Rumor: a future HomePod could have an iPad attached via a robotic arm

In addition to reporting that Apple plans to combine an Apple TV set-top box and an HomePod into at least one product, a Bloomberg report from Mark Gurman says that the tech giant is also considering a HomePod that could have an iPad attached via a robotic that tracks and follows users around a room.
Gurman writes: The Cupertino, California-based technology giant, is also mulling the launch of a high-end speaker with a touch screen to better compete with market leaders Google and Amazon.com Inc., the people said. Such a device would combine an ‌iPad‌ with a ‌HomePod‌ speaker and also include a camera for video chat. Apple has explored connecting the ‌iPad‌ to the speaker with a robotic arm that can move to follow a user around a room, similar to Amazon’s latest Echo Show gadget.
The Sellers Research Group (that’s me) thinks that there’s less than a 50% chance this will happen. Gurman is one of the most accurate leakers of Apple news, but such a product sound a little too kludgy for an Apple design. I think a high-end speaker that could track you would have gaze detection features instead — something for which Apple has filed various patents.
The accompanying image is courtesy of Cults 3D.
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