Apple announces HomePod, a home for Siri

Finally, Apple has announced its smart home device called the HomePod. We have thought that it would be called Siri @ Home but I guess HomePod is fine.

On the outside, the HomePod looks a little like the fatter brother of the Mac Pro just that it has a wire mesh around it. Similar to the Amazon Echo and Google Home, the HomePod can be used to know the weather, set reminders, listen to Podcast, translation,  news and etc. And of course, it can also be used to control the Apple HomeKits.

The HomePod has a seven beam-forming tweeter array, precision acoustic horns, six-microphone array and directional control. This means that the Siri on the HomePod should be able to listen to your command a lot better than the Siri residing in your iPhone. Creepily but interestingly, the HomePod can analysed where it is being placed in a room and will determine the best way to project its sound across to you. 

One of the purposes of the HomePod is to give audiophiles (untested) or regular people a greater audio experience but the music choices are limited to the 40 million songs on Apple Music for now. Will it change in the future? We don’t know. Our best guess is no. 

The Apple HomePod will be available in December 2017, priced at approximately SGD 500 and will come in Space Gray and White. Are you excited?