Are you excited about the potential of an Apple HomePod with a display? Smart speakers have come a long way, but even the best ones still have their limitations. Voice assistants are helpful, but sometimes a screen just makes things easier – whether it’s checking the weather, following a recipe, or managing your smart home with a quick tap. That’s why tech brands have started adding displays to their smart speakers, transforming them into versatile hubs for both voice and touch control. Amazon’s Echo Show lineup leads the pack, while Google and other brands have followed suit.
Now, it looks like Apple is finally ready to join the party. Rumours have been swirling for a while about a HomePod with a built-in display, hinting at a device that could take Siri and the Apple smart home ecosystem to the next level. While nothing is official yet, leaks and speculation are painting a picture of what this next-generation HomePod could bring.
Here’s everything we expect from Apple’s upcoming smart speaker with a screen.
Apple HomePod with display quick list
- Expected release date: Second half of 2025
- Expected price: Between $199/£199 and $399/£399
- Expected features: 6 or 7in display, speaker, Siri, new homeOS, HomeKit control
Apple HomePod with display potential release date and price
For a while now, beta versions of Apple’s iOS software for the iPhone have referenced ‘homeOS’ – the latest being iOS 17.4. Now, of course, there is no such thing as ‘homeOS’ currently, so this suggests a new version of software for Apple’s home devices. That means Apple has been working on this project for a while now, but when can we expect to get our hands on it?
Top Apple analyst Mark Gurman reckons not until this year (2025). In his newsletter for Bloomberg, Gurman noted that he thought 2025 would be the earliest date to see a new HomePod with a display.
Now that we’re in 2025, we’d put our money on the HomePod with Display arriving in the second half of the year.
As for how much the new HomePod might cost, don’t expect it to come cheap. The more recent HomePod 2 retails for $299/£299, while the smaller Mini goes for $99/£99. We’d expect the display version to land somewhere in between – with a smaller speaker but the added display. Somewhere around the $199/£199 is likely. Or, Apple could go for a big speaker and slap the screen on, resulting in a $399/£399 price.
Expected features on Apple’s new smart speaker
Things are a little unclear on what exactly this new HomePod with a display will look like. We’ve heard different things from a bunch of different analysts. The one thing everything can agree on is that it will have a display.
In March 2023, Ming-Chi Kuo reported that the new HomePod would likely be an iPad with better speakers – something like the new Pixel Tablet with its hub. It would have a 7-inch display and a dock that contained speakers. The primary function would be to control smart home devices in your house; anything that uses HomeKit.
But since then, Gurman has reported something more akin to the Echo Show line-up. It would be a smaller display that’s permanently attached to speakers. And in addition to smart home control, it would let you watch media and make FaceTime calls from the same device. That means it would have to have a camera on board alongside the speaker tech.
More recent rumours seem to suggest that we’ll see some version of this. Top Apple analyst Mark Gurman says that the smart display will feature a square screen that’s based on a small circular base. This would house the speakers too, so we might see some big sound capabilities. Apparently, you can expect it to look something like the old iMac G4, although it’s currently unclear if you’ll be able to reposition the screen. Personally, I really like this design idea, and I have an old iMac G4 in my collection.
Or there’s another option altogether: a HomePod Mini with a display on top instead of controls. Twitter leaker Kosutami posted that there was a prototype HomePod with the glass on top acting as the touchscreen. They shared photos, which 9to5Mac verified were real. So we know for certain that Apple is at least considering this option.
The most recent rumours suggest we’ll be getting a HomePod with a 6-to-7-inch display and an A18 chip. It’ll be based on Siri, Apple Intelligence, and HomeKit.
It’s expected the hub could double as a home security system by displaying camera footage as well, so it’ll act as a Home Hub.
What would such a device be called? We could be looking at a HomePod Max, HomePod 3, and even Apple Home Hub has been rumoured.
