Sonos is making a power play to take over your living room with its latest smart speaker called Sonos Beam.
Beam is a new sound bar that is smaller than Sonos’ Playbar and Playbase, but it also packs some new features like a five-microphone array and it plays well with Google Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa and of course, Siri.
Watch out HomePod, this thing looks amazing:
Stereo-pairing has been one of the most anticipated HomePod features and now that it has finally arrived, it was definitely worth the wait.
HomePod owners can now pair two or more speakers together to create rich stereo soundscapes in their house for an audio experience that’s unlike any other. CultCast producer Erfon Elijah went ears-on with the new feature and says his finely tuned ears were tingling with delight from the sounds HomePod can blast out. The 360-degree sound is so enveloping that it’s hard to tell where it’s even coming from.
Listen to the difference:
Apple pushed two other software updates for Apple TV and Apple Watch owners this morning to go with the big new iOS 11.4 release that came out today.
tvOS 11.4 and watchOS 4.3.1 don’t contain nearly as many exciting new features as iOS 11.4, but if you like playing music from your Apple TV you should definitely grab the update ASAP.
iOS 11.4 is finally here, bringing AirPlay 2’s multi-room audio capabilities as well as the long-awaited ability to use two HomePods in stereo.
The free update uses AirPlay 2 to move music from room to room or play the same music throughout the home on compatible speaker systems. You can control music using an iOS device, HomePod, Apple TV or making requests through Siri.
Apple took the very unusual move of releasing a second iOS 11.4 beta this week. The fifth version of the developer beta came out on Monday, and its replacement debuted today.
This could mean good things for the imminent launch of this iPhone and iPad operating system update to the general public, or it could be a bad sign.
Apple fixed a few bugs and added a great new wallpaper in iOS 11.4 beta 2, but it also removed at least one highly anticipated feature. Check out our video below to see everything that’s new in the latest version of iOS.
Developers received a new batch of beta updates this morning, including the second beta build of iOS 11.4.
The new build brings a number of new features to the iPhone and iPad, including some that were pulled from iOS 11.3, like AirPlay 2 and Messages on iCloud. Apple has added a number of bug fixes and performance improvements in the new builds as it preps it for a public release.
The first beta of iOS 11.4 brings back some big features Apple tested in previous betas, but then subsequently removed.
Check out our video below to see iOS 11.4 in action. We run through what’s new and what you can expect if you give the beta a whirl.
The software update Apple just released for the HomePod doesn’t include AirPlay 2, the most anticipated new feature. In fact, this new version doesn’t seem to have any enhancements, though maybe that’s to be expected from a smart speaker that just launched last month.
iOS 11.3 could be missing two big features when it finally makes its public debut this spring.
Messages on iCloud and AirPlay 2 are notably missing from early release notes. Both features, which were initially expected to come with iOS 11 last fall, have been hit by several days. Who knows when they will appear again.
Want a smoke detector that can double as a premium HomeKit-enabled smart speaker? Of course you do, and smoke detector company First Alert is here to help.
Debuting at CES 2018, First Alert’s Onelink Safe & Sound smoke and carbon monoxide alarm is an in-ceiling device that could save your life. But it also can be utilized as an entertainment system, with support for Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and Google’s Google Assistant AI voice assistants.
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.
Apple has rolled out its tenth beta of tvOS 11 for registered developers ahead of a public release this fall.
The release comes just under one week after developers got their hands on beta 9, and it mostly includes bug fixes and performance improvements at this point.
