homepod News of 01/16/21

Apple HomePod Mini Review: Remarkably Big Sound

It’s hard to shake the sense that the smart speaker market would look considerably different had the HomePod Mini arrived several years back. It’s not so much that the device is transformative on the face of it, but it’s impossible to deny that it ...

Josh.Ai Launches A ‘Nearly Invisible’ Amazon Echo Competitor That’S The Size Of A Coin

In the past several weeks we’ve seen refreshes and product expansions from about every facet of the smart home virtual assistant world. Apple launched the HomePod Mini, Google offered a long-overdue refresh of the Google Home, and Amazon ...

The Smart Speaker Market Is Expected Grow 21% Next Year

New numbers from Canalys point to a strong growth in smart speaker shipments in Mainland China this year. The market is on track to grow 2020, having gotten the COVID-19 pandemic mostly under control in recent months. The rest of the world — much of ...

Apple HomePod Update Brings Intercom And Other New Features

Apple HomePod owners, starting today, will be able to use the newly announced “Intercom” feature to send messages between their HomePod smart speakers. The feature, which arrives via a software update, brings this and several other ...

This Week In Apps: Apple’S Big Event, Lidar Comes To IPhone, Android Gets A New IDE

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the TechCrunch series that recaps the latest OS news, the applications they support and the money that flows through it all. The app industry is as hot as ever, with  a record  204 billion downloads and $120 ...

Apple Reveals The $99 HomePod Mini

Today, during its iPhone hardware event, Apple unveiled the $99 HomePod Mini. The HomePod Mini is clearly a reach for a broader swath of new users. The original HomePod managed to impress audiophiles but its high price served as a high barrier of ...

The IPhone 12 And HomePod Mini Leak Ahead Of Today’S Big Apple Event

I guess maybe don’t read this if you like being surprised. Though you already read the headline and saw the first image, so you might as well keep keep going, right? And this is an Apple event we’re talking about, so surely there will be a ...

Watch Apple Unveil The New IPhone Live Right Here

Apple is set to announce new iPhone models today. The company is holding a (virtual) keynote at 10 AM PT (1 PM in New York, 6 PM in London, 7 PM in Paris) . And you’ll be able to watch the event right here as the company is streaming it live. ...

What To Expect From Apple’S ‘Hi Speed’ IPhone Event

For starters, iPhones, of course. That one was easy. The company skipped out on new mobile devices during its recent Apple Watch event, owing to COVID-19-related delays. And, of course, the fact that the events are all pre-taped and virtual now ...

Apple Said To Be Planning Fall IPhone Refresh With IPad Pro-Like Design

Apple is readying a new iPhone for fall to replace the iPhone 11 Pro this fall, Bloomberg reports , as well as follow-ups to the iPhone 11, a new smaller HomePod, and a locator tag accessory. The top-end iPhone 11 Pro successors at least will have ...

Nearly 70% Of U.S. Smart Speaker Owners Use Amazon Echo Devices

Amazon’s dominant position in the U.S. smart speaker market will continue through this year and the next, with rivals like Google and Apple only making slight dents in Amazon Echo market share, according to a report published today by eMarketer ...

The Time Is Right For Apple To Buy Sonos

It’s been a busy couple of months for smart speakers – Amazon released a bunch just this week , including updated versions of its existing Echo hardware and a new Echo Studio with premium sound. Sonos also introduced its first portable ...

Amazon Unveils The $199 Echo Studio, Its Answer To The Apple HomePod And Google Home Max

Today at a special event Amazon unveiled a bevy of new Echo devices including several aimed a bit upmarket.  The Echo Studio is Amazon’s answer to the Google Nest Max and Apple HomePod. It’s larger than a normal Echo, supports 3D audio and Dolby ...

Apple’S HomePod Set To Gain Some Long Overdue Functionality This Fall

It’s no secret that the HomePod’s software updates have been a bit sluggish, which made it all the more alarming that the device was barely touched on in yesterday’s Apple event. Well, even as pre-launch promises are still ...

Amazon Said To Be Launch New Echo Speaker With Premium Sound Next Year

Amazon is reportedly looking to offer an Echo that more directly competes with high-end speakers like the Sonos line of device of Apple’s HomePod, according to a new report from Bloomberg . The speaker should be released sometime next year, ...

AirPods And HomePod Get Some New Skills

Apple’s audio hardware didn’t get a ton of love at WWDC but the devices didn’t go unmentioned, here’s what’s coming to your HomePod and AirPods. For AirPods users, Siri will now be able to read incoming iMessages to ...

Daily Crunch: Apple Cuts HomePod Prices

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here . 1. Apple’s HomePod gets a $50 price cut ...

Apple’S HomePod Gets A $50 Price Cut

The HomePod got a healthy little price drop today , bringing Apple’s premium smart speaker down to $299. Announced in mid-2017 and released in early-2018, the Siri-powered product brought a very Apple approach to the category dominated by Amazon ...

Over A Quarter Of U.S. Adults Now Own A Smart Speaker, Typically An Amazon Echo

U.S. smart speaker owners grew 40 percent over 2018 to now reach 66.4 million – or 26.2 percent of the U.S. adult population – according to a new report from Voicebot.ai and Voicify released this week, which detailed adoption patterns ...

Report: Smart Speaker Adoption In U.S. Reaches 66m Units, With Amazon Leading

Smart speakers had a good holiday. Amazon already said its Echo Dot outsold all other items on its site this holiday season, which hinted toward the sizable growth for the voice-powered speaker market. Today, research firm CIRP is reporting the ...