New leaks from the backend code hint at a potential smart home future for Apple, with the company allegedly working on a new HomePod speaker system, a new Apple TV, and a mysterious "Home Accessory" device.
The code, found by MacRumors, reveals a device identified as "HomeAccessory 17,1", a totally new identifier category in Apple's code. The identifier is similar to how the HomePod is called the "AudioAccessory" in the backend.
Earlier this week, another code leak revealed five new iPhone 16 devices (four iPhone 16s and a future iPhone SE 4). As we learned then, the numbers refer to the chipset that will feature in the device and what number in the lineup the device fills.
For example, the code "iPhone 17,1" refers to the forthcoming iPhone 16, which will feature the new A18 chipset.
From this new code, we can infer that whatever "HomeAccessory" device Apple is working on will also feature an A18 processor and run on a version of tvOS, which could be the rumored homeOS. The HomePod Mini and HomePod 2 already run on tvOS.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has reported on rumors claiming that Apple is working on a version of the HomePod with an "iPad-like" display. At the same time, another leak has shown the HomePod with a smaller LCD display built-in. Whether or not those leaks are connected to this mystery "HomeAccessory" remains to be seen.
Apparently, they also discovered two Apple TV models in the code. The models are referred to as AppleTV 14,4 and AppleTV 14,5. Apple hasn't released a new Apple TV device since 2022, and there were rumors that Apple would unveil a new box at WWDC this past June. That didn't come to be as Apple instead focused on Apple Intelligence.
However, Apple might reveal new Apple TV sets at the next Apple event this September when they unveil the iPhone 16 and a new Apple Watch Series 10.
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