We’ve been hearing rumors about the potential of a HomePod with a built-in display, and the latest beta of tvOS 17.4 has revealed several more references for the said model.
As spotted by 9to5Mac, references to the code revealed an unreleased device with the identifier “Z314”. This device seems to be based on the latest Apple TV 4K’s hardware as it’s powered by the same A15 Bionic chip, and therefore, it’s capable of running tvOS. Other references in the code reveal that this device has gone through both internal testing and later stages of production, so it’s possible that this device could be ready for release by the end of this year.
Apple has been experimenting with several projects for its category of “smart home” devices. With the recent departure of Apple’s VP of Smart Home Engineering, there’s still a lot to look forward to for the future of the smart home. Apple has also been developing an upcoming HomePod model that shares the same design as the current (full-size) model, yet with a built-in display on top. Just last month, an older beta release of tvOS revealed references to an upcoming operating system called “homeOS.” That OS could potentially be suited for the upcoming device, so we could see the official introduction of the new software platform or product at this year’s WWDC.
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