discountopinion

Personally I would prefer Apple to keep the HomePod's as-is but upgrade the classic HomePod with mini tech.

Having an iPad-like HomeKit console makes sense as today iPads tend to be used as consoles which seems like overkill for such a use case. It could be either a wall mount of a combo with HomePod.

Potentially the combo could pay homage to the old iMac G4 with the base being the HomePod and the screen being the touch screen HomeKit console. 

Perhaps one thing to consider would be to eliminate the distinct Apple TV device and include it everywhere in the silicon for HomePod, HomeKit console etc to stream video to TVs. 

I am hoping they will in parallel take the Apple TV device to become Apple Arcade as a dedicated console for big TV gaming.

It feels like the Apple One subscription sets the stage for a long haul commitment to Apple Music (HomePods universe), Apple TV content (Apple TV and friends) and Apple Arcade (Apple Arcade console) with high end discrete device options and lower end combined capabilities. 

Apple also has yet to really drive and commit to HomeKit in a big way which is a real shame.

Interesting theory but I have another one. The pandemic lockdowns have encouraged existing HomePod customers to buy more units and also encouraged more customers in the Apple eco-system to try their first one.

Exhibit (sample size 1 family):

I bought the original space grey HomePod as soon as it launched. Very happy. Later when the iOS upgrade allowing speaker sets and better movie experiences then I bought another. I bought two HomePod minis for the kids bedrooms. Later I broke up the original HomePod speaker set and moved one to another room and enjoyed music playing around the house. 

We have a legacy Bose wifi speaker that we aim to retire soon and replace with yet another HomePod and maybe add a few more to other rooms.

This is also the year I went from 0 to 25 Homekit devices and whole house mesh wifi. 

Year on year the Apple ecosystem just becomes better and better. My kids LOVE talking to Siri about many things and HomePods are a fantastic way for them to ask questions and request music. The speech recognition is now so good that it can even understand a multi-lingual three year old. The joy on her face when she gets her children's songs played is fantastic.

People say HomePod is one of Apple's duds.. I fully disagree.. it is one of their lowkey barnstorming success stories especially when combined with Apple One Family subscription. I will buy more HomePods for the family and for my extended family. If Apple upgrades, I upgrade. End of story.