TV OS 17.4 beta reveals that Apple will soon launch a Homepod with a display

Apple has long been rumored to be working on a Homepod with a screen, as part of its broader push into smart homes. This launch came close when a reference to a previously unreleased product was discovered in the latest beta.

Apple website 9to5Mac made the discovery on Tuesday. The device codenamed “Z314” was mentioned in the third beta of TV OS 17.4 beta 3 as a device capable of running the operating system. Naturally, such a device has not been released before. Among Apple's current products, both Apple TV and HomePod run on TV OS, although the latter uses a custom version without a graphical interface.

Besides simply revealing the product's existence, the code indicates that it has reached an “advanced stage of development,” as 9to5Mac puts it. Appleinsider states that internal and production versions of the device have been built and tested. In comparison, the Homepod and Homepod mini had codenames B238 and B520 respectively before launch, while the iPad had codenames starting with J, K or P; There have been no codenames in the Z family before, suggesting that this could be an entirely new class of devices.

9to5Mac also reveals that the Z314 has an A15 Bionic chip, which is compatible with the sixth-generation iPad mini and has also been used in several iPhones. It's more powerful than a standard Homepod (i.e., without a screen) would be expected to show; 2023 HomePod uses the S7 Apple Watch processor.

Last year, respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted the launch of a Homepod device with a screen First half of 2024.

Translated by Peter Ahrnstedt