Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman has revealed that Apple once internally discussed and prototyped a battery-powered HomePod-like smart speaker.
The latest edition of Gurman’s Power On newsletter was released over the weekend and as usual, included revelations of previously unknown Apple knowledge. Gurman said that while Apple prototyped a battery-powered smart speaker years ago, he would be surprised if one ever launches under the Apple brand.
Currently, the HomePod mini is the only smart speaker sold by Apple, and it must always be connected to a power source for proper operation.
Gurman covered multiple topics in his current newsletter, discussing Apple’s much-rumored AR/VR headset. Gurman says it will have performance equalling that of the M1 Pro chip in the new MacBook Pro and could be priced above $2,000 when it debuts.
Gurman also says that Hyundai’s luxury brand Genesis is planning to support Apple’s digital car key feature, which lets users lock, unlock, and start their vehicles using a pass stored in the Wallet app on the iPhone or Apple Watch.
