Apple might actually be ready to step up its smart home game.
Mark Gurman at Bloomberg just said that Apple is working on a HomePod with a 7-inch display, basically turning it into more than just a speaker—think home hub vibes.
If Apple doesn’t price it like a luxury yacht—it might finally give Siri a screen to match all the times she almost gets our smart home commands right.
If this pans out, it could be Apple’s long-overdue answer to Amazon’s Echo Show and Google’s Nest Hub.
According to supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (who tends to have a solid track record with Apple leaks), the next-gen HomePod might ditch its speaker-only design in favor of a built-in screen.
That means instead of just yelling at Siri, wed actually get a visual interface for things like smart home controls, FaceTime calls, widgets, and quick-glance info like weather and calendar updates.
Rumor has it this thing could drop in 2025, running a tweaked version of iPadOS or tvOS to make it more touch-friendly.
MacRumos has said
a new HomePod mini is expected to launch later this year.
There's no word yet on how powerful it’ll be, but knowing Apple, expect deep integration with Siri, HomeKit, and Apple Music—basically a more seamless way to keep everything in Apple’s ecosystem talking to each other.
Let’s be real—Apple’s been lagging in the smart home display space.
The HomePod and HomePod mini sound great, but they’re missing a screen, which makes a huge difference for usability.
If you’ve ever tried (and failed) to get Siri to control your lights or thermostat just right, you know the struggle.
A screen would let us skip the frustration and just tap what you need.
This also signals that Apple might be getting more serious about smart home automation.
Sure, we can already use an iPad or Apple TV as a HomeKit hub, but a dedicated device that’s always on and built for smart home control?
That’s the missing piece. Plus, if this thing gets a camera, it could make FaceTime calls in the kitchen or living room a lot more natural—kind of like what Amazon’s and Google’s smart displays already do.
Nothing is confirmed yet, but the timing checks out.
Apple’s been slowly expanding its smart home ecosystem, and with Matter (the new universal smart home standard) gaining traction, this could be the perfect time to drop a proper hub.
If they nail the pricing and finally give Siri a much-needed upgrade, this could be a real contender against Amazon and Google’s displays.