Hidden tvOS touchscreen interface adds more evidence of a HomePod with a display

There have been quite a few rumors over the past year suggesting that Apple is working on a HomePod with a display. Apple’s answer to the Nest Hub or Echo Show, such a device would be able to show you views from HomeKit-compatible cameras or doorbells, visually display calendar or weather information, carry on FaceTime conversations, and more.

The sleuths at 9to5Mac have found what may be the best evidence yet that such a device is on the way. Hidden within the tvOS 18 developer beta 3 is an interface obviously made for touchscreens–something you wouldn’t normally find in an operating system made for Apple TV.

This system shell, called “PlasterBoard,” is suspected to be the working interface for a HomePod with a display. HomePods currently run an operating system based on tvOS, so it makes sense to find this interface there.

PlasterBoard, at least in the tvOS beta 3, doesn’t have much more to it than a lock screen interface with a numeric keypad similar to what you would find on an iPhone or iPad. But internal development would be much further along–that any of this is tucked away in a beta that got out to the public (even in a developer beta) likely means there is significant work happening behind the scenes.

We would guess that such a device would ship in 2025, but if the software effort is further along than we suspect, it could potentially make it a surprise this fall.

In order to take advantage of Apple Intelligence, a new HomePod would be required—display or no display—as the processor inside HomePods today is not capable of running the requisite AI models. In order to run Apple Intelligence, this new device would need to have at least an M1 or A17 Pro processor with 8GB of RAM.