According to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, Apple is developing a new external monitor for Macs that can double as a smart home display while not in use.
Gurman claims that Apple is creating a number of new monitor options, some of which are probably going to be replacements for its Studio Display and Pro Display XDR, and one of which might have smart standby features powered by an onboard iOS chip. Gurman makes these claims in the subscriber version of his most recent Power On newsletter.
It wouldn’t be the first time Apple silicon had been utilized in an external display, if Gurman’s assertion is true. The dedicated A13 chip that Apple already has in its 27-inch Studio Display only manages speaker and camera features like Center Stage and spatial audio while the display is in operation.
An evolutionary step beyond that might involve expanding the new Standby feature in iOS 17, which transforms a charging iPhone in horizontal mode into a home hub with full-screen widgets, to power independent smart functions when a monitor is idle. The smart monitor won’t likely be released until 2024 “at the earliest,” according to Gurman.
