Apple's 'HomePod' smart speaker to take on Amazon, Google

Apple is finally foraying into the smart speaker market to compete with Google's Home and Amazon's Alexa powered Echo. At its WWDC 2017, Apple introduced HomePod, a smart wireless speaker for the home that delivers amazing audio quality.

Like Google Home and Amazon Echo, Apple's HomePod have to be controlled by voice, using an array of six microphones, and it can respond back as well thanks to Siri integration. 

The magic word to activate the HomePod is "Hey Siri" and it will be able to perform the usual activities like answering your questions, web search, play music, set reminders, sen message, check news, get weather & sports updates or control connected devices in the home and more. It is also designed to work with Apple Music, giving access to more than 40 million songs.

HomePod is just under 7-inches tall and can be placed anywhere in the home. It uses spatial awareness to sense its location in a room and automatically adjust the audio.

However, HomePod aims to go one up against the competition, as it wants to deliver all the aforementioned features by providing amazing audio wirelessly for an even more immersive experience.

It features a large, Apple-designed upward-facing woofer, paired with the custom A8 chip that ensures the speaker delivers the deepest and cleanest bass possible, with low distortion. It also has a custom array of seven beam-forming tweeters, each with its own amplifier with high frequency acoustics and directional control,  promising pristine sound quality.

The HomePod is priced at $349 and will be available in Australia, US and UK starting in December in White and space grey colors. 

Source: Apple