Apple's smart speaker finally revealed

Apple has just unveiled its competitor to the Amazon Echo and Google health home speakers. Its name: HomePod. You will notice the deliberate use of the word "Pod".

The HomePod has the A8 processor from Apple. As the (pre) rumors said, Siri will obviously be there. On the design side, the device looks a bit like Mac Pro. With this product, the apple brand puts music at the center of the experience, transforming Siri into what it calls its "musicologist", allowing you to ask things like "Who sings?" or "What was on the top of the charts on May 5, 1997? ".

In fact, Siri will let you do what you could do with Echo and health home. You can obviously ask him questions about your upcoming meetings, know the weather, etc. Of course, HomePod will work with HomeKit compatible devices so you can check if the lights are on, turn on the heater, etc. It is therefore not impossible that it will one day become the brain of your smarthome …

As I said, the HomePod looks a bit like a 7-inch Mac Pro. There is also the little multicolored wave of Siri on the top. A priori, this will allow touch control of the device but we do not yet have all the details on this subject. In addition to this small wave, the device has six microphones, seven speakers forming beams and a 4-inch subwoofer.

It is thanks to the sound quality of HomePod that Apple hopes to differentiate itself from its smart health connected competitors, but also from audio giants like Sonos. The speaker uses room detection technology to detect where it is, such as on a table, in a corner or on a shelf, and uses this information to provide sound in a way that is suitable for that room. You will be able to combine two devices to get better sound or create multi-room configurations.

HomePod will launch this month in the United States and Europe in white and gray for $ 349.

AB SMART HEALTH REVIEW