When will we see a HomePod with a screen and FaceTime?

(Image credit: Apple)

last updated 2 October 2021

Apple’s launch event last month gave us some great products, including the iPhone 13 and the sixth generation iPad mini. But it also left use wanting more. There was no sign of the much-anticipated AirPods 3 or the redesigned high-end MacBook Pros.

There is now rumor of a second event this month and with any luck, it will include these two products and more. The one thing we’re not hearing about though is the HomePod. When the original HomePod was discontinued in March of this year, I was sure a replacement was right around the corner, but still nothing. Not even a leaked drawing.

For a company so focused on audio, it seems crazy that we’ve not seen the HomePod mini last October. Maybe now is the time.

Apple iMac G4 — HomePod with screen. Imagine this, but better

I have lots of things I’d like to see with the new HomePod. Hi-Res lossless audio is a must for any high-end HomePod, along with Dolby Atmos support and Spatial Audio with connected headphones. The thing I really want to see though is a HomePod with a screen. I’m imagining an iPad Air stuck on the top of a HomePod, like the old G4 iMac, only better.

A HomePod with a screen would not only allow better control of your music and smart home devices but it would also provide a way to deliver FaceTime – if there’s a camera in there too.

The Center Stage technology for tracking you around the room is ideal for a smart home device. And it could provide a full range of options for those that prefer to use Zoom, Skype, Whatsapp or Messenger.

While we’re wishing for things, I’d really love to see a wireless Apple camera that could link to an Apple TV to provide FaceTime from your TV. This could be even better than a screened HomePod for family chats. For now though, I’d settle for a new HomePod, or two. But Apple needs to do it quick before I fill my home with Sonos speakers and can’t go back.

As T3's Editor-in-Chief, Mat Gallagher has his finger on the pulse for the latest advances in technology. He has written about technology since 2003 and after stints in Beijing, Hong Kong and Chicago is now based in the UK. He’s a true lover of gadgets, but especially anything that involves cameras, Apple, electric cars, musical instruments or travel.