WWDC 2017: Apple unveils HomePod speaker to rival Amazon Echo
Siri-controlled smart system will work with Apple Music subscription and cost double the price of its competitor
Apple has unveiled its new HomePod wireless speaker, which is set to take on Amazon in the home hi-fi market.
Revealed at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), the wire-free system can be controlled using Apple's Siri voice assistant and is "designed to work with an Apple Music subscription" - costing £9.99 per month - says the company.
In a similar fashion to the way the Amazon Echo works, users simply say: "Hey Siri" followed by a request such as: "Play The Beatles" to listen to songs in their collection or from the Apple Music streaming service.
Subscribe to 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.
It's also expected that owners will be able to stream music directly to the HomePod using Apple's AirPlay 2 wireless connection.
The HomePod is "packed with an Apple-designed upward-facing woofer for deep bass" under its Mac Pro-style outer shell, reports the Financial Times. It will also have seven tweeters and "room-sensing technology that adapts its sound to wherever it might be placed".
Wareable reports buyers can "pair two up for a bigger sonic wallop", although it is not known "how multi-room setups will work".
Industry analyst Ben Wood told the BBC: "It's a logical step for Apple, to ensure that they don't miss the opportunity to get a smart device right in the centre of people's homes.
"There has been a huge amount of hype around Amazon Echo and Google Home, but we are really at the start of this technology."
Apple's HomePod will reach stores in December, reports ArsTechnica, with prices expected to start "somewhere between £330 and £370" - more than double Amazon's £149 Echo and nearly three times the price of Google Home.
Is Apple developing an Amazon Echo rival?
Apple is reportedly ready to unveil a smart speaker to rival the Amazon Echo Show at next month's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in California.
Analysts told MacRumors there was "a greater than 50 per cent chance" the tech giant will debut a new device controlled by its Siri voice assistant.
Details are scarce, but they say the speaker will include a touchscreen interface which could be used to display movies or TV shows in a similar fashion to Amazon's Echo Show, which was announced last week.
It could also compete with the Echo Show's $229.99 (£178) price tag.
Reports also say next month's conference will also feature a new 10.5ins iPad Pro.
According to 9to5Mac, the tablet "will look similar to the 9.7-inch iPad Pro but feature narrower bezels" and will "pack a larger display into the same approximate chassis size".
It's expected to have a similar look to the upcoming iPhone 8, adds the website, while leaks from an accessory brand suggest a launch date in June.
Apple announced an array of new products and features at last year's WWDC, including MacOS Sierra and iOS 10 operating systems.
However, the show rarely sees the company reveal new hardware, which are usually reserved for conferences towards the end of the year.
WWDC runs from 5 to 9 June.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Shoot to Kill: Terror on the Tube – a 'raw' and 'riveting' docuseries
The Week Recommends Channel 4's 'gripping' two-part show explores the Metropolitan police killing of an innocent man in the aftermath of 7/7
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
'Salute to those who served'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Europe's all-inclusive holiday trend
The Week Recommends Big US chains are capitalising on the 'recent surge' in package breaks to bring upscale resorts to Europe
By Tess Foley-Cox Published
-
What Trump's win could mean for Big Tech
Talking Points The tech industry is bracing itself for Trump's second administration
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Google Maps gets an AI upgrade to compete with Apple
The Google-owned Waze, a navigation app, will be getting similar upgrades
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Is ChatGPT's new search engine OpenAI's Google 'killer'?
Talking Point There's a new AI-backed search engine in town. But can it stand up to Google's decades-long hold on internet searches?
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Teen suicide puts AI chatbots in the hot seat
In the spotlight A Florida mom has targeted custom AI chatbot platform Character.AI and Google in a lawsuit over her son's death
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
'Stunningly lifelike' AI podcasts are here
Under the Radar Users are amazed – and creators unnerved – by Google tool that generates human conversation from text in moments
By Abby Wilson Published
-
OpenAI eyes path to 'for-profit' status as more executives flee
In the spotlight The tension between creating technology for humanity's sake and collecting a profit is coming to a head for the creator of ChatGPT
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Microsoft's Three Mile Island deal: How Big Tech is snatching up nuclear power
In the spotlight The company paid for access to all the power made by the previously defunct nuclear plant
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
How will the introduction of AI change Apple's iPhone?
Today's Big Question 'Apple Intelligence' is set to be introduced on the iPhone 16 as part of iOS 18
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published