Apple is apparently working on a HomePod with a FaceTime camera, running tvOS

Today we get an intriguing new rumor from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has an outstanding track record on everything Apple-related. According to Gurman, the company may be developing a strange Frankenstein device. It would run a TV OS on a speaker and have a camera built in.

When you take a moment to think about this, everything starts to make sense. It would be a brand new HomePod equipped with FaceTime and running tVOS. Of course! You can connect it to your TV as a streaming/TV box. The camera will allow you to make video calls from the big screen via its camera. It will be an excellent speaker that can fill any living space. It makes sense if you really think about it.

Gurman says this “combination product” would be “at the center of Apple’s approach” to the living room, with HomePod minis “surrounding that throughout the home”. A new HomePod mini, which is not directly related to last year’s discontinued HomePod, might soon be available. However, it will likely be replaced by the hybrid.

It’s unclear what launch window Apple is targeting with this product, but we’ll let you know when we find out more.

Via