Apple announces HomePod at WWDC17

In response to Amazon's Alexa and Google Home, Apple has announced HomePod wireless speaker. It is aimed at automatically adjusting the audio using spatial awareness to sense its location in a room. HomePod can also provide deep knowledge of personal music preferences and tastes and helps users discover new music.

The HomePod will work as a home assistant, for sending messages, getting updates on news, sports and weather, or controling smart home devices by simply asking Siri to turn on the lights or activate a scene. Even when away from home, HomePod will act as a home hub to provide remote access and home automations through the Home app on iPhone or iPad.

HomePod features a large, Apple-designed woofer, a custom array of seven beam-forming tweeters  for high frequency acoustics with directional control. HomePod is designed for voice control with an array of six microphones, so users can interact with it from across the room, even while loud music is playing. Priced at $349, HomePad will go on sale in US, UK and Australia in December this year.

"Apple reinvented portable music with iPod and now HomePod will reinvent how we enjoy music wirelessly throughout our homes," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "HomePod packs powerful speaker technology, Siri intelligence and wireless access to the entire Apple Music library into a beautiful speaker that is less than 7 inches tall, can rock most any room with distortion free music and be a helpful assistant around your home."

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