There have been a number of rumours surrounding Apple pushing harder into the smart home space in recent times. Earlier last year, Bloomberg reported that the bitten fruit brand may have plans for a tablet product that’s not an iPad and leans further into the smart home direction. Now, MacRumors claims to have seen code referencing something known as a HomeAccessory17,1.
The report notes that this accessory in question “will be running a software variant of tvOS, much like the HomePod”. Previously, the outlet also noted that Apple was working on what was then known as homeOS, presumably something specifically for HomePods to run, rather than relying on modified versions of existing OS types.
Also noted in the report is that the 17,1 identifier points to this Apple accessory running an A18 chip. This means that the accessory in question will have what it takes to run Apple Intelligence-related tasks. Incidentally, reports also point to the entire iPhone 16 lineup this year being equipped with said chip, rather than only the Pro models benefiting from the latest chips the way recent releases have.
Ultimately, it’s unclear what exactly this Apple accessory will end up being. 9to5Mac believes that it’s a HomePod with a screen attached. So far it seems unlike the smart display that’s not an iPad mentioned earlier, but Mark Gurman of Bloomberg did mention new possible iterations of home accessories that the brand is exploring.
