Size matters? Facebook plans to combat Apple's HomePod with smart speaker featuring 15" di...

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited July 2017
Reports suggest Facebook is working on its own smart speaker to battle the HomePod and similar products, with features similar to that of the Amazon Show -- but packing a 15-inch screen.




Based on reports from the supply chain, Facebook is working on its own information appliance focusing more on image display to the user. Presumably the device will utilize Facebook content, necessitating the large touchscreen.

DigiTimes believes that the device will be manufactured by Pegatron technology, with the first batch of testing units already complete. Details about the device are sparse, but the screen manufacturer is said to be LG Display, with a magnesium/aluminum alloy chassis.

Release is tentatively scheduled for the first quarter of 2018. The report also claims that Alibaba, Samsung Electronics and Microsoft are all looking at jumping into the market.

Apple's $349 HomePod was revealed at the 2017 WWDC and will ship in December. The HomePod is powered by an Apple A8 chip featuring realtime acoustic modeling, audio beam-forming, and multi-channel echo cancelation. It features a subset of Siri, optimized for music consumption.

The Amazon Show launched before the Apple HomePod. It features a seven-inch touchscreen, 5MP camera, and dual two-inch stereo speakers, and sells for $230.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    clemynxclemynx Posts: 1,552member
    Facebook in my home? Madness !
    mike1SpamSandwichtmayanton zuykovschlackwatto_cobrajbdragon
  • Reply 2 of 13
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,280member
    In the future there will be three kinds of people:

    1. those whose thoughts are controlled
    2. those who control thoughts
    3. those who give themselves a concussion though repeated face palms while watching groups 1 and 2. 
    Metriacanthosaurusmagman1979peterhartmike1SpamSandwichtmayanton zuykovcalischlackwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 13
    MetriacanthosaurusMetriacanthosaurus Posts: 880member
    blastdoor said:
    In the future there will be three kinds of people:

    1. those whose thoughts are controlled
    2. those who control thoughts
    3. those who give themselves a concussion though repeated face palms while watching groups 1 and 2. 
    The future? This has been the case for a few decades already.
    anton zuykovwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 13
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    Software companies should never make hardware. Especially social media software companies. It is just going to be a poor product since software people think they can fix all hardware issues with software.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 13
    zoetmbzoetmb Posts: 2,654member
    This is a bad idea, because if you don't continually "like" it, it stops working.   But I do hear that it's going to come with several built-in trolls.  
    anton zuykovlolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 13
    greg uvangreg uvan Posts: 86member
    I'm not likely to own a HomePod any time soon. I just don't see all that much value in it, given that I have an iPhone, an iPad, and an Apple Watch, and I have a half-decent stereo with a lightning dock built in sitting in my kitchen.

    But I'd sooner be dead than have an "assistant" from either Google, Amazon or Facebook setup permanently in my home. No thanks. I wouldn't install one if they were handing them out for free.
    SpamSandwichtmaywatto_cobrajbdragon
  • Reply 7 of 13
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,284member
    I have enough screens in my house already. Be cool if HomePod integrated itself with my existing screens (TV, iPad, iPhone) to push any screen content that was necessary to one or more of my devices... if I asked it to.
    caliwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 13
    Roxy BalboaRoxy Balboa Posts: 55member
    Why would I buy into a Ponzi scheme?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 13
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,404member
    Roxy Balboa said:
    Why would I buy into a Ponzi scheme?
    Perhaps not you, but a lot of people will buy into it because its price likely gets subsidized by the company's real business model (advertising revenue).

    With over 2 billion monthly average users worldwide, it's not a bad bet.
    schlack
  • Reply 10 of 13
    JinTechJinTech Posts: 1,022member
    This will be just as popular as the Facebook phone!
    slprescotttommikelewatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 13
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    Why can't these companies join Apple? They'll make more money but no.... they wanna be Apple instead and break even...
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 13
    indieshackindieshack Posts: 328member
    As always, I appreciate the AI article, but this has nothing to do with homepod and everything to do with the echo show device. 
  • Reply 13 of 13
    tommikeletommikele Posts: 599member
    blastdoor said:
    In the future there will be three kinds of people:

    1. those whose thoughts are controlled
    2. those who control thoughts
    3. those who give themselves a concussion though repeated face palms while watching groups 1 and 2. 
    I am a variation of type three. I've gotten over the stupidity of the general public enough to confine my usual response to shaking my head. Occasionally when the impact on me or my family is greater, a more forceful response is forthcoming.
    edited July 2017 lolliverwatto_cobra
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