It would have been easy for Apple to look to the Amazon Echo or Google Home for design cues for HomePod. The centerpiece unveiling at Monday's WWDC keynote presentation, the Home Pod is a predictably good looking and well designed device, and Apple CEO Tim Cook says, for one thing, the sound quality for music is going to blow everyone away.
HomePod doesn't have a display, but when you say "Hey Siri" to invoke Apple's assistant, the top of the device lights up.
Activated by voice with Apple's natural language user interface Siri, it will have access to Apple Music, a music-streaming service.
The HomePod, a wireless speaker for the home that allows users to ask Apple's voice assistant Siri to play music and ask questions, will retail for US$349 when it is released in December in the United Kingdom, the USA and Australia.
Onstage, Apple's worldwide head of marketing, Phil Schiller, described how the speaker analyzes the song it's playing and adjusts its output. Available in both white and space grey, similar to the Sonos Play:3 which is available in black and white, Apple's new wireless home speaker is nearly entirely covered in a "seamless 3D mesh fabric", just leaving enough space at the top for a touch-sensitive display used to control the speaker and show a Siri waveform when the personal assistant is hard at work.
The company unveiled a speaker called "HomePod" on Monday at its annual developers conference.
Apple says its history of "reinventing portable music" through iTunes and the iPod means it is in a strong position to challenge its rivals. Apple said that makes the Mac a great platform for developing virtual-reality "experiences", although the company didn't announce any consumer VR products. That would help combat the competitive threat from Google's and Amazon's connected speakers: the Home and Echo mostly don't support services from Apple.
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Addressing the problem, she said , will require "difficult, and often embarrassing, conversations". Armed cops brought all three down eight minutes after emergency services were first called.
The device will differ from Amazon.com Inc.'s Echo and Alphabet Inc.'s Google Home speakers by offering virtual surround sound technology and deep integration with Apple's product lineup, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss products that aren't yet public.
Apple also showed off new features for its iOS mobile software and lots of other fun stuff. Daryanani said Apple may also announce an iPad Pro with a faster processor in an attempt to revive its long-slumping tablet sales.
Dubbed High Sierra, Apple's senior vice president of software, Craig Federighi, joked that when he raised the point that the name "might be miscontrued" the team assured him it was "fully baked".
The iMac Pro was to begin shipping in December with a starting price of $4,999. For price, Sonos wins as the cheapest option however, the Apple HomePod offers much more than just a way to play audio. It's also been created to become the centerpiece of an Apple HomeKit connected home.
In addition, Cook said Apple, headquartered in Cupertino, Northern California, now has 16 million registered software developers worldwide for its consumer electronics, including smartphone known as iPhone, and 3 million of them were added previous year.
To that end, Apple is splitting out the games and apps categories, and providing in-house features on the essential downloads for your iPhone or iPad.
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