Apple is in the early stages of building a new Apple TV device with a built-in camera and speaker, according to Bloomberg.
The new Apple TV was launched in 2016 and has long been updated as it competes with TV products from Amazon, Google and Roku that have gained market share by routinely adding new features.
A camera could enable services like FaceTime calls, which are already available on Macs, iPhones, and iPads, and allow people to video chat through their TVs. This would provide some features on the same level as Amazon Fire TV Cube, which supports webcams for video chats, but does not have its own camera, or the Facebook Portal TV, which has a built-in camera. The speaker might help it work as a HomePod-like device for playing music and talking to Siri.
Bloomberg warned that Apple could still decide to undo the project.
Meanwhile, Apple is expected to announce a new Apple TV with improved remote control and a faster processor sometime in 2021, Bloomberg said in September.
Read more on Bloomberg.