Mark Gurman, a journalist at Bloomberg, took advantage of his Sunday newsletter to provide news on one of Apple's most anticipated products, the HomePod hybrid. A cross between a smart speaker and an iPad, the device would be built around a 7-inch square screen and would be the cornerstone of Apple's strategy to take the smart home market by storm.
Apple had initially planned to release the device in spring 2025. Unfortunately, the debacle of the new Siri, powered by generative AI, forced the Californian manufacturer to revise its plans. The device relies heavily on improvements to the company's voice assistant. Deprived of the new Siri until further notice, Apple has been forced to change its release schedule.
A launch in a few months
Ultimately, Apple reportedly plans to launch the hybrid HomePod "by the end of this year at the earliest". If all goes according to plan, the smart display would be on the market for the holiday season, a key time for tech brands. This is generally when Apple sells the most devices. Previous leaks suggested a release a few months later, sometime in spring 2026.
The release of Apple's smart display is obviously linked to the arrival of the new Siri. According to the latest information available, Siri 2.0 will finally be deployed during the course of next fall, probably in the wake of iOS 19 and the new iPhone 17. The new Siri will be able to rely on user data and applications installed on the iPhone to respond to requests. With generative AI, Apple would like to make Siri a real competitor to ChatGPT.
A second version with a robotic arm
In a second phase, the Cupertino giant would launch a version of the device equipped with a "robotic arm" that is capable of "moving around a person's desk", explains Mark Gurman. This device would have a well-defined personality thanks to generative artificial intelligence.
The company "wants to bring this device to market as soon as possible, but there was a problem," reports Mark Gurman. To speed up the design, Apple reportedly removed some of the "more daring" features. These could be reserved for future versions of the device. The second iteration of the hybrid HomePod would not be a reality until late 2026 or sometime in 2027, a year or two after the first version.
Source: Bloomberg
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