Numerous technology news websites that cover Apple are reporting on another piece of information in the tvOS 17.4 beta 3, which reveals the existence of a new device with a screen capable of running the operating system.
According to code seen by 9to5Mac, the device can run tvOS. Both Apple TV and the HomePod run the operating system, but the current HomePod lacks a user interface. The new device, however, is powered by an A15 Bionic chip, which is the same that powers the iPad Mini 6.
“Code reveals that there are internal development and also production versions of this device under test, which suggests that it may have reached an advanced stage of development,” 9to5Mac reports.
Further, the tvOS 17.4 beta 3 adds SwiftUI frameworks to the HomePod firmware, and another tool used to debug unresponsive UI in iOS apps has also been added to the HomePod version of tvOS 17.4 This suggests that Apple is planning to release a new HomePod device that includes a fully functional display.
Per the Apple news website, Apple has been running the tvOS operating system on modified versions of the iPad Mini 6, with the company presumably doing so to explore how tvOS looks on an 8-inch display. This coincides with a recent report about a new HomePod model with a display of a similar size.

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“With tvOS 17.4 beta 3, we also found evidence that Apple has been using an unreleased Mac model (identified as Mac14,16) to run internal tests,” 9to5Mac website reports.
9to5Mac also reported in October 2023 that Apple is developing a new version f the HomePod with a smaller LCD screen on top to replace the HomePod 2. It’s unclear if the HomePod version with the larger iPad Mini-like screen will ever be released, but it’s seeming more likely every day as experts drill into Apple’s code.
This information comes after reports earlier this month that Apple is working on a revamped smart home platform, with references to “homeOS” found in the developer version of tvOS 17.4.
The mention to “homeOS” was first discovered by Apple technology news site MacRumors, and follows a similar 2021 story when Apple listed job postings that mentioned homeOS. That term was deleted from the posting when it was noticed by news outlets, and this year’s instance is the first we’ve heard of “homeOS” since then.
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