It is practically an evidence that in recent years, the only segment of devices that resists Apple is that of smart speakers that are used to give voice commands to the assistant. Google has had its Home and Nest models for years, which it sells like churros , and Amazon has the Echo , which, with or without a screen, have managed to carve out a significant niche for themselves in our own homes.
Apple does not hit the key
This being the case, those of Tim Cook are still wondering why there is no way to sell the HomePods, despite the Mini alternative or the old ability to reproduce audio with a certain level of quality that make them a good way to listen to music. . But the truth is that today, this range of devices is completely marginal within the catalog that those from Cupertino have.
But that could be about to end if the rumors around the company come true, since they talk about the development of a curious accessory that we can use with our iPad . In this way, they could end up resembling one of those Echo Shows that Amazon sells and that have a screen to offer us extra content and explanations for everything we ask of them.
The fact is that, as the famous leaker Mark Gurman has revealed, Apple is working on an accessory that would work as a support base for its latest iPads, in such a way that we could use them as if it were a home screen, not just for view content or handle it more easily, but as a new way to relate to Siri and all the things we ask her for on a daily basis.
It looks like an Echo Show, or an old iMac?
As can be seen from the concept images that have appeared, the Apple accessory would turn the iPad into a kind of virtual assistant with a screen in the style of the Amazon Echo Show that, as in the case of the model with a 10 inches, it has a support that orients it towards the user, making it more manageable and easy to use.
This arrangement of the iPad, which would stick to the base through a powerful system of magnets, would make it easier for the user to orient the screen in various directions and bring tasks such as making video calls with Facetime or, for example, having a resource nearby. time to cook that allows us to project on the screen the recipes and the ingredients that we must use. What’s more, the lower part of the system would keep a speaker through which we could better listen to the assistant and even enjoy playing music or multimedia content with a certain degree of quality.
According to the aforementioned leaker , “I reported last year that Apple is exploring a standalone device that combines an iPad with a speaker-equipped accessory . The idea is to offer something that users can place on the kitchen table, in the living room or on the nightstand. But Apple has also worked on an iPad docking accessory that could be sold separately and would accomplish much the same thing.”
We will see what is the result of this strategy of going a step beyond the lukewarm HomePod.
