Apple unveils “breakthrough home speaker” to rival Amazon and Google

Siri, a digital assistant that has been on Apple’s iPhone since 2011, will be voice activated to respond to requests for information and other help around the house.

It may well have Siri’s smarts, but Apple wants you to know that the new HomePod speaker is all about great sound quality.

If we look at statistics, then Spotify is way ahead than Apple Music. This makes sense as all these technologies are proprietary to the company that made them.

“There is so much momentum building around these speakers that it would be hard for Apple not to come out with one”, said industry analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy. “Apple today was much more focused on talking about it”.

Apple’s new product is a competitor to Google’s Home and Amazon’s Echo line of smart speakers, which have taken an early lead in the young product category.

What we tried to do is deliver something that is a breakthrough speaker first. “It’s about being the best and giving the user an experience that delights them every time“.

CNET senior editor Ashley Esqueda joined CBSN from Burbank to discuss highlights from the first day of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference. A Files app will store everything in one place, whether files are stored locally, in iCloud Drive or across other providers, the company said. Cook is aiming to double services revenue, which also includes products like iCloud and Apple Music, to around $50 billion by 2020. It’s a speaker – the gadget costs $350 and will be available in December – that will bring Apple Music and voice assistant Siri to your home. But it’s a lot cheaper than the iPhone, which starts at $649 and is now the main way people access Siri.

What was perhaps most interesting was how much more powerful the HomePod sounded in relation to the dedicated speaker also in the room – a Sonos Play:3. The HomePod supports a list of features, including unit conversion, messages, news, podcast playback, reminders, translation, general knowledge, weather, traffic info, sports scores, setting alarms, timers, and will also work as a HomeKit bridge. Google followed with its Home speaker, featuring its plain-named Assistant, last year.

Both speakers come with a built-in smart assistant.

Another key aspect is Apple’s Siri software, able to give you intelligence on track titles and other information you’d like to find out. Apple offered its own technology for developers to build on, and Macquarie said the new ARKit platform “has seemingly instantaneously become the standard for AR”.

Apple also launched the all-new 10.5-inch iPad Pro and a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro featuring an advanced display with ProMotion technology and high performance with the new A10X Fusion chip.

This comes as competition increases, with devices such as Google’s Chromebook and Microsoft’s Surface eating into Apple’s tablet market share.

Apple’s HomePod just needs to be plugged into the wall and paired with mobile devices to start working. And yes, third-party music streaming services are supported too. “In the future Google products must be compatible with Apple products and Amazon products must be compatible with the latest startup’s homemade device”.