Featured Image Credit: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Contributor / Zhang Peng/Contributor / Get
Given how we can barely keep track of the number of iPhones and various spin-off ranges Apple releases, it's easy to forget the tech giant isn't just a smartphone manufacturer. Away from MacBooks, AirPods, and iPads, Apple has delivered some beloved (and not-so-beloved) products over the years.
Despite the likes of the iPod and iPod Hi-Fi being relics from a bygone era, there are continued calls for Apple to expand its 'Home' range.
After our Home products were left to largely gather dust in 2024, there are reports that 2025 could be a big one. Apparently, three new Home products will be released in 2025 - threatening to empty our wallets but improve our lives.
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Apple's upcoming AI-powered smart home device:
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) November 12, 2024
- Focus is on Siri, Communication and Home Control
- Runs Safari, Music, Notes, and several other Apple apps but no App Store.
- The device is touch, but will mostly be operated by voice through Apple Intelligence's new App Intents…
That’s according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who said back in November that a mythical 'HomePad' will be released in 2025. Boasting a 6-inch screen, the wall-mounted device is also expected to have the ability to control home devices, include an in-built security camera/audio intercom, display slideshows from your Photos app, and have an upgraded Siri alongside a big focus on Apple Intelligence. Although Gurman says the device could be coming as soon as March 2025, Ming-Chi Kuo thinks it’s coming later in the year.
9to5Mac also highlights a new Apple TV 4K after the Gen 3 version launched in November 2022. The site says we can expect a minimum of an A18 or A17 Pro chip to support Apple's push into in-house productions, as well as the much-hyped Apple Intelligence support.
If that wasn't enough, the HomePod mini could finally be getting some TLC. While the standard HomePod got a Gen 2 release in February 2023, the HomePod mini is trapped in the past.
As Gurman notes: "With a homegrown wireless chip in Apple’s smart home devices, the products will work more closely together and potentially synchronize data more quickly.
“The company is planning a significant smart home push next year: It aims to release a home hub device with artificial intelligence that can be placed on a table or mounted to a wall."
Away from the previous reports about moving away from Qualcomm modems, Apple is seemingly planning to replace Broadcom’s combined Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chips with its own solutions.
This internal chip is codenamed 'Proxima', and having apparently been in development for several years, it's hoped that it can sever Apple's ties to third-party suppliers. It's thought that these in-house chips will work together as part of Apple's 'comprehensive wireless strategy'.
If we're getting the Home boost that we're promised in 2025, it could be a bumper year for Apple and its futuristic smart home strategy.
