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Apple's HomePod Gets Delayed Until 2018 (theverge.com)
Apple has reportedly delayed the release of its HomePod smart speaker until 2018. In a statement to The Verge, Apple says that it needs more time to work on the device. "We can't wait for people to experience HomePod, Apple's breakthrough wireless speaker for the home, but we need a little more time before it's ready for our customers," an Apple spokesperson said. "We'll start shipping in the U.S., UK and Australia in early 2018." From the report: The speaker was originally set to be released in December. Priced at $349, the HomePod is slated to take on higher-end sound systems like Sonos, as well as smart assistants like the Amazon Echo and Google Home. The cylindrical speaker features a seven-speaker array of tweeters, a four-inch subwoofer, and a six-microphone array, which puts it right on par spec-wise with the best speakers in its price range, but where it may fall short is Siri, which isn't really in the same class as Alexa or Google Assistant. That challenge is likely why Apple's focus at the launch of the HomePod back at WWDC in June was music first and smart features second.
instead of rushing. Good for them and good for us.
I'm not one to follow every little advance made by the various "digital assistants", but in what way is Siri not "really in the same class as Alexa or Google Assistant"? I thought Siri was quite advanced, and was the first, so has it lagged behind the competition? Or is Siri tuned more for phone use on demand and not the far more generic use required in the home, where it "listens in" continuously to filter for commands within all the ambient sound and conversations in a room?
Better known as 318230.
That challenge is likely why Apple's focus at the launch of the HomePod back at WWDC in June was music first and smart features second.
I suppose if you don't already have a sound system, this lets you get something that's probably decent at a lower cost, but if you've already got a set of speakers, what is the purpose of this thing? I despise digital voice assistants anyway and I suspect there are a lot of other posters here that don't like privacy implications and completely disable whatever they've got on their phone, so I can't really see the point of this device. Maybe if they had a crap ton of other smart appliances and you could build an Apple home with this thing serving as the hub, but this just feels to pointless. So that probably just means it will be a smashing success when it does come out.
You forgot the part about it being DESIGNED and SOLD by an American based company.
The tax has nothing to do with where it was designed. If an American company has a design center overseas, they pay the same tax as if it was designed in America. If a foreign company employs American designers, they pay no tax on overseas sales.
The only thing that makes a difference is where the money is INVESTED after it is collected. It is taxed if it is invested in America, creating American jobs. It is not taxed if it is invested overseas.
No other country attempts to collect extraterritorial tax on sales outside their borders. And certainly no other country is idiotic enough to use such a tax to penalize investment and job creation.
While I'm reading some negativity in the comments section concerning this delay, Apple should be applauded as they're undoubtedly coming up with a progressive device eschewing the archaic components cobbled together for your grandparents 'speakers', like the speaker cone, the magnet, and the voice coil.