Oliver Haslam on January 25, 2018, 7:35 am

Here’s What Sets HomePod Apart From The Competition According To Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook has been doing the rounds in Canada, and during a visit to e-commerce platform Shopify’s offices, he found the time to give an interview to the Financial Post during which he, perhaps obviously enough, took the opportunity to wax lyrical about the HomePod – Apple’s smart speaker that will go on sale early next month.

Cook also trotted out another mention for Apple’s efforts in the world of augmented reality, a space in which Apple is determined to make an impact.

When speaking of augmented reality, Cook again reiterated his thoughts on the technology, saying that he sees it as “the most profound” technology for the future.

“I believe that AR is the most profound technology of the future,” Cook said. “It amplifies human performance. It amplifies humans, not substitutes, and doesn’t isolate. I’m a huge believer in it.”

“I see AR taking off very quickly,” he added. “I see developers across Canada adopting at a very fast rate, bringing their craft to market and I couldn’t be happier with it.”

Cook also took the opportunity to remind everyone that while Apple is indeed late to the party with the HomePod, its integration with the iPhone’s iOS and an audio quality that apparently surpasses the competition will allow the HomePod to differentiate itself from devices from the likes of Google and Amazon.

“We think one thing that was missing from this market was a quality audio experience, a very immersive audio experience,” Cook said. “Music deserves that kind of quality as opposed to some kind of squeaky sound.”

Whether that turns out to be enough to make people spend the $349 required to get their hands on a HomePod remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure – for those who do not need the music listening capabilities the HomePod is claimed to excel at, that asking price will be a tough sell for what is essentially Siri in a speaker.

(Source: Financial Post)