Although the second-generation HomePod has only just been released, Apple already seems to be looking to the future. The American company has been granted a patent showing a smart speaker with a very special design.
Smart speakers practically all have a similar design. Of course, some different elements can be discovered, but it all comes down to the same thing. Apple, according to its own patent, intriguingly wants to change that. Anyone interested is a bendable HomePod that can be slapped around a surface?
HomePod of the future?
Flexible Speakers, that’s the name Apple has given the patent. It’s about a variant of the HomePod that consumers can bend. As a result, you may soon find yourself slapping your smart speaker around a surface. Just like those fancy bands of yesteryear.
We’re letting our imaginations run wild, because Apple itself seems to say damn little about it in 10,000 words. For example, it does explain the usefulness of such a speaker, but doesn’t say where you can best use that HomePod.
A striking design (Image: USPTO)
Think laptops, smartphones or even wearables
“Speakers with flexible components can offer easy integration into a host of product categories,” the patent reads. “Think laptops, smartphones or even wearables.” In the latter case, provided everything is approached in the right way, such a speaker will be able to replace an Apple Watch band, for example.
Chance seems small
The solution seems obvious, a bendable HomePod sounds great. But let’s be honest that such a speaker is a mighty fantasy. Practice probably looks different.
The bendable speakers will be limited to the inside of a laptop or a smartphone. Then again, a person can dream. Having a HomePod slapped in the living room that you ram onto your wrist during a run just sounds intriguing. And I would be only too happy to try it.
