We want to reinvent home music,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook, with typical modesty, when he unveiled the HomePod last summer. And, to be fair, it is an impressive little speaker – even if it is a late arrival to the ‘smart speaker’ party, and considerably more expensive than rivals such as the Amazon Echo and Sonos One.
The compact cylindrical unit stands just 172mm high and 142mm in diameter, but finds room for seven tweeters, arranged in a circle around the base, while the upper section is occupied by a 20mm, upward-firing woofer. The middle section houses six microphones, which listen for your voice commands, but are also used to analyse the acoustics of the room and adjust the sound accordingly.
The design might be impressive but, in some…
