Bloomberg Mark Gurman said in the latest Power On newsletter that Apple will launch a larger HomePod this year. The top of the new HomePod will be equipped with a new touch panel, using the S8 chip used in the Apple Watch, and the price will be more affordable.
The larger HomePod will definitely return this year,” Gurman wrote in the newsletter. He believes that the HomePod should be similar in size to the first HomePod, with the same height of around 6.8 inches. But Gurman also made it clear that the new HomePod update is not much, but will only use the S8 chip and improve the touchpad panel.
Gurman previously reported that Apple’s next full-size HomePod could add multi-touch functionality, and while no further details were shared, it was implied that the new model would have a “similar design to the 2018 model.
Ming-Chi Kuo also said last May that Apple was working on a new HomePod internally, and the code for Apple’s first iOS 16 developer beta mentioned an unreleased model called “AudioAccessory6,” which seems to confirm that a new version of the Siri smart speaker is in development.
