A rumored new device from Apple could make your smart home even easier to use.
MacRumors
Once again, the Apple rumor leak.
Readers, friends, and colleagues in the tech media often ask me why I don't engage more with Apple gossip. For those who follow Apple closely, it's a fodder machine. Apple gossip is certainly lucrative in terms of content and viewership. But the honest truth is that accessibility and assistive technology rarely translates into interesting “sources say” coverage. I do, however, read the work of 9to5 Mac and MacRumors, the two leading Apple news publications, and Bloomberg's own Apple scoopster, Mark Gurman. Occasionally, one (or more) of the articles posted on these sites is thought-provoking enough to be worth writing about from a disability perspective.
In fact, one such instance occurred earlier this week when I posted about the new “Tao to Provision” mechanism for adding new cards to Apple Pay in iOS 18. As I wrote, the way you can add a card to the Wallet app by simply tapping it on the back of your iPhone is much easier than manually entering the data printed on the card itself.
Today, inspiration struck again when I stumbled across an article by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris, who reported on a discovery in what he called “Apple's back-end code” that suggests Apple is working on a new home device to complement its Apple TV set-top box and HomePod speakers. Perris reports that the recently discovered code “references a device with the identifier 'HomeAccessory17,1', a new identifier category.” He also notes that the name is similar to the HomePod's “AudioAccessory” identifier, and that the device will likely run a variant of tvOS that runs on the upcoming A18 chip. This silicon is especially important because, according to Perris, the A18 chip may power Apple Intelligence.
Why is this mysterious device so interesting? It seems that Apple is finally releasing a product to compete with kitchen-based smart home devices like Amazon's Echo Show and Google's Nest Hub. From an accessibility perspective, this is not a trivial development. As someone who has been immersed in the Apple ecosystem for centuries, one thing that is noticeably missing from my HomeKit-centric setup is the lack of an Echo Show from Apple. Especially in the kitchen, where I currently have a HomePod mini, being able to control the doorbell and garage camera, and access media like music and podcasts on a relatively large screen would be much more accessible. The HomePod can handle audio content, but it's more about video. Instead of carrying your phone in your pocket or on the counter in case the doorbell rings, Apple's new device would display the camera feed when the doorbell rings. Impromptu FaceTime calls would also be much more convenient. In terms of practicality, the screen of this new device will be significantly larger than my gigantic iPhone Pro Max. It also removes the need to reach for your phone, fiddle with Face ID, and tap notifications, which means having a device in your kitchen saves you a lot of vision and motor skills headaches, especially in time-sensitive situations like when someone knocks on your front door to deliver something.
More broadly, it's not unreasonable to assume that this yet-to-be-announced product will be as easy to use as any other Apple product. I've used the aforementioned Echo Show in the past, and, due to my love for Nest products, I've also used the Google Nest Hub. Both were just okay. It was nice to have native integration with Nest equipment instead of hacking it, but it still felt separate from my main device. I've chosen to use Apple products for a variety of reasons, and ecosystem and accessibility are one of them. The Google Home Hub is great for adjusting the thermostat and locking the front door, but it's not made by Apple. It's not HomeKit compatible. In other words, while I appreciate the native Nest integration and content recommendations on Google TV, I prefer the Apple TV for entertainment.
Paris also wrote that he was referring to a yet-to-be-released Apple TV model, repeating previous reports that Apple appears to be preparing upgraded hardware that could be released later this year. The company last released a new Apple TV in October 2022. The model I have connected to my living room TV right now is equipped with the A15 Bionic chip, and in my case, it has 128GB of storage and an Ethernet port.
I'll be very excited if the rumors turn out to be true and Apple actually shows off this new “HomePod with a screen” device — it'll be the missing and possibly long-overdue piece of my HomeKit puzzle, lending further credence to the idea that smart home technology is more meaningful than just convenient.