Apple HomePod Revealed
Long waited Amazon Echo competitor secrete is finally revealed. Yes it’s real and its called HomePod. At company’s WWDC keynote , Apple CEO Tim Cook Said “We want to reinvent the home music”. Apple Siri is not the focus of HomePod instead, it’s the music.
According to Apple’s SVP of Global Marketing Phil Schiller, Sonos are not smart speakers and Amazon Echos simply don’t good quality sound. So apple wants to combine the best of both worlds. Per Phil Schiller, apple homepod is not ready for prime time yet but will be ready to ship by end of 2017.
The device is equipped with an Apple A8 chip. It has seven beam forming tweeter array and designed as pill shaped circle speaker. It also has multi channel eco cancellation , real time acoustic modeling and much more.
The gadget has ability to scan the surroundings to optimize audio accordingly. As expected the speaker work very well with apple music library.
Airplay 2 was already released earlier today. Airplay 2 has capability to pair multiple speakers and play music in multiple rooms. This function should encourage many customers to buy multiple speakers for their homes.
Price of Apple HomePod:
Homepod will cost $349. It comes with white and space grey color. It start shipping in US, UK and Autralia. All other countries will get HomePods in 2018.
The Apple HomePod will feature voice control, Siri Intelligence, remote access and home automations through the Apple’s Home app, and is compatible with all iPhone 5 S and higher.
Apple Homepod Spec Comparison
Apple argument that the HomePod is worth the cost because it combines smart features and great sound.
| Categories | HomePod | Amazon Echo | Echo Dot | Google Home | Sonos Play:1 | Sonos Play:3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $350 | $179.99 | $49.99 | $129.00 | $199.00 | $299.00 |
| Speakers | 7 tweeters, 4-inch subwoofer | 2.5-inch tweeter, 2-inch woofer | Small built-in speaker | 2-inch driver and dual 2-inch passive radiators | 3.5-inch mid-woofer, tweeter | Two 2.75-inch mid-woofers, 1-inch tweeter |
| Microphones | 6-microphone array | 7-microphone array | 7-microphone array | 2-microphone array | N/A | N/A |
| Smart assistant | Siri | Alexa | Alexa | Assistant | Alexa through connected Echo(in private beta) | Alexa through connected Echo(in private beta) |
| Processor | Apple A8 | Texas Instruments DM3725CUS100 | Texas Instruments DM3725 | Marvell 88DE3006 | N/A | NA |
| Multi-room audio? | AirPlay 2 | Supposedly forthcoming between Echos | Supposedly forthcoming between Echos | Chromecast Audio | Sonos | Sonos |
| Music services supported | Apple Music | Amazon Music, Prime Music, Amazon Music Unlimited, Spotify Premium, Pandora, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Audible | Amazon Music, Prime Music, Amazon Music Unlimited, Spotify Premium, Pandora, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Audible | Google Play Music, Spotify Premium, Pandora, YouTube Music, TuneIn, iHeartRadio | Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Play Music, SoundCloud, Deezer, TuneIn, Napster, Microsoft Groove, Slacker, Stitcher, Tidal, and more | Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Play Music, SoundCloud, Deezer, TuneIn, Napster, Microsoft Groove, Slacker, Stitcher, Tidal, and more |
| Third-party developer support | As of now, no | Yes, Alexa Skills | Yes, Alexa Skills | Yes, Assistant actions | Only through Sonos partnerships | Only through Sonos partnerships |
| Interface | Siri waveform / touch panel | Light ring, buttons | Light ring, buttons | LED indicators, touch panel | Volume and play / pause buttons | Volume and play / pause buttons |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3.5mm headphone jack | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi |
| Weight | 5.5 pounds | 2.36 pounds | 0.36 pounds | 1.05 pounds | 4.08 pounds | 5.71 pounds |
| Dimensions (in.) | 6.8 x 5.6 x 5.6 | 9.25 x 3.3 x 3.3 | 9.25 x 3.3 x 3.3 | 5.62 x 3.79 x 3.79 | 6.36 x 4.69 x 4.69 | 5.2 x 10.6 x 6.3 |
