Last week, MacRumors discovered references to an unreleased “Home Accessory” with a HomeAccessory17,1 identifier, which is expected to feature the next-generation A18 chip that will also be found in the upcoming iPhone 16 lineup. For years, there have been several rumors about Apple making its own dedicated smart accessory for the home along with the existing HomePod and Apple TV. Now, the latest beta of tvOS 18 has even more references to the user interface that could be used in this upcoming smart home device.
You may not know this, but HomePod’s software is based on tvOS, so it wouldn’t be a surprise that this upcoming device will run some variant of the HomePod software. The code that was discovered in the latest beta of tvOS references an interface called “PlasterBoard”. This is in line with other internal names that Apple uses for the home screen across the rest of its platforms: SpringBoard for iOS and iPadOS, PineBoard for tvOS, SoundBoard for HomePod, and SurfBoard for visionOS. Going into the code deeper, it appears that the interface is akin to the lock screen and passcode keypad found in both iOS and iPadOS. However, tvOS never has a lock screen nor does the HomePod software has a user interface since none of the HomePods currently have a display.
With that said the unreleased device may be a new HomePod with a built-in touchscreen that Apple has been developing for years. This won’t be the only concept that Apple has been exploring though as the company has looked at other projects: a HomePod with a built-in screen on top, a HomePod variant with a built-in display and camera that could run vanilla tvOS, and even an iPad/HomePod combo solution that could act as a smart home hub.
Ming-Chi Kuo reported that a HomePod with a 7-inch display would launch sometime this year. With several leaked prototype images posted online, this may be the device he has in mind, and we may see this product come to fruition sometime in Apple’s annual fall event where it will introduce the new iPhone 16 lineup, iPads, Apple Watches, and even Apple TV models.
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