In his latest “Power On” newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says the HomePod with display was delayed until next year for technical reasons.
Specifically, it relies on the more personalized Siri (which has seen numerous delays). Gurman says the home hub (rumored to be dubbed either the “HomePad” or “Command Center”) is dependent on a new version of App Intents, which would allow Siri to more precisely control apps via voice commands.
Here’s what a September 2024 report from 9to5Mac said about a HomePod with display:
° The device will be powered by an A18 processor.
° It has a squarish display rather than an iPad-ish rectangular design.
° It has a built-in camera that works for FaceTime and other video conferencing apps.
° The device uses the camera to identify hand gestures from a distance.
The HomePad/Command Center will purportedly run an operating system called “homeOS.” Gurman says the newly designed operating system will also include a customizable home screen where users can run widgets for checking stock tickers, the weather and appointments. Or they can configure the screen to highlight key home controls. There will also be a dock for quickly launching favorite apps and an iPhone-like home screen grid of software icons, per Gurman.
As for the “personalized Siri,” on March 7 Apple announced that it was delaying the anticipated Siri update with more specialized features until 2026.
This info from Gurman is from the free edition of “Power On”. If you like it, consider subscribing to Bloomberg.com—you’ll receive the newsletter earlier and get exclusive access to a Q&A section.
In a statement to Daring Fireball, Apple spokesperson Jacqueline Roy had this to say: “Siri helps our users find what they need and get things done quickly, and in just the past six months, we’ve made Siri more conversational, introduced new features like type to Siri and product knowledge, and added an integration with ChatGPT. We’ve also been working on a more personalized Siri, giving it more awareness of your personal context, as well as the ability to take action for you within and across your apps. It’s going to take us longer than we thought to deliver on these features and we anticipate rolling them out in the coming year.”
Check out an interview inTom’s Guide where Apple execs Craig Federighi and Greg Joswiak talked about the delay of personalized Siri.
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