A month after the launch of the second generation of Apple’s connected speaker, rumors are appearing about the next HomePod 3. A famous analyst reveals that a Chinese company would be in charge of producing a 7-inch screen for this future model.
As soon as its predecessor was released, the HomePod 3 already talks about it. The next model of Apple’s largest connected speaker could hit the market in the first half of 2024, according to renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, a specialist in the multinational’s supply chain in Asia. Quoted by news site MacRumorsOn Thursday, March 9, he also claims that the HomePod 3 would be equipped with a 7-inch screen.
A detail that would mark a radical change in design compared to previous models in the range. A choice that echoes previous rumors about a change in Apple’s strategy for its home automation products.
A screen as big as the competition
Newly released at the end of January 2023, the HomePod 2 took up the design of its almost identical big brother: a cylindrical speaker connected with, at the top of the product, a limited touch area to control sound and audio playback.
According to Ming-Chi Kuo, the HomePod 3 would prefer a new 7-inch screen, aligning itself with pCompeting products like Google Nest Hub or Amazon Echo Show. The analyst argues that it would be the Chinese company Tianma, specializing in particular in touch screens for Android phones, which would be exclusively responsible for producing these screens.
Better integrate this product into the ecosystem.
If this announcement remains a rumor, however, it echoes other information presented by the American economic media. Bloomberg in 2021. Journalist Mark Gurman had mentioned Apple’s upcoming connected speaker models equipped with ” screens and cameras to make video calls via Apple FaceTime. One of these models could also incorporate Apple TV features. Also, according to Ming-Chi Kuo, the upcoming HomePod 3 would integrate better with the rest of Apple’s ecosystem.
Nothing new, therefore, but this new leak is still the first to advance a release date for HomePod 3, although still approximate. Above all, if the information is verified, it would confirm Apple’s willingness to change its strategy of products for the home, also mentioned by Bloombergin order to make them more attractive.
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