Sonos, the smart speaker company that (usually) plays nice with pretty much every other tech company, is fighting back against Google and Amazon for allegedly stealing some of its secret sauce.
Two lawsuits were filed by Sonos this week against Google that accuses the search engine giant of infringing on five of its patents. Sonos claims Amazon is guilty of the same thing but the company decided to only sue Google because it can’t take on two tech giants at once.
Apple is gearing up to launch HomePod in Japan — more than two years after the device got its first unveiling.
Smart speaker shoppers will be able to pick one up in the coming weeks for 32,800 yen (approx. $301). HomePod will then be available in a total of 11 countries.
HomePod owners are becoming increasingly frustrated with the latest AirPods ad. The full version of the “Bounce” commercial keeps triggering “Hey Siri” on Apple’s pricey smart speaker.
Some say they end up hearing the “crappiest” music, while others say their HomePod randomly calls out “I’m here.”
China has overtaken the U.S. as the world’s biggest smart speaker market. According to new figures from Canalys, the Chinese market grew nearly 500% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2019.
Approximately 10.6 million units shipped in China over the quarter, compared to 5 million in the U.S. This means that China is now 51% of the global global smart speaker market. The U.S., on the other hand, comes in second place at just 24%.
Amazon employs a team made up of thousands of people to listen to recordings made by Echo devices, a new report claims.
These recordings are transcribed, annotated, and ultimately used to “help improve” the quality of Amazon’s smart speakers.
Getting your hands on Apple’s HomePod smart speaker just got a little bit more affordable.
Apple’s online store is now selling refurbished HomePod units for $299. This is the first time the HomePod has been added to the refurbished store since the speaker first went on sale in February.
Do you trust Facebook to put a camera and microphone in your living room? If not, you’ll want to avoid Portal, its new smart displays focused on video chat.
Portal and Portal Plus make it easy to keep in touch with friends and family when you can’t see them face-to-face in real life. They can also play music, stream video, and do anything Amazon Alexa can do.
Google is planning to take on Amazon with its own screen-equipped smart speaker, a new report claims.
Amazon introduced its Amazon Echo Show in June 2017, followed by the smaller, cuter Amazon Echo Spot alarm clock a few months later in September 2017.
Apple’s HomePod speaker sales might be weaker than previously estimated by analysts. The latest quarterly research report from Strategy Analytics claims that HomePod sales numbers only totaled 700,000 units.
Fans of 2001: A Space Odyssey can now get their very own replica of HAL 9000, the iconic and murderous robot from Stanley Kubrick’s seminal film.
Master Replicas Group has created a new smart speaker that looks just like HAL 9000 and it uses voice controls and Bluetooth to become the control center for your smart house.
Take a look:
