Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference 2017, the is the Cupertino company's attempt to take on the intelligent speaker market, competing against the Amazon Echo, Google Home, and other similar devices. At its core, the HomePod can be used to make queries to Siri, with Apple's intelligent virtual assistant providing audio feedback in response. Apple is also using the HomePod to go after a secondary market: network-connected home speaker systems. With HomePod, Apple intends to beat Sonos and other speaker producers by making an audio device that offers superior music playback, as well as making it as simple as possible for users to play tracks and discover new artists.

Following a brief pre-order period, the HomePod was available in stores from February 9. Online orders of the device also on that date. AppleInsider reviewed the, giving it a score of 3.5 out of a possible 5. Appearance & Design The HomePod differs from its main rivals in using a 3D mesh acoustic fabric that covers most of the outside of the speaker. Two color options will be available when the HomePod goes on sale, with customers able to choose between white and space gray versions of the fabric.

The shape is also fairly unique, consisting of a cylinder with rounded edges at the top and bottom. While other similar devices have been designed as fairly tall speakers, the HomePod is fairly wide when compared to the Amazon Echo, with a diameter that is not far off the height of the speaker, at 5.6 inches. Measuring 6.8 inches tall and weighing 5.5 pounds, the device has a single cable leading out from the HomePod for power, with no other ports or visible connections viewable externally. On the top is a round display, used to show the Siri waveform when Siri is engaged, as well as providing access to touch controls for changing settings of the HomePod itself. Speakers & Microphones The HomePod includes a six-microphone array with an that allows Siri to understand anyone speaking to it in the room, regardless of their position in relation to the HomePod, and even when loud music is being played in the background. Download pallypower addon 335.

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For audio playback, Apple designed an upward-facing woofer that uses real-time software modeling to enhance bass management, allowing it to provide deep and clean bass tones with low distortion. An internal low-frequency calibration microphone is included to assist the bass management system. Accompanying the woofer is a custom array of seven tweeters, with each equipped with their own amplifier. Apple's speaker array also has beam-forming capabilities, for highly directional audio at a high quality. This beam-forming capability is enhanced by the HomePod's ability to sense its placement in a room. Using the microphone array, it can detect the size of the room, its location compared to nearby surfaces, and other potential audio obstacles, using the data to optimize its playback to suit its surroundings. Driving the beamforming, bass management, and multi-channel echo cancellation in the HomePod is Apple's A8 processor, as previously used in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the iPad mini 4, and the fourth-generation Apple TV.

A trial of the HomePod's audio playback capabilities attended by AppleInsider the speaker's capabilities were a mark above a Sonos speaker and the Amazon Echo, giving an 'impressively wide and pwerfully deep' sound. The HomePod was found to be audibly consistent throughout the test room, compared to the flatter and 'more obviously directional' sound offered by the competitors. The workings of HomePod's adaptive acoustic capabilities may be explained by a, surfacing in July 2017, for a 'Loudspeaker Equalizer.' In brief, the patent explains that data from a speaker's microphone can be fed into a processor and DSP to filter and equalize audio signals, improving the audio based on its surroundings. Set-up & Connectivity While it does not have any visible external connections, aside from a power cable, the HomePod still offers a lot of connectivity with other devices. Borrowing the setup process from the AirPods, users can configure the HomePod by holding their iPhone next to the speaker.