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Apple Announces HomePod Smart Speaker

Starting this December, it will be Amazon Echo vs. Google Home vs. Apple HomePod

By Rain Noe - June 6, 2017

in Tech

In the world of voice-controlled digital assistant-driven smart speakers, Amazon and Google stole the march on Apple last year with their Alexa-powered Echo and Google-Assistant-powered Google Home, respectively. Yesterday Apple answered, pulling the wraps off of their forthcoming Siri-powered HomePod.

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Price

Unsurprisingly, the HomePod is a premium offering, expected to retail for $349. (The Echo's about half that at $180, and Google Home runs just $130.) Apple's betting that folks will pay more for an audiophile-quality speaker, an area where the Echo and Home fall short.

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Sound Quality

The HomePod is being billed as a high-tech, sensor-laden speaker whose A8 chip will automatically adapt the sound quality to fit the room its within. Seven "beamforming" tweeters and a subwoofer will supposedly provide sound far superior to Amazon and Google's offerings, theoretically justifying the price, and Apple suggests that buying two would make for a good home theater system.

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Utility

It's tough to quantify which of the three devices will prove more useful to the end-user, as that has to do with what kind of functionality is desired. All three can control "smart homes," and after Apple releases the device and the dust settles, it may come down to who's worked out the best UI/UX. We won't know that until Apple's offering has been on the market long enough for real-world reviews to come in.

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Design

That Apple's won the looks battle is hard to deny, and ought be expected at the price point. Aesthetically speaking the Echo looks cheap in comparison, while Google's offering appears merely inoffensive. However, I do wonder how the fabric covering on the HomePod will hold up over time, and it does seem like a magnet for dust to me.

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In terms of form factor, everyone is sticking with variations on a cylinder, and the HomePod echoes the design language of Apple's Mac Pro, which is in my opinion a timeless form. The HomePod will be available in white and "space grey."

Availability

The HomePod will hit shelves this December.

At press time, all Apple had posted of the HomePod on their YouTube channel was this teaser video:

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Echo and Home users: Are you happy with your systems, and/or would you jump ship come December?

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7 years ago

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HomePod could be very interesting, for a number of reasons. A slightly higher-end Echo linked to a suite of devices would be great, especially for controlling multiple devices over several rooms (I'm thinking Ecobee, Nest, etc. in feeling).

I am worried about if Siri itself can warrant the HomePod to exist. Siri's been next to impossible for most of my colleagues to use, and I hope the HomePod comes with some less broadcasted upgrades to Siri's UX.

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Steve W.

7 years ago

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You forgot about the Harman Kardon Invoke which is completely platform agnostic and will likely have a much better quality speaker (if beats sound quality is anything to go by)

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Frank Schneider

7 years ago

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Designally, apple is simply awesome! But these prices!

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P Z

7 years ago

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It'll be interesting to see what it actually sounds like. If portability isn't a concern (it's a in home device after all), I have a hard time believing that it would outperform a echo dot hooked up to some $300 speakers.

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Serge Zaslavsky

7 years ago

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Have had the Amazon Echo for a few months now, primarily for music. It is a terrific device; always on, easy to get music playing quickly, very responsive, great sound, etc. I have long been an Apple user, but I cannot justify spending $300+ for the HomePod. I'm sure it will be great, but for my purpose, that of playing music in the kitchen, it's a no-go.

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