Apple rumored to be experimenting with an iPad running tvOS to prepare for a HomePod with screen

Apple has been experimenting with a modified iPad mini running tvOS for a future HomePod, according to 9to5Mac.

From the report: Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that Apple has been working on multiple new smart home accessories, including a new smart display that combines HomePod and Apple TV in a single device. A few months later, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that the company plans to introduce a larger HomePod with a built-in 7-inch display.

For comparison, the iPad mini 6 has an 8.3-inch display. Since everything seems to be quite experimental for now, Apple’s engineers may have decided to run tvOS on the iPad mini to explore how the interface would work on such a device.

This isn’t the first report of an HomePod with a display. On March 20, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said that Apple had pushed plans for a HomePod with a display until next year at the earliest.

He said the tech giant is doing this to allot more research and development money to projects like the Vision Pro. Gurman’s info lineed up with a post on Medium by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. He predicted that Apple will unveil a redesigned HomePod featuring a 7-inch display in the first half of 2024.

“The HomePod, which equips a panel, could enable tighter integration with Apple’s other hardware products, marking a significant shift in the company’s smart home strategy,” he says.