Apple HomePod: Smart speaker return billed with not 'much innovation in hardware design'

Ming-Chi Kuo has offered insight into the state of Apple's HomePod series. To recap, Apple still sells the HomePod Mini, which it refreshed in October 2021 with new colour options. By contrast, Apple discontinued the larger HomePod without releasing a successor. As a result, second-hand HomePods sell for near-MSRP, over four years after the smart speaker debuted.

According to Kuo, Apple plans to release a new version of the HomePod between Q4 2022 and Q1 2023. In other words, a next-generation HomePod could debut as soon as October, potentially alongside a Studio Display Pro at a dedicated Apple Event. Alternatively, a launch during a March 2023 hardware event would seem appropriate; Apple has not announced anything via a press release since 2020.

While Kuo claims that a new HomePod is on the way, they add that there 'may not be much innovation in hardware design'. Moreover, Kuo believes that Apple is still 'figuring out how to succeed' in the smart speaker market, currently dominated by Amazon and Google. Purportedly, the next HomePod could be larger than the HomePod Mini, while also being smaller than the original HomePod. Unfortunately, more details are unknown at this stage.

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