 

[DotCom2]

I would get at least two of these and possibly three. One in my Master, one in my kitchen at the least. I would love to just walk up to my wall and look at all my exterior cameras, interior cams and doorbell cam. And also just as an intercom instead of using the ad ridden Echo system.

 

[jz0309]

Sadly, that seems to be a tradition. People will reflexively/intentionally diss any new product Apple brings to market. iPod (who asked for a thousand songs in your pocket? Flop.), iPhone (seriously, a non-mechanical keyboard? Flop.), iPad (just a big iPhone. Flop.), Watch (if I need to know the time, I'll just look at my phone. Flop), etc...

So, if someone like eg me does not see a fit of this product in their lifestyle, we are not allowed to voice that?

We literally have no info from Apple on what this thing is intended fir, we go by predictions of some leakers/analysts so, let’s hold judgement until this devices releases and Apple shows us its capabilities

 

[citysnaps]

So, if someone like eg me does not see a fit of this product in their lifestyle, we are not allowed to voice that?

We literally have no info from Apple on what this thing is intended fir, we go by predictions of some leakers/analysts so, let’s hold judgement until this devices releases and Apple shows us its capabilities

You can voice anything you want.

It's just kind of funny that *all of the predicted flops* I mentioned above (iPod, iPhone, iPad, Watch, etc) have turned out to be outstanding products, leading Apple to becoming one of the most successful tech companies in the world.

 

[Realityck]

If anything we need less electronic devices and the one we do have are quite capable, this really is unneeded and the people who do feel it’s needed require a wellness retreat.

Hmmm buy this product get a free meditation subscription.

 

[211]

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.

Matter really hasn’t worked out well. tv and HomePod already support Matter. Why can’t tv handle what this hub can do, with iPad and iPhone communicating with it? Would this hub be for people who don’t have tv? I can’t imagine this hub being cheaper than tv

 

[Aeolius]

I'm having difficulty envisioning Apple entering and dominating a market that is already saturated with similar devices. Granted, they did that with the iPhone.
I don't need a stationary device. I have an Amazon Astro and it's insanely cool. Apple needs an aibo.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I'm having difficulty envisioning Apple entering and dominating a market that is already saturated with similar devices. Granted, they did that with the iPhone.
I don't need a stationary device. I have an Amazon Astro and it's insanely cool. Apple needs an aibo.

There are lots of us that want nothing to do with Amazon, Meta or Google devices in our homes

(I say this as a YouTube Premium subscriber)

 

[unQuestionable]

That design actually looks fire. I hadn't seen one I liked before.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

No, I do not

There is way more addressable market here than for Vision Pro in its current form

Of course "There is way more addressable market here than for Vision Pro in its current form." The AVP costs [likely] 4x as much and has a complex growth evolution that is at the alpha stage. The fact that the AVP sold in the hundreds of thousands of units despite costing 4x as much and with a complex growth evolution that is at the alpha stage says very good things about AVP. And many of us are happy with AVP as a tech prototype even if it sold zero.