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Apple announces the HomePod, challenger to Amazon Echo and Google Home


One of the most interesting announcements made today at Apple’s Annual WWDC was the release of the Apple HomePod, Apple’s entry into the home assistant arms race.

A straight up challenger to the champ, Amazon Echo and the runner-up, Google Home, Apple’s HomePod takes Siri out of your iPhone and places her squarely, for better or worse, in your living room. Marketed primarily as a wireless speaker, the HomePod will be able to use “spatial awareness” to sense its location in a room and adjust its audio accordingly. 

The HomePod is just under seven inches tall, has six microphones, and is powered by the Apple-designed A8 chip. One of the best features of the HomePod, something glaringly missing in the Echo, is the ability to sense other HomePods and unify the listening experience utilizing an update to AirPlay 2.

Of course, the HomePod, triggered by the phrase “Hey Siri,” will have all the requisite home assistant features like controlling HomeKit devices and answering basic questions.

Time will tell if Siri’s voice recognition can compete in the home with Amazon’s Alexa, but the HomePod’s specs certainly outpace the sound quality of Amazon’s device. Although at $350, the HomePod is about twice as expensive as the Echo.

The Apple HomePod will be available in December and is not yet available for preorder. The device comes in two colors, white and “space gray”.

Visit Apple.com for more info.

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Apple announces the HomePod, challenger to Amazon Echo and Google Home originally appeared on on June 5, 2017 at 7:02 pm.

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Google’s AutoDraw turns your lame doodles into actual drawings

I love to doodle, but my drawings don’t always turn out looking too realistic. But now I have a tool that can make even my worst squiggles look good. It’s Google AutoDraw and it’s pretty amazing!

Just grab a laptop, desktop, phone or tablet and point the browser to http://autodraw.com where you’ll be greeted with a simple interface that will work with your mouse, finger or stylus.


Draw an object on the screen and you’ll see guesses from Google pop up in real time at the top of the screen. Tap the guess and voila, your doodle just became awesome!



You can move each drawing around on the screen, resize it, fill in with colors, and more.



You can even add text.

When you’re finished, you can download or share to Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

Head over to AutoDraw and try it for yourself. It’s fun and free!

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Google’s AutoDraw turns your lame doodles into actual drawings originally appeared on on April 12, 2017 at 5:15 pm.

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