Apple allegedly 'dithered' over HomePod development, canceled & restarted project
Apple's HomePod project actually predates the Amazon Echo, but was reportedly canceled and restarted multiple times, and has undergone radical design changes.
The smartspeaker was originally a side project by some of the company's Mac audio engineers, who wanted to build something with better audio than brands like Bose and Harman Kardon, Bloomberg sources said. Some of the engineers were from speaker makers themselves, and were eager to use and refine beamforming -- technology that directs audio to particular places in a room.
Prototypes ranged from a flat panel with a mesh screen to one measuring some three feet tall with dozens of speakers. Apple is also said to have toyed with the idea of making it a Beats product, as well as offering it in a range of colors instead of the black and white options now planned.
In 2014 the project graduated into an official endeavor at the accessories division under Gary Geaves. A dedicated team of engineers was relocated to Valley Green 1 -- an office near 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino.
The Echo "blindsided" the team that year, and engineers joked about each other leaking the HomePod to Amazon, according to Bloomberg. The group bought some Echos to dismantle them, but judged their sound inferior and continued on.
The Siri team was reportedly told that the HomePod was about music and high-quality audio, downplaying the voice assistant aspect. Indeed that's reflected in Apple's marketing, and the device won't support easy addition of third-party "skills"/apps like the Echo. Those will actually be processed on a paired iPhone or iPad, and developers will have to update their iOS titles for support. Moreover, only messaging, to-do, and notes apps will be compatible.
By 2016 Apple was testing the HomePod with workers outside the project, even recruiting some retail workers to help.
The HomePod was at one point announced as shipping in December for $349, but is now slated to arrive in "early 2018."
The smartspeaker was originally a side project by some of the company's Mac audio engineers, who wanted to build something with better audio than brands like Bose and Harman Kardon, Bloomberg sources said. Some of the engineers were from speaker makers themselves, and were eager to use and refine beamforming -- technology that directs audio to particular places in a room.
Prototypes ranged from a flat panel with a mesh screen to one measuring some three feet tall with dozens of speakers. Apple is also said to have toyed with the idea of making it a Beats product, as well as offering it in a range of colors instead of the black and white options now planned.
In 2014 the project graduated into an official endeavor at the accessories division under Gary Geaves. A dedicated team of engineers was relocated to Valley Green 1 -- an office near 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino.
The Echo "blindsided" the team that year, and engineers joked about each other leaking the HomePod to Amazon, according to Bloomberg. The group bought some Echos to dismantle them, but judged their sound inferior and continued on.
The Siri team was reportedly told that the HomePod was about music and high-quality audio, downplaying the voice assistant aspect. Indeed that's reflected in Apple's marketing, and the device won't support easy addition of third-party "skills"/apps like the Echo. Those will actually be processed on a paired iPhone or iPad, and developers will have to update their iOS titles for support. Moreover, only messaging, to-do, and notes apps will be compatible.
By 2016 Apple was testing the HomePod with workers outside the project, even recruiting some retail workers to help.
The HomePod was at one point announced as shipping in December for $349, but is now slated to arrive in "early 2018."
Comments
Sounds like run-of-the-mill product development to me.
I’m still not sure about this product, though.
Brace yourself for the Gatorection!
Right … that was supposed to be a mashup of “Gatorguy” and “Correction”, but I forgot to read it back out loud. 🤦🏾♂️
While the Amazon phone was a flop, at least they try these various initiatives and forge ahead with the ones that show some promise, like Echo.
I’m heavily tied to Apple’s platforms (and AAPL), but my continued use of Prime has me trying more things from Amazon, first Video and now Echo... as well as buying into AMZN.
This still doesn't explain why Tim announced this in June though, and what off the iMac Pro less than 50 days to go.
I'm glad you look forward to them, but in this particular thread I'm sorry to say I really don't have much to add.
I wonder if (hope) part of the reason is that they're waiting to introduce it in combination with some more Apple TV tie-in features.
On the contrary.. It shows the HomePod wasn't a me-too panic reaction.. They were in fact longer at it than Amazon.. They just have higher standards of quality..
All good..
350$ seems a bargain..
Nothing to add??
But … but … he badmouthed the mothership!
Well there’s a surprise. 😮
In most companies, engineers who come up with products off their own backs have to sell it to the board.
The good thing is that they didn’t all leave and form a startup.