Both the HomePod mini and the next-gen Apple TV have detection and monitoring capabilities that allow the devices to detect your in-home location.
Rumors suggest that the anticipated next-gen Apple TV and HomePod mini have tracking features that could monitor your in-home location. This means the devices can determine which part of the house you are in at a particular moment. The function is made possible through its Ultra WideBand (UWB) capabilities.
John Prosser, a known leaker with sketchy track-record, suggests with these capabilities, the next-gen Apple TV and HomePod mini can function as UWB base-stations from where it can precisely monitor your location, as long as you take along with you an iOS device with the U1 chip, while you roam inside the house. Your UWB base-stations are also useful for controlling media, brightness and volume, and door locks.
Aside from tracking your in-home location, your HomePod mini and next-gen Apple TV base-stations can also transform ordinary hardware into HomeKit hardware. This means you can transform iOS devices like Apple Watches and iPhones into powerful HomeKit devices, primarily due to their locations being known.
For instance, you can activate locks and lights by HomeKit scenes in a far more precise manner. This is made possible through the presence detection capability of the HomePod mini and next-gen Apple TV base-stations, which can track your in-home location if you are carrying an iOS device with a U1 chip. Prosser also said the devices could function as a type of security system.
"may use" more like "will use"
'HomePod mini' and Next Apple TV May Use Ultra Wideband to Track Your Location Around the Home https://t.co/mHlJzWrihS — iTouchAppReviewers ➐ (@iTouchAppReview) October 12, 2020
More than just tracking your in-home location, the HomePod mini and next-gen Apple TV working as UWB base-stations, is also useful whenever you are far away from home. When used in combination with the Find My app, it can alert you if someone moved any of your home devices within the house or removed any of them from their location.
Finally, Prosser also indicates that the HomePod mini and next-gen Apple TV functioning as UWB base-stations, aside from tracking your in-home location, can also improve Augmented Reality (AR) functionality. HomePod mini and the next-gen Apple TV base stations are clever Trojan horses from Apple that activate AR capabilities in the Find My app within your home. He suggests that having such a feature is next-level stuff that you would love to have in your home.
Aside from leaking to the public that the HomePod mini and next-gen Apple TV when working as UWB base-stations can track your in-home location, Prosser has also leaked some information on iOS devices, though these were limited to what products are set for launch and on which date. The leaker was correct on some product details in the past as the new iMac not getting any redesign or the name of the new iPhone SE. He also had several failed forecasts which include the supposed launch of AirTags on September 15, the renaming of iOS to iPhone OS, and the new Apple Watch and new iPad's announcement ahead of Apple's September event.
