Welcome HomePod
It’s been a long time coming, but the Apple HomePod is almost here. If you’re wondering what all the fuss is about or you’re chomping at the bit to get your hands on one, here’s everything you need to know about Apple’s much-anticipated wireless smart speaker.
HomePod is a powerful speaker that sounds amazing and adapts to wherever it’s playing. It brings together Siri and Apple Music to provide the ultimate audio experience, whilst at the same time, acting as your personal home assistant capable of handling everyday tasks.
Design
Unsurprisingly, Apple have chosen to go with the same cylindrical design that has proved successful to its competitors, such as Google Home, Amazon Echo and Sonos One. It stands at just under 18 centimetres tall and is covered in a seamless lightweight mesh fabric, with a circular opening on top to allow space for display and controls. Now, there are no physical buttons to control your music – instead the HomePod is touch sensitive, allowing you to double-tap to skip a track or triple-tap to go back a song.
And it couldn’t be easier to set-up. Simply plug it in and hold your iPhone near the speaker and your iOS device will detect it, while at the same time sending over your Apple ID, Wi-Fi password and Apple Music preferences, saving you a whole load of time and effort.
HomePod is designed as a speaker first and foremost, with Apple boasting very heavily about the sound quality and spatial awareness technology. Packed into this compact design, are seven tweeters, each with its own amplifier, six microphones for Siri, a 4-inch woofer with custom amplifier and Apple’s powerful A8 chip. All this combines to deliver a high-quality audio experience.
Audio
Apple’s impressive spatial awareness technology automatically adjusts to provide optimal sound, no matter where in the room it’s positioned. Placed in the centre of a room the HomePod delivers a 360-degree sound, but when moved close to a wall, the speaker will work out what surfaces are nearby and adjust the sound accordingly.
HomePod brings out the best of Apple Music, putting over 45 million songs at your fingertips. You can ask Siri to give you information on any track that’s playing, including who it’s by or when it was recorded, plus Siri will also learn what you like and what you don’t. When you hear a song that you’re really into, say “Hey Siri, I like this” and Siri will remember and will play other songs based on your music tastes.
Siri
Of course, HomePod can do more than just play music. Thanks to Siri, you can get the latest news, traffic, sport and weather, as well as set reminders for your day ahead. You can send messages using just your voice and when you receive a text, Siri can read it out to you. You can also take control of all your other Smart Home devices, such as turning your lights on and off, or adjusting the temperature.
Summary
In summary, the HomePod is an impressive bit kit. It stacks up well against its rivals and produces a high-class sound and then some. As with all Apple products, it integrates seamlessly with the Apple family. So, if you’re an iPhone user looking for a good home speaker, you won’t go far wrong with the HomePod.
So how can you order your very own HomePod?
With a Let’s Connect Technology and Smartphone scheme, ran through your employer, you can access a wide range of the latest technology and spread the cost with affordable monthly payments direct from your salary. To find out if your employer is running a benefit scheme this year, please contact your HR or finance director and keep an eye out for more details.
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We look forward to hearing from you.
The Let’s Connect Team
