With Audio Focus, Apple Side-Steps Smart Speaker Competition

Although the smart speaker market is dominated by Amazon and Google, Apple appears to have set its sights on other players in the speaker market. As a regular music speaker though, it is pretty well equipped with an in-built subwoofer for deep, clean bass tones and an array of seven beam-forming tweeter speakers that aim to offer clarity for mid and high tones as well as directional audio. HomePod, Apple Music and Siri deliver the best music experience in the home that streams ad-free directly to HomePod.

Apple is giving the Google Home and Amazon Echo a run for their money with the introduction of the HomePod.

"The fact that Apple is claiming to marry really great and smart audio with a smart assistant and cloud music service makes this device unique in the market". It also automatically adjusts its sound output to match the characteristics of the room in which it's used, a feature shared by the HomePod. For Siri usage the HomePod uses six powerful microphones with echo cancellation features so it can easily hear when a user says "Hey Siri" to awaken the speaker.

HomePod is the new wireless speaker from Apple. HomePod will act as a HomeKit base, allowing users to control their homes from anywhere in the world, something now offered on select Apple TV and iPad models. But the fact that this is an Apple gadget is undoubtedly a big deal, as is the tie-in with existing Apple devices such as the iPhone and iPad.

"You can not connect multiple Alexa devices to each other and play the same requested audio at the same time", the retail colossus states on its website. It may be not be the most impressive speaker in the Sonos line-up (and many people including folks here think it is their worst and worse than the Play:1), but for a relatively small device, it delivers impressive sound quality and volume.

Nonetheless, regardless of the particular qualities of this system, one thorny issue undoubtedly remains.

Apple's products tend to follow a specific routine when it comes to naming.

The HomePod will be the latest device to help strengthen the Apple ecosystem, getting to the second key takeaway of Apple's surging services business. Conversely, many consumers will completely ignore this and purchase the system anyway.

An early glimpse at updates to iPhone and Mac software has become a tradition at Apple's annual conference for app developers, which begins Monday in San Jose, California. And prospective buyers will have to be content with the white and Space Grey colour options once the HomePod is released in December. Now that Apple has made its announcement, however, Microsoft may change its price structure depending on how it views the HomePod in relation to its own premium audio offering.