Apple seems to be working on a new version of the HomePod that will look and sound like the first one. A report from Bloomberg says that Apple plans to release a new smart speaker in 2023.
Unlike the original HomePod, which Apple stopped making a year ago, the new one is said to be powered by the S8 chip, which is the same processor that will be in Apple’s new Watch Series 8. It’s still not clear how much more powerful this chip would be than the A8 processor in the first HomePod. Gurman also thinks that the new HomePod will have an updated display on the top that might be able to handle multiple touches.
Apple announced last year that it would stop selling the original HomePod. The first smart speaker with Siri came out in 2017. Even though it was made by Apple and had great sound quality, the HomePod didn’t sell very well. When it first came out, the HomePod cost $349, which was on the high end of smart speaker prices. A year later, the price went down to $299, but that didn’t help Apple sell many HomePods. In 2020, Apple released the smaller, cheaper HomePod mini for $99. Both critics and customers liked it a lot. The HomePod mini was reportedly the best-selling smart speaker in the first quarter of this year, outselling both the Amazon Echo Dot and the Google Nest mini.
The next-generation HomePod has been talked about for months, but the big question is how and how much Apple will sell it. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg says that it’s interesting that Apple is making another HomePod. It could be a smart speaker like Amazon’s Echo Show 10 that combines a HomePod, Apple TV, and FaceTime camera.
But the updated HomePod might be one of the new products that Apple plans to release in the next few months. The tech giant is said to be working on several new products, including four new iPhone 14 models, a set of new iPads, updated M2/M3 Macs, second-generation AirPods Pro, an updated HomePod, and an upgraded form of Apple TV were all unveiled.
Stay Connected!
