{"id":27540,"date":"2018-02-05T13:18:12","date_gmt":"2018-02-05T18:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.computeradvantage.us\/v3\/?p=27540"},"modified":"2018-02-05T10:20:26","modified_gmt":"2018-02-05T15:20:26","slug":"apples-homepod-smart-speaker-coming-soon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.computeradvantage.us\/v3\/apples-homepod-smart-speaker-coming-soon\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple\u2019s HomePod Smart Speaker Coming Soon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Move over, Amazon Echo and Google Home, there\u2019s a new smart speaker coming soon. First announced back in June of 2017, Apple\u2019s long-awaited HomePod<\/a> will ship in the US, UK, and Australia on February 9th for $349. You can get it in space gray or white.<\/p>\n

Where Amazon and Google focus mostly on how you can interact with their smart speakers, Apple is emphasizing the audio quality that HomePod users can enjoy. In a cylindrical package just under 7 inches tall, the HomePod boasts seven beam-forming tweeters for high-frequency acoustics, coupled with a large woofer for deep, clean bass.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What makes the HomePod smarter than regular speakers is its A8 chip, which provides it with processing power equivalent to an iPhone 6. Software running on the HomePod gives it spatial awareness, so it can sense its location in the room and adjust the audio automatically for the best listening experience.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

With a free software update due later this year, you\u2019ll be able to control multiple HomePods throughout your home, controlling each one independently or playing the same music on all of them, perfectly in sync. Plus, if you put two HomePods in the same room, you\u2019ll be able to set them up as a stereo pair.<\/p>\n

But the HomePod can do more than play music. It uses Apple\u2019s Siri voice assistant to listen for your commands with an array of six microphones, so you can ask Siri to send messages, set timers, play podcasts, read the news, get the weather, check sports scores, and more\u2014Apple has even expanded Siri\u2019s knowledge of music for the HomePod. You can also transfer a phone call from your iPhone to your HomePod for a hands-free conversation.<\/p>\n

What if you don\u2019t want to talk to your HomePod? You can tap its top to play\/pause (single tap), move to the next track (double tap), or go back to the previous track (triple tap). Touching and holding invokes Siri without saying \u201cHey Siri,\u201d and you can tap or hold the + and \u2013 buttons to adjust volume.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Home automation buffs will be excited to know that they can control HomeKit accessories via Siri on the HomePod as well. What\u2019s more, the HomePod can act as a HomeKit hub that can trigger automations and let you control HomeKit accessories while you\u2019re away from home.<\/p>\n

But what most people will use the HomePod for, most of the time, is music. For full music functionality, the HomePod requires an Apple Music subscription. Those who don\u2019t subscribe to the $9.99 per month Apple Music will still be able to play music purchased from iTunes, stream Beats 1 Radio, and listen to podcasts.<\/p>\n

Setting up a HomePod is simple\u2014just plug it in, and your iPhone or iPad will detect it automatically, just like a pair of AirPods. Like the AirPods, a HomePod requires an iOS device. It must be relatively recent (iPhone 5s or later, iPad Air or later, iPad mini 2 or later, or sixth-generation iPod touch), and it must be running at least iOS 11.2.5\u2014you\u2019ll want to install the latest available version to keep up with tweaks as Apple rolls them out.<\/p>\n

It will be a few weeks before the HomePod can be tested against the various Amazon Echo and Google Home smart speakers. Our bet is that the HomePod will sound better but understand fewer commands than the more-established products from Amazon and Google. Nevertheless, along with adding multi-room audio and stereo capabilities, Apple will undoubtedly improve Siri\u2019s capabilities on the HomePod over time.<\/p>\n

\n

Social Media:<\/b> Apple is getting into the smart speaker game with the HomePod on February 9th. Drop in today to talk about the HomePod and all of the smart home technology available through The Home Synergy Center at Computer Advantage.<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Move over, Amazon Echo and Google Home, there\u2019s a new smart speaker coming soon. First announced back in June of 2017, Apple\u2019s long-awaited HomePod will ship in the US, UK, and Australia on February 9th for $349. You can get it in space gray or white. Where Amazon and Google focus mostly on how you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27541,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[157,193,66,154,39,264,52,51,196],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apple-pros","category-apros-archive","category-article","category-audio","category-blog","category-homepod","category-iphone","category-news","category-restricted-content"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.computeradvantage.us\/v3\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/HomePod-internals-1024x947.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6YLEm-7ac","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":27610,"url":"http:\/\/www.computeradvantage.us\/v3\/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-apples-new-homepod-speaker\/","url_meta":{"origin":27540,"position":0},"title":"10 Things You Need to Know about Apple\u2019s New HomePod Speaker","author":"computeradv","date":"March 19, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"After months of anticipation, Apple\u2019s new HomePod smart speaker finally shipped in mid-February. As of March 19th, Computer Advantage will be officially selling the HomePod. Reviews of its audio quality have been positive, and for the most part, it works both as advertised and as you\u2019d expect. However, there were\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Apple Pros"","block_context":{"text":"Apple Pros","link":"http:\/\/www.computeradvantage.us\/v3\/category\/apple-pros\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.computeradvantage.us\/v3\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/HomePod-Speakerphone-962x1024.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":26727,"url":"http:\/\/www.computeradvantage.us\/v3\/new-apple-products-now-and-new-os-offerings-in-the-fall\/","url_meta":{"origin":27540,"position":1},"title":"New Apple products now and new OS offerings in the fall.","author":"computeradv","date":"June 6, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Apple did it. Upgraded iMacs and faster MacBook Pros were among the buzz on June 5, 2017. 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