All items tagged with smart speakers and Apple (24)

The Return of the Apple HomePod, Now with UWB, Matter, Bluetooth 5 and... Spatial Audio

January 18, 2023 by Joao Martins

The Return of the Apple HomePod, Now with UWB, Matter, Bluetooth 5 and... Spatial Audio

Following a surprise announcement of new M2 silicon for its MacBook Pro and Mac mini models, Apple surprised us even more with the announcement of the return of the infamous HomePod. Now packed full of innovations, more sensors, improved Siri features like the HomePod mini, and Matter-compatible smart home capabilities, the new HomePod returns with the same form factor, but now with updated Bluetooth 5 technology, UWB, Airplay 2, and the same smart, adaptive listening experience.

Smart Speaker Shipments Surged to Record Levels

September 15, 2021 by audioXpress Staff

Smart Speaker Shipments Surged to Record Levels

The smart speaker market in the second quarter of 2021 surged to new heights as consumers and brands adapt to the ongoing pandemic, according to the latest research from Strategy Analytics. Even with the looming specters of supply chain challenges, component shortages, and the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus hanging over the market, global shipments of smart speakers and smart displays in Q2 2021 grew 34.8% from Q2 2020 to 39.5 million units, a record for a second calendar quarter.

Global Hey Siri Wake Words Available from Sensory to Control Apple and Third-Party Devices

June 9, 2021 by Joao Martins

Global Hey Siri Wake Words Available from Sensory to Control Apple and Third-Party Devices

Following Apple's announcement at WWDC21 that Siri is now open to third-party device makers, Sensory announced availability of its global “Hey Siri” wake word, complementing its range of custom voice AI solutions. With TrulyHandsfree “Hey Siri” wake word models available in different sizes, languages, and ports for all of today’s popular DSP platforms, Sensory is fast-tracking the development of third-party Siri devices, ranging from wearables to smart speakers and beyond.

NXP Development Tools Support New Ultra-Wideband Applications With iPhone and Apple Watch

June 7, 2021 by Cristina Costa

NXP Development Tools Support New Ultra-Wideband Applications With iPhone and Apple Watch

NXP Semiconductors has announced that it now offers beta Ultra-Wideband (UWB) development tools from its NXP Trimension portfolio that interoperate with the U1 chip in supported Apple products. The beta development tools will allow developers to kick-start the design of innovative applications that interact with UWB enabled Apple products including iPhone and Apple Watch, unleashing the ability to create more precise, directionally aware app experiences.

Situational Loudspeakers: Different Ways of Thinking About Speaker Design

December 10, 2020 by Joao Martins

Situational Loudspeakers: Different Ways of Thinking About Speaker Design

One of the most intriguing concepts in speaker design is the notion that people have to sit in a very limited sweet spot - a carefully triangulated arrangement of a center line between our ears and the point source in a pair of speakers. For many music and audio enthusiasts, there's no other way - and preferably in a carefully treated listening environment designed for musical enjoyment. But what the market once dubbed as "living room stereo" is something that the vast majority of people completely ignore. Why would you even have to sit still to listen to music?

Global Smart Speaker Market Set to Reach 163 Million Units in 2021

October 30, 2020 by audioXpress Staff

Global Smart Speaker Market Set to Reach 163 Million Units in 2021

With a slightly more conservative forecast than some published reports from other market research firms, Canalys expects the global smart speaker market, including smart displays, to reach 163 million units in 2021, characterized as a growth of 21%. In 2020, Mainland China, which has the COVID-19 pandemic relatively under control, will lead, growing 16%, while the rest of the global market is expected to grow 3% as countries continue to battle the coronavirus.

The First Smart Speaker from Apple: A Strong Design and How It Is Perceived

October 15, 2020 by Joao Martins

The First Smart Speaker from Apple: A Strong Design and How It Is Perceived

For this edition of The Audio Voice, I intended to focus a bit more on the latest developments in the fascinating world of sensors and how it impacts product development and design in all applications areas, particularly in consumer electronics, automotive, and health applications. After writing previously about Apple - the sensors on the Apple Watch and the surprising firmware updates for the AirPod Pro earbuds - I really didn't want to go back to Apple. But as always, Apple has a way of surprising us exactly when we least expected, and the company made another important audio announcement.

Apple Unveils HomePod mini Smart Speaker to Expand Its Smart Home Ecosystem

October 13, 2020 by audioXpress Staff

Apple Unveils HomePod mini Smart Speaker to Expand Its Smart Home Ecosystem

Opening what was broadly expected to be an event focused on the iPhone 12 unveiling, Apple introduced the new HomePod mini. Unlike the original HomePod, primarily focused on the music listening experience, the HomePod mini is touted as an actual Smart Speaker. In fact, betting on leading on four fronts: to combine a great music listening experience, an intelligent assistant, and smart home capabilities, with built-in privacy and security, in a beautiful compact design. Also much more affordable, at just $99.

New Record for Smart Speakers As Global Sales Reached 146.9 Million in 2019

February 14, 2020 by audioXpress Staff

New Record for Smart Speakers As Global Sales Reached 146.9 Million in 2019

The global smart speaker market reached a new high in 2019 with sales of 146.9 million units, an increase of 70% on 2018, according to new research from Strategy Analytics. Amazon remained the leading brand with a share of 26.2%, down from 33.7% 2018. Google retained second place with a 20.3% share, also down from 25.9% the previous year. Chinese vendors Baidu, Alibaba and Xiaomi all increased their shares, while Apple remained in sixth place with 4.7%.

52% of US Smart Speaker Owners Are Controlling TV With Voice

January 28, 2020 by audioXpress Staff

52% of US Smart Speaker Owners Are Controlling TV With Voice

75 million people in the US are now using a smart speaker, and more than half of them – 39 million – are using it to control their smart TV, video streamer or other TV device at least weekly. This finding comes from Strategy Analytics’ latest report, 2019 Smart Speaker User Survey – US Results, and is based on a survey of 1136 users of smart speakers carried out in July and August 2019.

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