Apple executive Phil Schiller introduces the HomePod speaker at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif.
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Apple is updating its smartwatch to give it more “smarts” using the Siri digital assistant. The pricing of Apple’s device was shared at the conference in comparison to both smart home speakers as well as premium audio speakers.
Tapping Apple’s Siri digital assistant, such a speaker is expected to serve as a butler as well as an outlet for listening to music.
At the WWDC today, Cook said Apple was pleased with its current partnership with Amazon and mentioned some of the e-commerce giant’s original content like Transparent. The HomePod will be available starting in December, initially in Australia, the United Kingdom and the US. And considering the fact that it is hitting the market around Christmas-time, the HomePod is aiming to replace the Echo and Home as the highest-selling speaker around the globe. Google followed with its Home speaker, featuring its plain-named Assistant, last year. The research firm eMarketer says than 35 million people in the USA are expected to use a voice-activated speaker at least once a month this year, more than double its estimate from last year.
Considering all three smart speakers have similar functionality, it will be interesting to see if Apple’s inclusive ecosystem will influence successful sales of the Cupertino company’s newest device.
And Apple Watch is bringing Siri front and center.
Analysts said Apple is playing to its strength in the music industry by focusing on sound quality and its catalog of songs available on HomePod.
The speaker connects to home wifi and will be controlled by the human voice. Google recently launched its own Echo imitation, the Google Home, powered by the still-nameless Google Assistant. It comes integrated with a six-microphone array, which is used to access Siri, seamlessly. It will be available in other countries next year.
Siri is getting a new voice, and the Mac is getting a new name. Apple said that makes the Mac a great platform for developing virtual-reality “experiences”, although the company didn’t announce any consumer VR products.
Apple fans favourite online store the AppStore also gets an upgrade where the new store will make discovering apps and games easier than ever before. It’s part of Apple’s effort to entice professionals with tablets that can handle many tasks previously reserved for laptops.
The company also rolled out tools for developers to create augmented reality applications for iPhones and iPads. Apple steered clear of big-screen phones before launching the acclaimed iPhone 6 Plus and it took its time releasing the Apple Watch, which soon came to account for two thirds of the smartwatch market. Before, transactions had been limited to products and services from businesses and institutions.
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The new iOS update of iOS includes an update to Siri that features improved speech, such as the ability to help translate sentences into different languages. iOS 11 also has become more cognitive, maintaining better on-device remembrances of what you do on your iPhone or iPad. iMessages now will remain in the iCloud for better record-keeping.
