Apple delays HomePad release, allows employees to test prototypes at home

Well-informed sources have been regularly reporting for a long time about Apple’s attempts to develop a hybrid tablet and smart speaker that would allow for smart home infrastructure management and FaceTime calls. The device will not be announced this month and has been postponed indefinitely.

Apple iPad. Image source: Apple

As Mark Gurman notes from Bloomberg, the delay in the appearance of new features in the Siri voice assistant, on which the release of the new device heavily depended, has effectively cancelled the possibility of the debut of the new product in March. The day before, Apple representatives admitted that the new Siri functions will be presented next year. It is not specified how much this will delay the debut of the device, provisionally called HomePad by the press.

Gurman explains that prototypes of the J490 are now participating in an internal testing program. Apple employees are allowed to take them home with selected employees to provide feedback on the testing process. The device is rumored to have a 7-inch display with a wide frame and a square aspect ratio. The homeOS operating system is supposed to turn this hybrid tablet and smart speaker into a control center for the smart home infrastructure. Since the implementation of Apple Intelligence largely determines the pace of development of the corresponding infrastructure, the timing of the debut of the J490 now depends on the success of the company’s programmers in this area.