New smart speaker expected as Apple kicks off conference

For example, Apple Watch would surface traffic and exercise notifications for early morning workout warriors. Apple CEO Tim Cook may even lift the cover on a smart speaker based on the Siri virtual assistant.

The long-rumored Siri speaker is now official, and it’s called HomePod.

“Though Apple appears to be playing catch up with Amazon and Google, the primary casualty here may be Sonos”.

Soon, Apple will introduce a new iPhone feature that will do away with that annoying – and unsafe – urge to look at a text message while you’re driving. The next iOS may also have new features designed for artificial intelligence, the application of computers that learn and understand things like humans.During a lengthy Reddit thread the three people, who go by the name of Foxconninsider, spoke mostly about the upcoming iPhone 8 and Apple’s answer to the Amazon Echo, dubbed the Siri Speaker.

It’s game-time! Apple just announced its long-awaited take on a smart speaker, completing the smart speaker triumvirate along with Google and Amazon. Also, more memories like photos of pets or birthdays will be automatically created. iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus users on iOS 11 will get a new feature called High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF).

Apple “can’t afford to yield valuable real-estate in the heart of people’s homes to Amazon, Google and others”, said Geoff Blaber, research analyst at CCS Insight.

By comparison, the Google Home comes in at £129 and Amazon’s prime Alexa-powered device, Echo, is £150, with the Echo Dot available for just £50. Microsoft also has announced its own speaker with Samsung’s Harman business; it will use Microsoft’s Cortana digital assistant.

Although it was first smartphone maker to come out with a digital assistant when Siri debuted in 2011, it hasn’t had a stand-alone assistant.

This has been one major area in consumer electronics lacking Apple’s footprint. That money can immediately be used in retail stores that take Apple Pay or can be moved to a bank account.

Apple adds that AR Kit will be the “largest AR platform in the world”, as it will be available for existing iPhones and iPads.

The “HomePod” speaker unveiled at Apple’s annual developers conference is similar to rival devices that have been released during the past two years. Its new person-to-person payment, where iPhone users can pay each other on the Messenger app, drew a huge round of applause.

WatchOS 4 will also bring updates to the watch’s fitness tracking, including a new user interface for the workout app and new integrations with gym equipment manufacturers. That should help Apple reposition the iPad as a work device capable of carrying out all the usual functionality users want from their laptops.

All the same, the biggest improvements for productivity pros in the new breed device include the basics: full size multiple language keyboards and significant memory improvements, but also include big steps in usability which make an iPad Pro more like a Mac and a Mac more like an iPad Pro.