Siri slip-up may have leaked Apple's plans for a HomePod 2 with a screen
Could a new HomePod with a display be in the works?
Someone at Apple might need to have a word with Siri, as it appears the voice assistant may have accidentally leaked details about an upcoming HomePod 2 design.
Despite Apple discontinuing the original HomePod last year, and shifting focus to the HomePod Mini, a number of leaks and rumors have suggested that a HomePod 2 could be coming soon, with some new features.
One of these upgrades is believed to be a screen, which would result in a device along the lines of the Amazon Echo Show 10 and the Google Nest Hub 2.
Now, Siri seems to have confirmed this, with several users reporting that the voice assistant told them that information they requested was “displayed on [their] HomePod” (via What HiFi).
Given that the current HomePod models lack any kind of display, unless this is some kind of malfunction on Siri's part it suggests that we could soon see a HomePod 2 with a screen.
However, we should still take this news with a pinch of salt. Despite multiple users claiming to have heard Siri utter this response – one even shared a video – there are couple of reasons why this could have happened other than it being an accidental leak.
For starters, it may have just been a simple bug. Rather than saying the name of a gadget with a screen, like the iPhone or iPad, Siri could have said "HomePod" due to a glitch caused by a recent iOS update.
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Alternatively, as we don’t know what command the users issued before Siri gave this response, this could be some kind of hoax. You can make Siri say all manner of phrases by creating custom commands, and it's possible that that's what's happened here.
As with all leaks and rumors, we’ll have to wait for Apple to officially unveil its HomePod 2 plans – if it even has any – before we know for certain what kind of smart speaker we can expect from it next.
We've reached out to Apple for comment on this apparent Siri leak; the company is famously non-committal when it comes to rumors and leaks, but if we do hear anything we’ll be sure to update this piece.
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Hamish is a Senior Staff Writer for TechRadar and you’ll see his name appearing on articles across nearly every topic on the site from smart home deals to speaker reviews to graphics card news and everything in between. He uses his broad range of knowledge to help explain the latest gadgets and if they’re a must-buy or a fad fueled by hype. Though his specialty is writing about everything going on in the world of virtual reality and augmented reality.