In announcing this morning that HomePod will be available to order online on Friday ahead of its scheduled February 9 launch, Apple has said that its $349 wireless speaker won't support multi-room audio at launch.
There is no shortage of portable projectors—just take a look on Amazon and you'll find seemingly hundreds of options. The Aurora CC projector from XGIMI is one of the most featured packed out there.
Marshall, a company known for its outstanding history in vintage guitar amps, entered the consumer market a few years ago with a series of speakers and headphones. The Stockwell, the smallest in their lineup, has stood out as probably my favorite portable Bluetooth speaker to hit the market in several years.
iOS 11 has been finally released to the public. We shared Apple's official release notes yesterday, but we've spent a little time of our own coming up with any changes and features not present in iOS 10.
There is an unbelievable amount of things to touch on, so we highly recommend watching our video to see it all in action.
A lot of people rely on AirPlay to stream media from their handsets to their Apple TV or other AirPlay-enabled devices. Unfortunately, some apps, like those provided by TV providers, seem to purposely block the AirPlay function so you can’t stream to the big screen.
As I’m sure many people are peeved by this deliberate block of standard iOS functionality, a new jailbreak tweak called PremiumPlay by iOS developer Tony Kraft provides a way around it.
Google today updated its official YouTube TV app with support for AirPlay, an Apple technology that lets you play video streamed from your iPhone or iPad on a TV set through your Apple TV.
“Announcing AirPlay! There are a few bug fixes and minor improvements in this thing, too. But mostly AirPlay,” reads the changelog for YouTube TV on App Store.
Prior to today's update, YouTube TV only supported broadcasting content from the app to a television set via Google's Chromecast HDMI dongle.
Google launched its new streaming television service back in April 2017.
In exchange for $35 per month, cord-cutters can enjoy live TV streaming from Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC and other popular cable networks along with content from an additional 39 local broadcast networks and channels, like ESPN.
Some sports channels like Fox Soccer Plus, as well as premium networks such as Showtime, are available for an additional monthly charge. DVR with unlimited storage is included in the subscription at no additional charge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qediav063xQ
YouTube TV can be used with up to six accounts in a single household without needing to share passwords between family members.
YouTube TV is separate from the YouTube Red service, which costs ten bucks per month.
YouTube TV is currently limited to select cities, like Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia and the San Francisco Bay Area.
For more information, visit tv.youtube.com/tv/availability.
You can try YouTube TV free for 30 days by signing up at tv.youtube.com.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted that Apple's rumored Siri home speaker will support physical control via a dedicated touch panel. He expects the device to debut at WWDC next month alongside the “announcement of software development details for home AI”.
In his report to clients Saturday, seen by MacRumors, Kuo did not specify if the AI-driven speaker might feature a built-in touchscreen display or use a set of capacitive physical buttons for things like volume and playback control.
Here's an excerpt from Kuo's note:
In our April 28 Insight report (“Apple’s first home AI product to see cyclical shipments of over ten million units; main competitor is Amazon Echo”), we offered estimates for the new home AI/Siri speaker line. We also believe this new product will come with a touch panel.
For what it's worth, Australian leakster Sonny Dickson claimed in April to have learned from insiders that the smart home accessory will be fat, featuring a Mac Pro-like concave top with built-in controls and a speaker mesh portion covering it all.
Phil Schiller, Apple's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, recently speculated that voice-activated home accessories could benefit from the inclusion of a screen.
“There are many moments where a voice assistant is really beneficial, but that doesn't mean you'd never want a screen,” Schiller said.
“So the idea of not having a screen, I don't think it suits many situations.”
Last year, Bloomberg listed some of the device's potential features:
Control home appliances, locks, lights, curtains and other HomeKit devices More advanced always-on mic and speaker than Amazon Echo or Google Home Facial recognition to see folks in the room and determine their emotional state Built-in speaker for wireless music playback Built-in Siri would process many of the commands available on iPhoneIf you ask CNET, it may include built-in cameras as well:
For example, users may be able to ask the device to read e-mails, send text messages and tweets, and stream content from Apple Music. Apple has also considered integrating mapping information into the speaker, potentially allowing the device to notify a user when it’s time to leave the house for an appointment.
Apple reportedly started work on the project in 2014, right after debuting HomeKit.
Previously, Kuo predicted that the accessory would provide “excellent acoustics performance” with a subwoofer, seven tweeters, always-on microphone and computing power similar to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s application processors. Australian leakster Sonny Dickson claimed the Siri speaker should use Beats audio technology and run a variant of iOS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io8NU6iTto0
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The rumored device should be built by AirPods manufacturer Inventec.
Given his prediction that the market for smart home devices might outsell the iPad market next year, Kuo forecast Siri device shipments of around twelve million units in its first year of availability. Apple’s W1 chip, which debuted in AirPods, could play a key role in the product.
Apple is likely to launch additional models of the Siri speaker in the future, he added.
Kuo has given Apple's rumored Amazon Echo competitor 50-50 odds and the rumored 10.5-inch iPad Pro model more than 70-30 odds of being announced at the Cupertino company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference next month.
WWDC 2017 kicks off with a keynote address at 10:00am Pacific Time on Monday, June 5.
Mockup via iFunnyVlogger on Twitter
In its write-up about Amazon's newly announced touchscreen-enabled Echo device, Bloomberg mentioned in passing that Apple's employees are now reportedly testing the company's rumored Siri smart speaker at home. “Apple employees have been testing a device at home for several months,” according to people familiar with the matter.
Apple's marketing chief recently talked up the benefits of having a screen on a voice-activated device, but “it's unclear whether the Apple version will in fact have one,” said Bloomberg.
Amazon's $230 Echo Show, pictured below, streams music from Amazon's own service, Spotify and Pandora, but not Apple Music. “We'd love to have Apple, but they're not super big on opening up Apple Music integration,” said Amazon devices chief Dave Limp.
Apple's upcoming AI speaker is likely to feature native Apple Music integration.
It's not unusual for Apple to allow its employees to test unreleased products at home. The fact that the rumored Siri device is being tested with Apple employees indicates that the product is nearly finished and being prepared and bug-tested ahead of a rumored launch next month.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted it would be powered by an iPhone 6s-class custom processor and a custom version of iOS, supporting features like Siri and AirPlay.
“We expect Apple’s first home AI product will have excellent acoustics performance (one woofer and seven tweeters) and computing power similar to iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s application processor,” Kuo told clients.
KGI believes there's more than a 50 percent chance that Apple will announce its first home AI product at WWDC 2017 next month. It should start selling in the second half of 2017 and be priced higher than Amazon's existing Echo appliances.
Siri wireless speaker mockup via Twitter user “iFunnyVlogger”.
Following claims that Apple has finalized designs for its alleged standalone Siri/AirPlay device, Chinese-language Economic Daily News report Wednesday that AirPods manufacture Inventec has now landed orders for the device.
According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the connected speaker will be Apple's first AI-based smart home device, powered by Siri and supporting AirPlay and other features.
It's expected to take on Amazon's smart home assistant Echo, but will be aimed at the premium segment of the market.
Inventec is the sole assembler of Apple's wireless AirPod products, while iPhone manufacturer Foxconn Electronics is the sole producer of Amazon's Echo devices. Kuo said Apple may announced the device at WWDC 2017 in June. He added adding that the connected AI-driven speaker will be priced higher than Amazon's $179 Echo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io8NU6iTto0
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Other reports have said that Apple's device will feature Beats audio technology and a MacPro-like concave top with built-in controls, with a speaker mesh portion covering it all.
Mockup via iFunnyVlogger on Twitter
Apple's rumored smart home speaker with Siri, AirPlay and artificial intelligence (AI) features could be announced at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference, which kicks off with a keynote on June 5. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo estimated in a note to clients Monday that the rumored Siri-based smart speaker has “over 50 percent chance” of making its WWDC debut.
After claiming on Twitter yesterday that Apple is currently working on finalizing the designs for its Echo rival that's “expected to be marketed as a Siri/AirPlay device,” Australian leakster Sonny Dickson shared with MacRumors and on Twitter additional details about the device. It will allegedly run a version of iOS and include some form of Beats technology.
Australian leakster Sonny Dickson shared on Twitter this morning some pretty interesting development concerning Apple's rumored standalone Siri device. According to Sonny'a tweet, Apple is currently finalizing designs for its Alexa competitor which he claims is expected to be “marketed as a Siri/AirPlay device.”
The description might indicate that the rumored device could be positioned as an inexpensive HDMI dongle focused on streaming, AirPlay and Siri, akin to Google Chromecast. Bloomberg reported last September that such a device was in prototype testing.