HomePod

While Apple’s recently concluded event focused on the new iPhone X generation and Apple Watch Series 4, that wasn’t the only big things the company had prepared. Outside of the spotlight, Apple announced an update to the HomePod that might make its $349 price tag finally worth it for some interested buyers. In addition to things like being able to make and take calls, the smart speaker is finally getting a whole lot smarter thanks to the addition of Siri Shortcuts.

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Tim cook mentioned earlier this year that Apple Music wasn't "in it for the money." Since then, Apple Music paid subscriber numbers grew from somewhere below 38-million to around 50-million. It would appear that not being in the streaming music business for the money is working out OK for Apple over the last few months.

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In just two months, Apple will finally be unveiling its three new iPhones for the year. For those not interested in upgrading phones, the launch does bring something more interesting as well: iOS 12. But wait, there’s more! While iOS 12’s upcoming features have mostly been covered by now, one thing that seems to have slipped past is how it will affect the HomePod speakers. Finally, we’re hearing about that and, suffice it to say, owners will finally be getting the smart speaker they deserved.

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In a set of product drawings made by Apple we've seen what could very well be the future of the brand's smart devices collection - conceptually, anyway. The drawings come from a patent description packet by the name of "Structured Fabrics for Electronic Devices," and it was first filed in February of 2018 with the USPTO. In Apple patent filing terms, that's CRAZY recent - generally we see patent filing dates YEARS before the publication date - here that's just not so.

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Apple may soon try to target the high-end with its audio devices, as new rumors are claiming that it has a more capable pair of AirPods in the works. Those new AirPods could be joined by a pair of over-the-ear headphones meant to challenge similar devices from Bose and Sennheiser, along with a new version of the company's HomePod. Details are a little spotty at the moment, but we're hearing that these new audio devices could arrive as early as next year.

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If one HomePod sounds great, how about two of Apple's speakers set up as a stereo pair? With the arrival of AirPlay 2 this week, right on the cusp of WWDC 2018, Apple finally delivers on music promises it made back when it first announced HomePod at WWDC 2017 last year.

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Apple has confirmed which third-party connected speakers will be AirPlay 2 compatible, though the 33 models on the list isn't quite the whole story. The new streaming functionality was added to iOS devices today as part of the iOS 11.4 release, allowing Apple's HomePod speaker to integrate with a multi-room music setup, among other things.

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Apple's iOS 11.4 update has been released, and with Messages in iCloud support, there's more to it than just AirPlay 2. The new version - which is arriving on iPhone, iPad, and the HomePod - was announced earlier today, with its support for bringing some much-needed features to Apple's smart speaker.

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Apple has launched AirPlay 2 in iOS 11.4, adding HomePod stereo pair support along with multi-room audio streaming. The new version of AirPlay 2 comes along with launch dates for HomePod in three new countries - Canada, France, and Germany - bringing the total number of places you can buy the Siri-powered smart speaker to six.

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Apple products don't always become an overnight success. Some take years of constant marketing to hammer them into consumers' skulls. So while the HomePod's reported lackluster sales are disappointing for Apple fans, they might not be as fatal as some predict it to be. That said, the company seems to be trying to salvage its image by making a rather odd move. Not only is it coming out with a cheaper HomePod, according to reports it might not be launched as a HomePod at all.

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The pessimism around Apple HomePod continues to mount, with suggestions that the smart speaker could only sell a small fraction of the total amount predicted for 2018. The Siri-powered speaker launched earlier this year to no shortage of fanfare from Apple, promising the slickest way to consume Apple Music as well as smart home and iPhone integration.

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HomePod was meant to be Apple's triumphant splash in the smart speaker market, but the reality has been a little less rewarding. Official sales numbers still haven't been shared - and, most likely, never will - but reports this week suggest demand for the Siri-powered speaker has been a fraction of what Apple predicted. Ironically, though, there are a few fairly straightforward ways that HomePod could be improved. Apple could even do some of them without needing to change its hardware at all. The question is not so much how Apple could do it, really, it's if Apple could.

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