In a new report, Apple considered, planned, and prototyped a battery-powered HomePod device years ago when the company discussed a smart speaker that can be taken anywhere but do not be excited because a product like this is not being planned anytime soon.
In his latest edition of the Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman of Bloomberg cited that years ago, Cupertino-based company once considered making a smart speaker that runs on batteries rather than being plugged in the wall all the time:
“Years ago, Apple internally discussed and prototyped a battery-powered smart speaker, but I would be surprised if one ever launches under the Apple brand. The speakers on the iPhone and iPad are pretty decent at this point, and I’m sure Apple would rather consumers buy those for mobile playback than a cheaper HomePod.”
Earlier this month, Apple discontinued the Beats Pill+ wireless speaker that launched back in 2018. Pill+ was the only wireless speaker product that Apple technically owned under its Beats brand.
Gurman guesses that if the scrapped product ever comes back, it will certainly be “under the Beats brand”:
“If Apple does get back into the battery-powered speaker game, I’d guess it returns under the Beats brand. That’s the same place Apple has tucked cheaper audio gear in the past.”
Last year, Apple discontinued the original HomePod and began focusing on its smaller (and now only) counterpart ”“ HomePod mini, as the competition intensified with Google Nest and Amazon Alexa respectively.
Apple’s latest update to HomePod mini occurred during October 2021’s “Unleashed” event when the company announced the M1 Pro + M1 Max-powered MacBook Pro machines. During the event, the company unveiled three new colors for the Siri-powered smart speaker.
Gurman’s latest edition of the Power On newsletter also discussed more Apple news such as the company’s widely anticipated VR/AR headset as the product’s price is reportedly rising to ~$3,000 and Apple CarKey feature expanding outside the BMW bubble and entering Hyundai and Genesis cars.
