Gurman: Apple Considered a Battery-Powered 'HomePod' Years Ago

Earlier this month, Apple discontinued the Beats Pill+, its last battery-powered speaker. Following this news, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has revealed that Apple once internally discussed and prototyped a battery-powered smart speaker.

homepod mini power cable
In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, 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. For now, the HomePod mini is the only smart speaker that Apple sells, and it must be connected to a power source to operate at all times.

Gurman addressed a few other topics in his newsletter this week, including Apple's long-rumored AR/VR headset, which he again said will have performance on par with the M1 Pro chip in the new MacBook Pro and could be priced above $2,000 when released.

Gurman also backed a MacRumors report claiming 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. The feature has been limited to select BMW models since launching in 2020, but Gurman said Genesis plans to roll out support for the feature by the summer.

Related Roundup: HomePod mini
Buyer's Guide: HomePod Mini (Caution)

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Top Rated Comments

Juanchi007 Avatar
43 months ago
The plan: a battery-powered HomePod Mini 2 that sits atop a flush MagSafe station. With a rubber bottom to make sure the MagSafe puck doesn’t move around, it would be perfect.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
43 months ago
In the future, Apple should consider/offer wireless charging for the HomePod. Maybe MagSafe for the HomePod?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ouimetnick Avatar
43 months ago
Interesting that Apple wouldn’t want to offer something that competes with the Sonos Move. That’s a decent sounding speaker that works over WiFi (and Bluetooth when away from home) that also offers a smart assistant.

I’m sure if they had a competitor to that at a similar price point, Apple fanboys (myself included) would buy it.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mnsportsgeek Avatar
43 months ago
I’d buy a portable, weatherproof HomePod mini.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
43 months ago

really, Apple prototyped ... years ago???
Are you running out of news Gurman? Come on ...
Its a slow time in between the 2021 fall announcements and 2022 spring announcements. Expect even more Apple history tidbits. Even Universal Control is now pegged for Spring. ;)
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Runequester Avatar
43 months ago
I think Id prefer the cable but itd be nice to have both options
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)