Rumors about an Apple HomePod with a screen have been swirling for years now, with Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo posting on X about a potential HomePod with a seven-inch touchscreen coming sometime in 2024. While that quite obviously didn’t come to pass, the rumors of a smart display HomePod have never disappeared, and in the past few months have resurfaced, with Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman posting about the potential last November and then again this January, saying it could be “Apple’s most significant release of the year.” Add to it, on March 20, a team at Macworld discovered some changes in the iOS 18.4 beta that could point to a new display-laden HomePod, and Ming-Chi Kuo posted on X two days later their certainty of a HomePod with a screen entering production in Q3 of 2025, soon after WWDC 2025 begins on June 9.
There’s a lot we expect to hear about at WWDC, including information on iOS19, the new macOS16, watchOS 12, iPadOS 19, and tvOS 19. With all signs pointing towards the announcement of the Apple HomePod with a Screen, here’s everything we know so far.
Based on the information from Ming-Chi Kuo, it’s expected that the HomePod with a screen will enter into production sometime after WWDC in June, which would put it on track to be released this fall. While HomePod releases have often been during the beginning months of a calendar year, an end-of-year release would follow the release timing of the HomePod Mini, which came out in November of 2020.
We’re unsure what the new HomePod might cost, but judging from the current HomePod pricing of $299, the screen version will likely be more than that — perhaps in the $400-500 range. This would put it at a step higher than any of its smarthome hub competitors. The Google Nest Hub Max currently priced at $229, and even the largest of the Echo Show line — the Echo Show 21 — is at the lower end of that range at $400. And that’s with a 21-inch display, which is far larger than what’s expected on the HomePod.
Both Ming-Chi Kuo and Mark Gurman have indicated that the new HomePod will include the A18 chip, have a 7-inch screen, and incorporate Apple Intelligence. The Apple Intelligence integration has apparently been what held back its release.
There’s practically nothing known about the potential physical design of the HomePod with a screen, apart from a now-deleted supposed leaked image. Speculation ranges from the screen found on the top of the current HomePod just getting a size increase, to something similar to the Nest Hub Max, with a front-facing screen.
What we can be certain of, is that if we do see a HomePod with a screen, it will be touch-enabled.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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