A new HomePod is coming, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman. In his latest edition of the Power On newsletter, the journalist says Apple is readying a new smart speaker for next year, which will look and sound similar to the original version discontinued a year ago.
Codenamed B620, this new HomePod will run the future Apple Watch Series 8 chip, the S8 processor. Although Gurman says in another part of the newsletter that this chip will have the same specifications as the 2020 S6 processor from the Apple Watch Series 6, it’s unclear how different it will perform compared to the A8 chip on the original HomePod.
The HomePod mini, which is important to note, features the S5 chip. The S6 processor is around 20% faster than its previous generation. Here’s what Gurman reported:
The HomePod, code-named B620, will run the same S8 chip coming to the watches and will be closer to the original HomePod in terms of size and audio performance rather than a new HomePod mini. The new HomePod will have an updated display on top and there’s even been some talk of multi-touch functionality.
In a previous report, Gurman said Apple was working on a mix of an Apple TV with HomePod, which could be similar to an Amazon Echo Show – which doesn’t seem to be the case here.
Although the HomePod mini is a nice product that users keep buying and pairing with other speakers, the original HomePod offered a greater audio experience that many people are missing now.
The price is still unclear, but Apple will surely not charge more than $300, as it did with the original model.
Last but not least, Mark Gurman gives some tidbits about the new Apple TV, which is said to feature the A14 chip:
The new Apple TV, code-named J255, is in development with an A14 chip and an additional gigabyte of RAM. That compares with the A12 chip announced as part of the 2021 Apple TV last year and could be useful for additional gaming capabilities rolling out in tvOS 16.
Are you excited about a new HomePod? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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