Is a cheaper Beats-branded Apple HomePod in our future?

It’s a rumour that needs to be taken with a big grain of salt, but word coming out from supply chain sources in Taiwan claim a new HomePod is on its way and it’ll try to go up against its competitors more, at least price-wise. Sales of the original HomePod have not been stellar. A recent report from Strategy Analytics shows that Apple’s smart speaker only accounted for 6% of the global smart speaker market in the recent March quarter. Amazon’s Echo devices account for 81.8% market share.

Price is considered one of the big things the HomePod has going against it. And if the rumours are true, then this might put Apple in better footing to get more people to use HomePods. According to Loveios, this cheaper version of the HomePod can be priced around US$199 and it could be released under the Beats brand. Again, these are all rumours at this point. But if this would happen, will you be willing to get one?

Source: BGR

You’ll need Apple devices to use HomePod

If you thought Apple would allow for cross-platform use of its HomePod speaker, we’re sad to report that this won’t be the case. The company posted the official specs of the HomePod speakers on its site and it shows the current limitations of the device if you’re not using Apple products. While it supports Bluetooth 5.0, if you want to stream from third-party apps like Spotify you can only do so via AirPlay, which means you need Apple devices to stream (even using Apple Music app on Android won’t work). And if you are using an Apple product to stream Spotify on the speaker, it doesn’t support voice commands using Siri. You’ll need to be using Apple’s own music services for that. On top of this, you can only set up the HomePod with devices running iOS 11 or higher. Of course, Apple could later on change their minds and add support for non-Apple devices but we’re thinking that won’t happen anytime soon. The HomePod is coming to the US, Australia, and UK starting February 9.

Source: Android Authority

Apple's HomePod could be the big iOS move to the home

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Little is known about Apple's upcoming HomePod speaker. It is expected to offer amazing sound for its size, it has accelerometers and advanced acoustic technologies to determine location, bounce off sound and calibrate for optimal sound. This could make it a truly-smart speaker in terms of audio playback.

HomePod has been easily dismissed as a late-to-the-game, me-too smart speaker. Apple's feeble attempt to eke out some profit from the insanely popular smart speaker segment led in the US by Amazon Echo and growing globally thanks to Google Home and the various sizes and variants they offer.

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Apple might launch HomePod soon following FCC approval

Apple initially pushed back the release of the HomePod speaker to “early 2018” to develop the product further. Early might be happening sooner than we think. The company just received official FCC approval for the smart speaker, meaning they can start selling the device at any time. In the US, all devices that make use of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technology need to be submitted to the United States Federal Communications Commission to make sure they meet federal regulations. For comparison’s sake, Apple started selling the iPhone X just under a month after it received FCC approval.

The FCC approval follows rumours that the smart speaker’s supplier Inventec started shipping HomePod units to Apple with the company set to reportedly receive “about 1 million” units, at least according to an industry source that spoke with Taipei Times. But like other Apple products, initial supplies might be limited. Rumour has it Inventec expects revenue from the HomePod to be “limited” in the first quarter because of the low of HomePod devices that are available for shipment.

Source: MacRumors