Hardware was by no means in poor provision at this yr ’s Worldwide Developers Conference . Not only did Apple establish three unexampled Macs but there was also that short topic of a radical spacial estimator . But just as the company use its yearly gathering to show off what package feature are coming down the road for its platforms , it turns out that it ’s also the idealistic affair for Apple forecaster to read between the lines and see what additional ironware devices might rest just beyond the horizon .
This year , more than most , cast off some light on a few berth that Apple might be looking to expound its footprint – notably in the base . That ’s a market where Apple has stake a few meager claims in the past times , but has n’t really invested in expanding over the past several years . But if this twelvemonth ’s software word is any meter reading , that may be about to alter .
StandBy for launch
It ’s not every daylight that Apple plunge a novel interface for its most popular equipment , but the company managed to sneak one in while dishing aboutiOS 17.The new StandBy style takes a page from the Apple Watch ’s Nightstand feature . When your iPhone is file and in landscape painting , it can display data in a turgid , glanceable format . That could be as simple as a clock , or as complex as a Smart Stack of widgets .
This feature article made me sit down up in my seat at the keynote , because it sure seems as though this would be the idealistic way to present information on a HomePod with a screen . Apple ’s competitors in this market place , Amazon and Google , have offered their own takes on that kind of gadget over the preceding few years , but Apple has stand by steadfastly to the utterly display - less HomePod and HomePod mini , despite perennial rumors that the company is working on a version with a screen .
Foundry
tote up a display to the HomePod opens up a ton of possibility , especially with two key features that Apple ’s implementing : reenforcement for Live activity , which can offer proactive and timely information ( such as viewable timers or sport rafts ) , and — upright of all — the ability for Siri to display query result onscreen . To every HomePod proprietor who ’s been repeatedly frustrated by having Apple ’s voice assistant report that it sent more information to your iPhone , this seems to eventually present on the idea of an ambient computing platform that truly lets you go hands - gratis .
Maintaining Continuity
The last few revisions to the Apple TV have been fairly pocket-sized , but with tvOS 17 , Apple is also hinting at a potentially bigger move to come . The ship’s company ’s promulgation of Continuity Camera support for its set - top box finally transforms the twist into a usable appliance for picture calls , by allowing people to use their iPhone or iPad as a television camera and mike .
As someone who has hebdomadal Zoom calls in their living room , this is welcome newsworthiness . There have been report over the years that Apple is working on an Apple TV with a camera for just such a purpose , and while I ’d welcome such a gimmick , the carrying out of this lineament has me wondering whether or not there ’s a need for it . I ’d wager most Apple goggle box proprietor already have an iPhone or iPad ; the idea that Apple would build a photographic camera and mic directly into an Apple TV seems unpaired : where would it go ? Would that even make sense with where most people put their set - top boxful ? It seems even more unconvincing that the society would build an external camera and mike social unit for you to place somewhere else .
Then again , this might be an opportunity for Apple to see whether such a gadget would get any traction in the mart . The troupe will no doubt be able to see how many users take advantage of this feature for both FaceTime and third - political party video conferencing options ; if it ’s a hit , then maybe another ironware twist could be in Apple ’s future tense .
Apple
Preparing for DockKit
speak of videoconferencing gadget , there was one other interesting tidbit that did n’t garner keynote time but could play a major function in an Apple intersection for the home : DockKit . This development framework allows apps to work in concert with motorized iPhone docks , enable them to track the discipline of a video around a room . Similar technology has existed in products like Meta ’s Portal videoconferencing gimmick .
Apple , of course , does n’t make a motorized iPhone dock of its own , but whenever it opens chance like this to third party , it ’s mostly worthwhile to postulate whether there ’s a first - party reason for the engineering . In this causa , it ’s not hard to imagine a future Apple videoconferencing gadget that can fall out you around the room – a hardware interlingual rendition of the ship’s company ’s Center Stage feature of speech . ( Why go through the trouble of building hardware if Center Stage already exists ? For one affair , a mechanize dock supports 360 academic degree of panning , while Center Stage is limited to whatever direction the twist ’s tv camera is look . )
Now , bear with me as I go out on a limb : maybe these are n’t separate devices , but rather a single Modern gimmick with a movable camera for videoconferencinganda show for status information . With Siri onboard you have yourself an ambient work out twist that can manage a net ton of different task that user might otherwise have postulate to pull out their iPhone or iPad to do . mayhap , at long last , Apple can really justify putting that “ home ” in “ HomePod . ”
