- A new Apple smart display and tablet are rumored
- Previous predictions have also pointed towards 2025
- Both devices could launch late in the year
We've already heard several rumors pointing towards a 2025 launch for an M5-powered iPad Pro and an Apple smart home display – potentially mashing together an iPad and a HomePod – and now a leading Apple analyst has added to the prediction pile.
According to Ming-chi Kuo, who is more reliable than most when it comes to supply chain information and Apple product launches, the launch of the smart home display has been pushed back to the second half of 2025 – a little later than previous predictions.
The latest delay to the "display-equipped HomePod" is down to software development, Kuo says. It's apparently going to arrive with an Apple A18 processor (as seen in the iPhone 16), a 6-7 inch display, and (of course) support for Apple Intelligence.
It represents a "strategic repositioning" of the HomePod line-up, in Kuo's words, and will be joined by an Apple smart home security camera in 2026 – something that the analyst has already gone on record as saying is on the way.
And another iPad Pro
Kuo predicts that Apple is going to rebrand the HomePod as a smart home device in the same way the Apple Watch was rebranded from a fashion accessory to a fitness tracker – a switch that has been very successful for Apple.
In a separate post, Ming-chi Kuo has also said he expects the next iPad Pro – complete with an as-yet-unannounced M5 chipset – to enter mass production in the second half of 2025, which would mean a launch before the end of next year.
It's a prediction that's in line with other Apple tipsters, so it seems a good bet that we'll get an iPad Pro refresh next year. As our iPad Pro 13-inch (2024) review will tell you, the M4-powered 2024 version is a very capable tablet, and the upgrade will be even better.
Add in the iPhone 17, iPhone SE 4, Apple Watch 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, and whatever else Apple has been working on, and it's fair to say the next 12 months are going to be huge in terms of new Apple products – and with a smart display, one new product category.
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