Apple looks to reinvent home music with $349 HomePod, an Amazon Echo and Sonos competitor
Calling it a "breakthrough home speaker," Apple on Monday revealed the new Siri home speaker dubbed HomePod, a device the company hopes will reinvent music at home just like the iPod reinvented music in your pocket. It will cost $349 and ship this December.
![](https://apple.insidercdn.com/gallery/21569-24821-homepod-white-shelf-top-l.jpg)
Apple has focused on music in promoting the HomePod, emphasizing the high-quality audio offered by the device. But it's also an Amazon Echo competitor, and can respond to vocal queries about news, unit conversion, messages, sports, stocks, translations, general knowledge and much more.
HomePod also works with HomeKit, allowing users to control their accessories without having an iPhone nearby. HomeKit scenes are also compatible with HomePod.
The speaker accessory is powered by an Apple A8 chip featuring realtime acoustic modeling, audio beam-forming, and multi-channel echo cancelation.
In pitching the HomePod, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller said companies like Sonos are focused on sound quality, like Amazon's Echo is smart without the same sound quality.
Apple's team has been at work for years to create a speaker that not only sounds good, but is also smart.
With a Mac Pro-like cylindrical design, the HomePod is under 7 inches tall in a 3D mesh acoustic fabric. In addition to the A8 chip, it has 7 tweeters and a dynamic modeling subwoofer.
![](https://apple.insidercdn.com/gallery/21569-24822-homepod-siri-interact-l.jpg)
HomePod recognizes the vocals in audio and can beam form direct them for superior sound. When you set up two, they automatically recognize each other.
HomePod also turns Siri into a "musicologist," integrating tightly with Apple Music and accessing tracks from the cloud. HomePod will know your playlists, artists and tracks you love, and utilize six microphones to listen for "Hey Siri" commands to respond.
Once activated, the Siri waveform appears on the top of the device, and then it plays the music the user has requested. It also handles prompts such as "who is playing the drums on this track?" or "play more songs that sound like this," or "what was the top song on March 13 in 2005?"
![](https://apple.insidercdn.com/gallery/21569-24821-homepod-white-shelf-top-l.jpg)
Apple has focused on music in promoting the HomePod, emphasizing the high-quality audio offered by the device. But it's also an Amazon Echo competitor, and can respond to vocal queries about news, unit conversion, messages, sports, stocks, translations, general knowledge and much more.
HomePod also works with HomeKit, allowing users to control their accessories without having an iPhone nearby. HomeKit scenes are also compatible with HomePod.
The speaker accessory is powered by an Apple A8 chip featuring realtime acoustic modeling, audio beam-forming, and multi-channel echo cancelation.
In pitching the HomePod, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller said companies like Sonos are focused on sound quality, like Amazon's Echo is smart without the same sound quality.
Apple's team has been at work for years to create a speaker that not only sounds good, but is also smart.
With a Mac Pro-like cylindrical design, the HomePod is under 7 inches tall in a 3D mesh acoustic fabric. In addition to the A8 chip, it has 7 tweeters and a dynamic modeling subwoofer.
![](https://apple.insidercdn.com/gallery/21569-24822-homepod-siri-interact-l.jpg)
HomePod recognizes the vocals in audio and can beam form direct them for superior sound. When you set up two, they automatically recognize each other.
HomePod also turns Siri into a "musicologist," integrating tightly with Apple Music and accessing tracks from the cloud. HomePod will know your playlists, artists and tracks you love, and utilize six microphones to listen for "Hey Siri" commands to respond.
Once activated, the Siri waveform appears on the top of the device, and then it plays the music the user has requested. It also handles prompts such as "who is playing the drums on this track?" or "play more songs that sound like this," or "what was the top song on March 13 in 2005?"
Comments
This is priced right at $349. That's right there with a Sonos Play3 (which sounds just 'ok') and same price as a Denon HEOS 5. Neither speaker has smart features and relay on 3rd party.
I think it looks good. It should disappear in the home. I'm betting that it sounds better that 90% of its competitors.
I called Airplay 2 and speaker support for HomeKit months ago. Both will breath a lot of life into Apple based music. Now we need an iTunes refresh.
Guessing that a larger Siri reveal will happen upon iPhone launch.
Regardless, I'm one of the rare fans of the Apple HiFi, nice to see it live on in some kind of form.
>2x the price of Amazon Echo.
Appears to not be portable (AC power in.)
Odd that Apple wants to be in the speaker business, but not in the display business (farewell MacMini.)
They may sell a lot of these. It's cool, particularly for audiophiles and big music users. But it's not for me. I won't be buying one.
Only the Sonos Play 5 has line-in. The Play 1 and 3 don't have it.
This. From what I saw of the audio processing the HomePod has, it will be significantly better sounding than anything else in its price range (watch out Sonos 3).
And how will Sonos add Alexa without the hardware support in the speaker for microphones? I hope they don't think having an Echo/Echo Dot PLUS a Sonos is somehow going to be an elegant solution.
I hope we will eventually get something like the echo dot that is more about the microphones than the speakers.
(Edit- The next Post on AI seems to have answered that Question. Seems to be a Power Brick with a low voltage power cable question now is it USB-C so that they can scale the Power need, or Proprietary like all the other Boys (17V 1,7A
I've long been flummoxed by the lack of support for "Airplay 1" by home stereo systems, so I suppose I'm a little skeptical of Bose picking up the slack… but bravo if it comes together this time around.
This badly needs a subwoofer. And when it does get one, you potentially have a fantastic home speaker system. Just buy as many as you want. Get 7 plus a subwoofer.