Sometimes if you gaze at something too long , you begin to see patterns that are n’t really there . I ’m disquieted that this is materialise to me when it comes to pondering Apple ’s smart nursing home scheme . Has it been rebooted ? Are we about to see Apple sweep back into smart - home categories with some exciting Modern spins on familiar products ? Now that theoriginal HomePod has been laid to respite , is it time for Apple to shine ?
I want to believe . But am I just convincing myself of things that are n’t rightful ?
HomePod mini
Opportunity for hope
Two years ago , Applehired a former Microsoft executiveto direct up its smart - domicile efforts . At the time I took that as a sign that there might be hope in Apple taking a new direction .
Like many people , I ’d been let down by Apple ’s sluggish chemical reaction to the ontogeny of smart - family tech , the modified ontogenesis of HomeKit , and more . Some mathematical product category – mesh - networking routers – seemed to be perfect places for Apple to contribute , but instead it abandon its venerable Wi - Fi business . And of course of action , its response to the Amazon Echo was long time late , overpriced , and in the end a failure .
While Apple ’s hiring of Sam Jadallah bring me hope , I live it would be years before we saw any evidence of his influence in terms of a new product direction . Apple ’s announcement in belated 2019 that it wasforming a bright - house alliancewith many of its competition was another mesmerism that alteration was afoot – but that it might take a while .
The unification of the HomePod and AppleTVunder the same operating systemmake me raise an eyebrow . Could it be possible that Apple ultimately saw that using the two devices , Apple could do something likemake a soundbar ?
A smoking gun?
The death of the HomePod and its replacement with a small and low-priced successor , the HomePod mini , was another positive sign . The HomePod mini seems like a much better - calibrated merchandise . No , it does n’t sound as good as a HomePod , but it also costs a fraction of the monetary value .
But when you ’re reading tea parting and watching the sky for signal of right thing to fare , you need more . Something like thediscovery of a hidden sensorin the HomePod miniskirt that find a room ’s humidity and temperature .
The HomePod mini ’s hidden temperature detector could intend new features in the future .
This sensor is not currently being used for anything , but the fact that it exist says so much . At the very least , it shows that someone inside Apple thinks that there might be value in feeding HomeKit some basic data about the environment in a home , which could possibly be used to trigger humidifiers , dehumidifiers , heating , and cool down . Since you would n’t buy a HomePod Mini just to use it as a sensor , it hint Apple may be exploring a broader home scheme that adds sensors to all variety of home products . And if you desire to get really conspirative , perhaps the sensor ’s close off for now because Apple ’s not ready to announce its prominent home scheme .
An Apple TV to rule them all?
lately , I ’ve despairedabout the future of the Apple TV , a machine I like . It ’s immensely more expensive than its rival , and Apple has been doing more to impart it inspection and repair to the contention than it has to differentiate Apple TV from that rival .
Given all this , is it any curiosity that theBloomberg report that Apple is working on a combination HomePod and Apple TVwas like yield water to a humanity who just wandered out of the desert ?
Bloomberg ’s Mark Gurman report that this production would combine an Apple TV , HomePod , camera for TV conferencing , and other smart - dwelling features . While that does n’t scream “ soundbar ” at me , I have a hard fourth dimension understanding why you ’d build up a box with a speaker that you ’re supposed to attach your TV andnotuse it to route TV sound recording , too .
Apple TV hardware desparately call for new life .
Even if this production was n’t both afloor wax and a dessert topping , and even if the production does n’t occur to realization at all , it ’s another strong sign that Apple is at leastconsideringa bunch of weird new plate - ground products that are based on applied science it has already build . That ’s a fantastic sign .
Gurman also reports that Apple is considering a HomePod with a touch screen , along the lines of the Amazon Echo Show . I ’ve had a couple of Echo Shows over the years , and while I love them for what they are , there’splentyof way for Apple to enter the market with a ranking product . The bar is super scummy .
Make it happen
I want to believe . I want to consider in Apple TV becoming something more than it is . That the merger of tvOS and HomePod means that the HomePod could win a display and camera . That the universe of temperature and humidity detector in the HomePod miniskirt imply that Apple is thinking about all the input necessary to make a really sassy , automated menage . Maybe even that Apple might consider get back into the home router plot .
The grounds is scant , yes . A deactivated sensor is scarcely evidence . Rumors about products that may never see the light of day are even unconvincing . But two years after Apple overhauled the squad run its smart - home strategy , it finger like we might be on the precipice of a major shift for Apple .
At least , that ’s what I need to believe .
