Apple HomePod with 7-inch screen expected to launch in 2024: Ming-Chi Kuo

Apple’s redesigned HomePod is expected to launch in the first half of 2024, paired with a 7-inch touchscreen, an analyst says. The company launched the second-generation Apple HomePod earlier this year. Available with Siri, Apple’s voice-based personal assistant, the smart speaker also includes built-in sensors and microphone EQ. The newest HomePod is powered by Apple’s in-house S7 chipset. This latest smart speaker can also be used as a home intercom system. A newer version of the HomePod will likely have even more design and feature improvements.

According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Tianma will be the exclusive panel supplier for Apple’s redesigned HomePod, which will feature a 7-inch panel, and is expected to launch in the first half of 2024. Tianma may begin receiving display orders for Apple iPads in the coming years, according to Kuo. Tianma Microelectronics is an electronic technology company that supplies displays to other companies, with production lines based in China.

Kuo added in his note that Tianma’s Android smartphone panel manufacturing capacity is currently at its maximum and its occupancy rate exceeds that of its competitors. If this trend continues through the second half of 2023, its revenue and earnings this year could exceed market expectations.

Apple will be able to compete with Google’s Nest Hub and Amazon’s Echo Show models by launching a speaker with a smart display. When it comes to smart home devices, Apple lags behind its competitors – its smart speaker, for example, debuted years after the Echo. The new display will enable more smart home device functionality as well as better integration into Apple’s device ecosystem.

Apple’s current HomePods come with small circular screens on top, but their capabilities are limited. According to some rumors, the Cupertino giant would work on such a device. Bloomberg reported in April 2021 that Apple was “considering” creating a “high-end speaker with a touchscreen” that would “combine an iPad with a HomePod speaker and also include a camera for video chatting.” “.

The second-generation HomePod costs Rs. 32,900 in India and comes in white and a new midnight color option.