Bloomberg: Apple is working on smart speakers with screens and cameras

Google Home Hub (Image credit: Google)

What you need to know

Apple is reportedly working on "new speakers with screens and cameras."
Such devices aren't expected to launch imminently.

Apple is working on "new speakers with screens and cameras" according to a new report. However, the same report says that we shouldn't expect anything to be announced imminently, however.

As part of a longer Bloomberg report about HomePod mini and its unused sensor, the claim was almost an afterthought.

With Apple said to have temperature and humidity sensors hitten inside the current HomePod mini it's thought that Apple is continuing to look at ways its smart speakers could do more than play music. Part of that could be to display information on a screen while also offering video calling via FaceTime, for example.

Apple continues to chip away at this opportunity through updates to individual devices. Before the discontinuation of the larger HomePod, the company had been working on an updated version for release in 2022. It has also been developing new speakers with screens and cameras, but such a launch isn't imminent. Apple is also working on an update to the Apple TV set-top box. Until that time comes, Apple will likely try to unlock the most functionality from the HomePod mini.

Apple has been rumored to have a new Apple TV in the works for a long time now with an announcement even suggested for this week. Regardless, it's the return of a larger HomePod-type device that will set tongues wagging. Google already offers similar products, as does Amazon via its Echo lineup.

There are tons of options around but these are some of the best smart speakers on the market today. Apple has plenty to compete with whether it ads a screen and camera or not.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.