Apple's plans for 2025 are already beginning to take shape, and purportedly on the horizon is a long-overdue refresh to its smart home lineup. The iPhone maker plans to introduce a new Apple TV and HomePod Mini that are "scheduled for next year," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
The initiative coincides with Apple's push to switch from Broadcom’s combined Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chips to its in-house solution, code-named Proxima. The latter is set to arrive "later next year." However, the exact timeline remains a big question mark for now. Whenever it comes, it should allow Apple's upcoming smart home devices to work better together.
"With a homegrown wireless chip in Apple’s smart home devices, the products will work more closely together and potentially synchronize data more quickly," Gurman said.
According to Bloomberg, Proxima's rollout will begin with updates to Apple’s home devices. Apple is expected to incorporate the technology in its upcoming iPhones later that same year, while Mac integration should follow sometime in 2026. Given Apple's usual September window for releasing new iPhones, it's a safe bet we'll see the revamped Apple TV and HomePod Mini in the year's first half. However, we have heard that Apple may have delayed a new HomePod launch until the third quarter of 2025.
Apple's HomePod line has struggled to succeed in recent years. Still, reports suggest the revamped models could take a page from competitors like the Amazon Echo Show 15 or Google Nest Hub, which are designed less as music-listening speakers and more as controllers for all your smart home devices. This transition's timing also aligns with Apple’s broader smart home strategy for 2025, which reportedly includes plans for an AI-powered home hub device with hardware capable of taking advantage of Apple Intelligence.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has teased several Apple smart home projects in the past few months, including a wall-mounted iPad-like display and a $1,000 version with a robotic arm.
According to Gurman, at least one of these devices is set to be announced in March 2025. A HomePod with a six to seven-inch OLED display could also be in the works. We'll have to wait until next year to see whether these could be enough to make our best smart home devices list.
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