Back in 2018, Apple launched its first smart speaker- HomePod. Unfortunately, this innovation was not a big success due to which Apple had to discontinue it. However, Apple enthusiasts were keen to know if the company will ever bring its successor to the market.
Recently, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in his tweet said that Apple could soon release a new version of HomePod either in the fourth quarter of this year or the first quarter of next year. As per Kuo, there may not be much novelty in hardware design.
He also wrote that undoubtedly smart speakers are one of the most essential elements required in a home, but he thinks that the company is still yet to figure out how to succeed in the market with this product.
HomePod could be a larger model of the HomePod mini
HomePod mini was released in the late 2020s and was priced at $99. The company launched this HomePod mini to make it compete with other affordable and smaller smart speakers by Google and Amazon.
But now the expected HomePod could most probably be a larger model than the HomePod mini. Kuo also believes that the company will keep the price of HomePod under $300 and there will not be a major change in hardware design and the company will come out with the design that most people are familiar with.
Earlier this month, Kuo also predicted that Apple will soon launch a new version of Apple TV that is going to improve the cost structure in 2H22. As per the Apple analyst, this could be the company’s aggressive strategy of integrating content, hardware, and service amid the recession that will further help close the gap with its all competitors.
