apple unveils HomePod, a wireless speaker that doubles as a home assistant

apple has announced the launch of a wireless home speaker that uses spatial awareness to sense its location in a room and automatically adjust the audio. named ‘HomePod’, the device features a large, apple-designed woofer with a custom array of seven beam-forming tweeters that provide high frequency acoustics. starting at $349 USD, the product will be available from december 2017, initially in australia, the UK, and the US.

all images and video courtesy of apple

‘apple reinvented portable music with iPod and now HomePod will reinvent how we enjoy music wirelessly throughout our homes,’ says philip schiller, apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing. ‘HomePod packs powerful speaker technology, siri intelligence and wireless access to the entire apple music library into a beautiful speaker that is less than 7 inches tall, can rock most any room with distortion free music and be a helpful assistant around your home.’

at just under 7 inches tall, HomePod can occupy a number of different locations in the home

designed for voice control, HomePod features an array of six microphones. this allows users to interact with it from across the room — even while loud music is playing. over time, the device will learn users’ preferences, with these music tastes shared across devices. apple states that siri will even be able to handle advanced searches within the music library, such as ‘hey siri, who’s the drummer in this?’.

the device features a large, apple-designed woofer

automatic room-sensing technology allows HomePod to quickly learn its position in a space. within seconds the device is optimized to deliver an immersive music listening experience wherever it is placed. doubling as a home assistant, it also allows users to send messages, get news and weather updates, and control smart home devices. HomePod can provide remote access and home automations through the ‘home’ app on iPhone or iPad.

HomePod will be available from december 2017, starting at $349 USD

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