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TECHNOLOGY Tuesday 6 June 2017

Apple unveils 'HomePod' speaker, first new product in years

MICHAEL LIEDTKE
BARBARA ORTUTAY
AP Technology Writers
SAN JOSE, California (AP)
— Apple nodded to sev-
eral up-and-coming tech-
nology trends, unveiling a
new "smart" home speaker
and device features touch-
ing on virtual reality, online
privacy and a form of artifi-
cial intelligence called ma-
chine learning.
The speaker unveiled Mon-
day is similar to devices
from rivals, some of which
have been on the market
for years. Like the Amazon
Echo and Google Home,
Apple's HomePod speaker
will play music while also
helping people to man-
age their lives and homes.
Siri will be voice activated
to respond to requests for
information and other help
around the house.
It is Apple's first new de-
vice since the company
launched its smartwatch in
April 2015. John Knoll of Industrial Light & Magic, right, speaks about virtual reality during an announcement of new products at the Apple
The speaker will sell for Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif., Monday, June 5, 2017. Associated Press
about $350 in December in
the U.S., U.K. and Australia. ences." Apple servers in the cloud. is expected in September, chine learning to identify
Amazon sells the main ver- But Apple is late to the These devices will only when Apple typically re- and block digital-ad track-
sion of the Echo for $180; game on VR. Samsung and keep the most recent mes- leases new iPhones. ers in order to keep adver-
Google's Home speaker Google already have VR sages in local storage. MAC GETS AN UPGRADE tisers from following and
goes for $130. systems centered on their For photos, Apple is turning Apple CEO Tim Cook un- profiling users. It will not
The Echo, released in 2015, smartphones. Facebook, to a "high efficiency" format veiled the latest operating block the ads themselves,
and Google Home, re- HTC and Sony have high- to replace the widely used system for Mac computers. though.
leased last year, were the end VR systems, too. JPEG standard. Although Called High Sierra, it recog- WATCH THE WATCH
first entrants in a promising Virtual reality has been de- the format is not exclusive nizes more faces automati- Apple is also updating the
market. The research firm scribed as the next big thing to Apple, it's not yet clear cally, which should make it operating software for its
eMarketer says than 35 mil- for decades. But so far, in- how well the photos will easier to organize photos, Apple Watch, including
lion people in the U.S. are terest has been strongest work with non-Apple soft- and will offer more photo new watch faces, more
expected to use a voice- among gamers, develop- ware and devices, which editing tools. personalized alerts that use
activated speaker at least ers and hardware makers mostly use JPEG. Safari, Apple's web brows- machine learning to tailor
once a month this year, rather than everyday users. er, seeks to make users' on- information to you based
more than double its esti- Apple's entry into the mar- Apple is also bringing the line experience smoother on your routines and tastes.
mate from last year. ket could change this. Its ability to send money to and less annoying. It will al- It also enhanced its work-
KEEPING IT REAL WITH VR entry into digital-music friends or other people low users to automatically out app to, for instance,
New iMacs unveiled Mon- sales with iTunes, and into through its payment ser- block auto-play videos support high intensity inter-
day at Apple's annual the smartphone market vice, Apple Pay. So far, by detecting videos that val training. It will also be
conference for software with the iPhone, upended the service has limited shouldn't be playing when possible to exchange data
programmers are getting those industries and gave payments to purchases of you open a webpage to between gym equipment
better displays and graph- them mass appeal. products and services from read an article, for exam- and the watch.
ics capabilities. Apple said NEW IPHONE FEATURES companies and other or- ple. In a nod to Amazon stream-
that makes the Mac a New features coming to ganizations. The browser's new "intelli- ing fans, Apple is also bring-
great platform for develop- iPhones and iPads include The free software update gent tracking prevention," ing Amazon Prime to its Ap-
ment virtual-reality "experi- messages that sync to for mobile devices, iOS 11, meanwhile, will use ma- ple TV app.q