Apple is just a few weeks away from entering the smart speaker market with its HomePod, but there are those who think about its future even before that launch.
Nikkei has bet in its latest report that the next HomePod will carry Face ID, thus recognizing the people who are using it.
It is not the first time that the second-generation HomePod is already talked about: there are even patents that talk about characteristics such as the self-regulation of sound each time you move the loudspeaker.
It seems that HomePod is going to be something that is going to be talked about in advance of its characteristics.
What would Face ID do for a HomePod?
The HomePod will be lined with sensors and will feature Siri, but it has no methods to authenticate its users beyond the assistant’s voice recognition. There is no Touch ID, so why would we need something like Face ID? Why would Apple want to recognize us through its loudspeaker?
A possible answer is given in 9to5Mac: to differentiate the user rather than recognize it. Each person who lives in that same box could have a different profile and configuration, and the HomePod could change profile automatically as soon as it can recognize our face.
It would be, of course, something intelligent, although we should remember that we are talking about a characteristic that is the result of an analysis and not of leaks.
Let’s focus for the moment on the launch of the first-generation HomePod, which should be next month if there are no unforeseen events.
