At its 2017 Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, Apple unveiled the HomePod, its first-ever home speaker. The HomePod, powered by an A8 chip and featuring Siri as a home assistant as well as Apple Music integration, will start shipping later this year for $349 as an alternative to the Amazon Echo and Google Home. Apple CEO Tim Cook called the speaker Apple's attempt at "reinventing the way we enjoy music in our home."
Apple also revealed its first new iMac in almost two years, which boasts faster processors and brighter displays, as well as two software upgrades: iOS 11, which will feature a person-to-person payment system integrated into iMessage in addition to an improved camera; and High Sierra, the new MacOS, which will enable the Safari browser to block autoplay video.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
7 bars with comforting cocktails and great hospitalitythe week recommends Winter is a fine time for going out and drinking up
-
7 recipes that meet you wherever you are during winterthe week recommends Low-key January and decadent holiday eating are all accounted for
-
Nine best TV shows of the yearThe Week Recommends From Adolescence to Amandaland
-
TikTok secures deal to remain in USSpeed Read ByteDance will form a US version of the popular video-sharing platform
-
Unemployment rate ticks up amid fall job lossesSpeed Read Data released by the Commerce Department indicates ‘one of the weakest American labor markets in years’
-
US mints final penny after 232-year runSpeed Read Production of the one-cent coin has ended
-
Warner Bros. explores sale amid Paramount bidsSpeed Read The media giant, home to HBO and DC Studios, has received interest from multiple buying parties
-
Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial uneaseSpeed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war
-
Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B dealspeed read The video game giant is behind ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL’
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
