homepod
Latest
Apple adds a Siri-powered news briefing to the latest iOS beta
Apple's delayed HomePod is coming to challenge smart speakers from Amazon and Google. The device will use Siri as its intelligent assistant front end, and is supposed to sound pretty good to boot. Now, according to a report at 9to5Mac and confirmed on our own iPhones, Siri includes a new ability to play you a podcast when asked what the news is.
Apple's HomePod has been in and out of development since 2012
Have you wondered why it took Apple 3 years to come up with an answer to the Amazon Echo in the form of the HomePod? Apparently, it's because it wasn't really meant as an answer to the Echo. Bloomberg sources claim that work on the HomePod started in 2012 as a side project (common at Apple), and it was reportedly cancelled and resurrected "several times" as the company tried to figure out how a connected speaker would work in its lineup. It reportedly went through multiple dramatic redesigns, including a 3-foot-tall design chock-full of speakers.
Apple delays HomePod smart speaker until early 2018
We hope you weren't counting on giving (or getting) a HomePod for the holidays -- Apple has delayed the release of the Siri-powered speaker from December to early 2018. In a statement, the company said it needed a "little more time" before the device was ready for its initial release in Australia, the UK and the US. It's not yet clear how this will affect releases in other countries (we've asked the company if it can elaborate), but we wouldn't be surprised if it pushed back their releases slightly as well. They were already being asked to wait until early 2018.
Smart speakers are working their way into every home
Apple, Google and Amazon have all announced smart speakers that are more like gadgets than audio gear. Of course, whenever a tech company attempts to build audio gear, the specter of the iPod HiFi looms large. Apple's ill-fated attempt to build the perfect speaker was considered a flop thanks to its high price and limited functionality. It was a glorified iPod dock that set you back $349 and couldn't even connect to the internet or FM radio. A decade later, smart speakers look ready to take over the world. And what happens next is going to be very interesting.
Google is reportedly prepping a high-end Home 'Max'
Google Home users looking for a higher-end audio experience may just have their wish. According to a report at 9to5Google, the tech company is currently creating a new version of its smart speaker with stereo sound. It's also presumably larger and will come with a premium price. It's not hard to think of this as Google's response to Apple's HomePod and quality speakers like those from Sonos.
Apple will unveil the next iPhone on September 12th at its new campus
To the surprise of almost no one, Apple has announced it'll be holding its annual iPhone event on Tuesday, September 12th. It'll be the first event hosted at Apple's new "spaceship" campus in Cupertino, California. Sure, Apple didn't say exactly what to expect, but given that the company has introduced a new iPhone around this timeframe for the last six years, it's a pretty safe bet we'll be seeing new mobile phones. That includes the "iPhone 8," a device that's expected to be radically different from its predecessors. Improvements rumored include an edge-to-edge OLED screen, face detection, wireless charging, a virtual home button and an updated dual-camera system.
Your face might do more than just unlock the new iPhone
Apple's latest secret leak was from its own documentation -- and it's given plenty for developers to chew over. The latest code snippets shared by Guilherme Rambo and Steve Troughton-Smith offer all kinds of tantalising details that may (almost certainly) come with that new iPhone -- whichever model that may be. Not only are there further suggestions that the physical Home button will be ditched, but according to Troughton-Smith, some pointers inside the firmware for Apple's incoming HomePod suggest that a new iPhone could have a screen with a resolution far beyond that found existing models, as well as mentions of facial expression detection.
Firmware suggests the next iPhone will use infrared face unlock
Ever since our close look at an alleged render of the next iPhone back in May, there have been rumors of 3D face scanning plus a large screen-to-body ratio flying about. Today, we finally bring you some solid evidence about these features, courtesy of -- surprise, surprise -- Apple itself. After digging up new details about the Apple HomePod in its leaked firmware, iOS developer Steve Troughton-Smith came across some code that confirm the use of infrared face unlock in BiometricKit for the next iPhone. More interestingly, in the same firmware, fellow developer Guilherme Rambo found an icon that suggests a near-bezel-less design -- one that matches rumored schematics going as far back as late May. For those in doubt, Troughton-Smith assured us that this icon is "specific to D22, the iPhone that has Pearl (Face ID)."
Apple's HomePod firmware spills more details on the smart speaker
Apple unveiled its Siri-powered HomePod speaker hub at WWDC back in June, and despite a hefty $350 pricetag and the inevitable comparisons to Alexa devices, it actually sounds pretty good. In the lead up to its release this December, Apple pushed out the hub's firmware, revealing that it runs on iOS -- basically like a screenless iPhone or iPad. But in its current incarnation, the HomePod won't support third-party apps and programs, according to developer Steve Troughton-Smith's analysis.
Amazon's next Echo will be more like Apple's HomePod
It's been over two years since Amazon debuted the Echo, which kickstarted the current wave of voice-controlled, virtual assistant-powered speakers. And while the company has added more devices to the Echo family, with the tiny Dot, portable Tap and screen-toting Show, it hasn't touched the original model (aside from a white coat of paint for the UK). That's going to change later this year. Amazon is working on a new Echo that will improve on the first speaker in practically every way, a source tells Engadget. And, not surprisingly, it's aiming to take some of the hype away from Apple's HomePod.
Alexa is learning more new skills every day
Just two months after Amazon announced it was "doubling down" on its Echo ecosystem, the company has confirmed that its Alexa voice platform has passed 15,000 skills. Impressive, especially in comparison to Google Assistant's 378 voice apps and Cortana's meager 65 -- but what's more impressive is the rate at which Alexa is gaining these skills. Alexa reached 15,000 skills in June -- during this month alone new skill introductions increased by 23 percent. The milestone also represents a 50-percent increase in skills since February, when Amazon officially announced it had hit 10,000 -- and even that figure was triple what it was the previous September.
Ask Alexa to play your favorite SiriusXM station
Alexa just got another new skill. Starting today, SiriusXM subscribers will be able to play any of the radio's available channels through their Alexa devices, depending on the package they're subscribed to. Howard Stern announced the news this morning on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show.
Apple doesn’t need your personal information to succeed
In 2014, Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote an important letter about how the company makes money. He wrote, "A few years ago, users of internet services began to realize that when an online service is free, you're not the customer. You're the product." If you missed it, that's a dig at Google, which makes most of its money selling ads complete with incredibly rich data about its users. At its WWDC keynote this week, Apple continued to remind its customers (and Google) that it doesn't need your data to make money.
Don't compare Apple's HomePod to Amazon's Echo
When Apple unveiled the HomePod at WWDC, it was tempting to draw immediate comparisons to the Amazon Echo and Google Home. And I wouldn't blame you if you did. They're all smart speakers, of course, and there's a good chance that you might cross-shop them in the right circumstances. However, it's increasingly clear that a one-for-one comparison doesn't hold up. If anything, Apple is consciously avoiding direct competition with Echo-like speakers -- it's playing up its strong point, audio quality, while downplaying the importance of its AI assistant. This strategy certainly has its risks, but it may also help the HomePod stand out where it would otherwise drown in a sea of rivals.
Watch Apple's WWDC 2017 keynote in 15 minutes
What's that? You weren't able to sit through nearly three hours of Apple news earlier today as the company kicked off this year's Worldwide Developers Conference? No worries. We've condensed all the watchOS, macOS, iOS, MacBook, iMac and iPad news into a convenient 15-minute clip. And yes, we made room for that newfangled Siri speaker, the HomePod. Sit back, relax and catch up on what you missed without sacrificing a couple hours to the task. Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!
Surprise! The HomePod actually sounds incredible
"Hey Siri, what's the weather like?" That was the first of many questions I asked the HomePod Apple installed in the corner of its WWDC demo area, and the answer was the same each time: silence. Sure, the hazy light on top of the speaker ebbed and flowed -- that doesn't mean it understood anything I was saying. Spokespeople quickly clarified that this was a nonfunctional demo unit, but I did eventually hear one next to a Sonos PLAY:3 and an original Amazon Echo. Musically, it blew them both out of the water.
Apple unveils HomePod, its Siri smart speaker
Just as we expected, Apple unveiled its Siri speaker, HomePod, today during its WWDC keynote. It's yet another category where Apple is a bit late to the party: Amazon's Echo and Alexa ecosystem has grown steadily over the past few years, and Google has also gotten a start with its Home speaker and Assistant. Even Microsoft has a leg up with the Cortana-powered Harman Kardon Invoke speaker. Apple's pitch, as usual, is that it's delivering a more premium audio experience than the competition.
