Apple’s HomePod speaker has once again leaked new information about its self ahead of its launch, including how you’ll manage its settings once you finally get one.
Screenshots from HomePod testers in France have leaked out online showing the different settings options you’ll be able to choose from in the HomePod iOS app.
New icons uncovered in the latest iOS 11.2.5 developer build confirm that, yes, HomePod owners will be able to disable the microphone on Apple’s smart speaker should so they wish to do so.
Given Apple’s privacy-conscious policies, and the fact that rival speakers made by Amazon and Google allow the same to be done, it’s no surprise that Apple would make that an option on HomePod. Still, it could help ease fears among customers concerned about the risk of housing an “always listening” speaker in their homes.
Apple suppliers have begun shipping the first HomePod units ahead of the smart speaker’s much-anticipated launch. Just 1 million devices are on the way initially. However, Apple is expected to receive as many as 12 million by the end of this year.
Apple’s eagerly anticipated HomePod smart speaker will launch in the next four to six weeks, claim tech analysts at the research firm GBH Insights.
The artificial intelligence-infused smart speaker, powered by Siri, was originally supposed to launch in December 2017. However, with just weeks to go, Apple wound up delaying the launch until an unspecified time in early 2018, saying that “we need a little more time before it’s ready for our customers.”
We’re only five days into the new year and I’m personally already itching to see what Apple has planned for this year.
While 2017 was a disappointment of a year in general, Apple released some brilliant products. But what better way to get excited about the year than rounding up all of the rumors for what to expect this year.
Amazon and Google’s aggressive pricing of smart speakers could hurt Apple’s HomePod, claim analysts.
A new report notes that both Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Google Home family of devices were so heavily discounted over the holidays that they likely lost their companies a few dollars per unit. This is in sharp contrast with the kind of pricing that Apple plans for its $349 device, when it goes on sale in early 2018.
2017 was a pretty damn good year for the world’s most profitable tech company.
Apple did much more than rake in more cash than any company this year. Cupertino also pushed out its most impressive product lineup ever, laid the groundwork for the future of augmented reality, moved into a new spaceship campus, battled other tech giants and got tossed into the political spotlight.
Apple dominated the tech scene in 2017 more than any other company. Here’s a recap of some of the year’s most memorable Apple moments.
2017 was a killer year for new Apple products — and it’s not all because of the iPhone X.
Apple’s design team spun out updates in nearly every single category while also popping out a few all-new products. The Mac Pro and Mac mini were pretty much the only machines that got no love from Apple this year. But with all the new stuff, it’s hard for Apple fans to complain.
Here’s a recap of every new Apple product of 2017.
Apple fans and enthusiastic gadget reviewers will ultimately remember 2017 as the year of a reinvented iPhone. But as the year draws to an end, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller has a few other things on his mind, such as delays in releasing the company’s first smart speaker and a “bad week” of software bugs and security holes.
Apple marketing guru Phil Schiller has heard the haters saying the iPhone X wasn’t the first smartphone to get facial recognition. But according to Schiller, that doesn’t matter at all.
“They all stink,” says Schiller in a new interview discussing Apple’s new facial recognition feature. The wide-ranging interview touches on everything from AirPods to virtual reality, but what sets Face ID apart is what got Schiller the most excited.
Apple’s new Siri-powered smart speaker won’t be one of the hottest gifts of the 2017 holiday season after all.
The HomePod was set to launch in December 2017, but the company released a statement today saying it needs more time to make the smart speaker ready for customers.
Apple started working on its HomePod smart speaker back in 2012, one year after Siri debuted on the iPhone 4s, a new report claims.
Since then, the project was cancelled and restarted several times to reach its current point.
Foxconn is joining the HomePod supply chain to help assemble Apple’s delayed smart speakers, a new report claims.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. — to use Foxconn’s full name — is currently the sole manufacturer of Apple’s iPhone X. However, despite the massive demand for that device, various manufacturing issues with the iPhone X recently caused Foxconn to report its biggest decline in profits in nearly a decade.
That evidently isn’t putting it off working with Apple, however.
Last week’s crushing news that Apple’s HomePod won’t be available for Christmas was a blow to some.
But I shrugged it off.
That’s because I made my own HomePod smart speaker. It cost me about $60 and sounds absolutely great.
Apple surprised investors with its best Q4 earnings report ever today. The outrageous numbers dispelled doubts about the iPhone-maker’s strategy — and pushed Apple closer to becoming the world’s first trillion-dollar company.
With the launch of the iPhone X just hours away, Apple CEO Tim Cook had a lot to be happy about during the earnings call with investors. Analysts quizzed Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri on everything from iPhone 8 sales to how Apple plans to monetize its augmented reality efforts.
Here’s what we found out:
Apple’s latest firmware for the unreleased HomePod revealed a new set of sounds that the smart speaker will use to indicate various user interactions.
The new tones for the Siri-powered speaker sound different from the ones leaked in a previous firmware build. They also serve different purposes. While the sounds are simple, they are quite lovely — and worthy of a $350 speaker.
Take a listen:
Apple is giving developers advance notice to get their apps ready for the HomePod experience.
Along with releasing new firmware for the unreleased HomePod smart speaker, Apple also notified developers that iOS 11.2 adds SiriKit for HomePod as a way to integrate voice-only experiences into the app.
Apple hasn’t even started to sell its new HomePod smart speaker yet, but it just came out with a new firmware update for people already testing the device.
SAN FRANCISCO — Ultimate Ears’ punchy portable speakers just got smart. The new Blast and Megablast speakers bring built-in support for Alexa, Amazon’s voice-operated smart assistant.
Bringing the always-listening, voice-operated helper to a battery-powered speaker proved “nontrivial,” said Benjamin Falk, principal software product manager at UE, during a demo of the new speakers.
Smart speakers like the Amazon Echo, Google Home, and forthcoming Apple HomePod could become the fastest consumer device in history to hit 50 percent adoption levels, claims Activate CEO Michael J. Wolf.
For those keeping track at home, that’s faster than smartphones, television, cars, the internet, and personal computers.
Google’s new Home Max smart speaker wants to hit Apple’s upcoming HomePod where it hurts: in the ears and in the brains.
Home Max promises high-end audio, thanks to “premium hardware” and Google’s perpetual strong suit — artificial intelligence.
Sonos’ new voice-activated Sonos One smart speaker will work with Amazon’s Alexa assistant when it ships later this month, and will add support for Apple’s new AirPlay 2 streaming protocol next year.
The new smart speaker, which will ship Oct. 24, places an emphasis on high-end audio. With its $199 price point and promised compatibility with multiple platforms, it should put pressure on Apple’s upcoming HomePod, which costs nearly twice as much.
Google’s popular Pixel smartphones turn 1 today. To celebrate the birthday, the company plans to unveil two new models that will compete with iPhone 8 and iPhone X.
The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will be confirmed during a special event that kicks off at 9 a.m. Pacific today. You can watch the whole thing live right here.
Apple’s HomePod smart speaker was nowhere to be found at Apple’s iPhone X event yesterday. While Apple lavished its attention on Apple TV 4K, the new Apple Watch, and, of course, its next-gen iPhones, the smart speaker it unveiled at WWDC didn’t even get a mention.
For anyone excited about Apple’s rival to Google Home and Amazon Echo, that’s either a very good thing or a very bad thing. Here’s why:
The biggest Apple keynote of 2017 is just a few short hours away. And according to the rumors, its going to be one of the most memorable tech events in years.
When Tim Cook and Co. take the stage at the Steve Jobs Theater on September 12, we expect them to unveil not one, not two, but three new iPhones. A bunch of other new hardware and software is also on the docket, making this an Apple keynote not to be missed.
Here’s everything Apple will likely reveal.