Apple yesterday evening released the first beta version of iOS 16 reserved for developers and the opportunity was propitious to hunt for clues on the new products coming from the Cupertino house. Said, done: the colleagues of 9to5mac have identified a reference to a alleged new model of HomePod the exact details of which are not yet known. We only know that this is not the first HomePod, nor the mini variant (which arrived in Italy at the end of last year – see review).
The iOS 16 code in more detail refers to a device marked with the words “AudioAccessory6“. To have a reference parameter, remember that the original HomePod is internally identified as”AudioAccessory1 “and the mini variant with” AudioAccessory5 “. Given that it is an unreleased HomePod, it is difficult to establish its characteristics and predict its arrival date on the market.
To try to complete the picture, you have to brush up on the previous rumors about the new HomePod: last month the well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo proposed the arrival of a new HomePod between the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, without however specifying whether it will be a model more similar to the original or mini version. The month before, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman talked about a new HomePod capable of combining the typical functions of the Apple smart speaker with that of the Apple TV and the FaceTime camera.
Unlike other Apple products, the HomePod isn’t updated annually, so it’s hard to predict when the new model might debut. Among the few certainties is the ability of the current HomePod Mini to establish itself in the smart speaker market: according to the recent analysis by Strategy Analytics it was the best-selling one in the first quarter of the year, surpassing Amazon’s Echo Dot 4 and Google’s Nest Mini. It is likely that Apple wants to insist by renewing the offer in a sector that is currently rewarding it.
