Apple has several new smart home products in development, and with rumors about the initial low-cost smart home control device ramping up over the past few months, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has fleshed out a few new details in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter.
MacRumors concept of an iMac G4-like HomePod/smart home device
According to Gurman, the smart home device is planned to launch sometime next year and will feature a hemispherical base with a small screen positioned at an angle on the base, making it resemble the iconic G4 iMac design from two decades ago.
Following up on previous rumors that the device will include a "squarish" display, Gurman indicates the screen and overall device may be smaller than many have expected, with the screen being "about the size of two iPhones side by side."
The small size is reportedly part of Apple's effort to keep pricing down, allowing users to scatter multiple units in different rooms around the house.
The original iMac G4
As previously described, the smart home device will run a number of iPad-like apps that make sense for its intended purpose, including FaceTime, Notes, and Calendar, as well serving as a hub for smart home controls and being able to display photo and video slideshows. Gurman says it's "possible" that there will be speakers in the device's base, allowing it to serve as a HomePod-like device as well.
Beyond this initial smart home device, Gurman has previously described a more ambitious product with a larger screen mounted on a robotic arm that would be able to identify users and automatically track them as they move around a room. That higher-end product will likely retail for around $1,000 and won't launch until 2026 at the earliest.
Wednesday December 11, 2024 5:23 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple has announced that iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 will be released today following more than six weeks of beta testing.
For the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, the update introduces additional Apple Intelligence features, including Genmoji for creating custom emoji, Image Playground and Image Wand for generating images, and ChatGPT integration for Siri. There is also ...
Monday December 9, 2024 10:06 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the second release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS 15.2 updates to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, a week after releasing the first RCs. The first iOS 18.2 RC had a build number of 22C150, while the second RC's build number is 22C151. Release candidates represent the final version of beta software that's expected to see a ...
Monday December 9, 2024 4:48 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's forthcoming iPhone SE 4 will feature a single 48-megapixel rear camera and a 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera on the front, according to details revealed in a new Korean supply chain report.
ET News reports that Korea-based LG Innotek is the main supplier of the front and rear camera modules for the more budget-friendly ~$400 device, which is expected to launch in the first quarter of...
Monday December 9, 2024 7:36 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to remove the notch from the MacBook Pro in a few years from now, according to a roadmap shared by research firm Omdia.
The roadmap shows that 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models released in 2026 will have a hole-punch camera at the top of the display, instead of a notch. It is unclear if there would simply be a pinhole in the display, or if Apple would expand the iPhone's...
Monday December 9, 2024 1:28 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Norwegian payment service Vipps has become the world's first company to launch a competing tap-to-pay solution to Apple Pay on iPhone, following Apple's agreement with European regulators to open up its NFC technology to third parties.
Starting December 9, Vipps users in Norway can make contactless payments in stores using their iPhones. The service initially supports customers of SpareBank...
Friday December 6, 2024 4:42 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls...
Tuesday December 10, 2024 11:51 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple is ramping up work on a blood pressure monitoring feature for the Apple Watch and it could be ready as soon as 2025, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Blood pressure monitoring is a health addition that Apple has been working on for the last several years, and based on rumors, Apple wanted to debut it in 2024.
The feature would not provide exact systolic and diastolic blood pressure...
Wednesday December 11, 2024 10:02 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.2, the second update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that was released in September. macOS Sequoia 15.2 comes over a month after the release of macOS Sequoia 15.1.
Mac users can download the macOS Sequoia update through the Software Update section of System Settings.
macOS Sequoia 15.2 adds Image Playground, an app that lets you create...
Yes, it will be as successful as Apple Vision pro - while great on paper, lack of real world usage will just kill it with time. lol
It will be priced much less than AVP. And will appeal to people with healthy imaginations. You are correct that people who are cynical with closed minds will probably not be interested and pan it on MR. That's a tradition.
I’m not sure I see the appeal of something like this. Voice assistant products have been around for a long time now, and Apple’s own attempts at similar functionality with speakers relying on Siri have not exactly been stellar. As for Facetime, who wants to get up and go over to where this device is to do that when they can already be wherever they want and use their iPad or iPhone to do that?
The first Mac that I remember seeing in person as an adult. College bookstore. Blew me away. Ended up getting a PowerBook 12”. have an iMac g4 in my living room today. As a middle age man longing for the good ol days, I miss those hardware designs and the aqua interface.
It will be priced much less than AVP. And will appeal to people with healthy imaginations. You are correct that people who are cynical with closed minds will probably not be interested and pan it on MR. That's a tradition.
I chuckle every time I see the critics’ “lack of imagination” thrown around.
Requires imagination to see a use for it = no practical commercial use case
MacRumors concept of an 
The original iMac G4
