HomePod Apple Smart Speaker: Features, Release Date And Everything We Know

Everything you need to know about the Apple HomePod

We have been waiting long for the Apple’s HomePod as it makes its debut about six months ago. In June Apple unveiled its very first smart speaker in a bid to give a stiff competition to the ever popular Amazon’s Echo speaker but apple has been quite shy to bring to the market by postponing the launch date again and again. Apple HomePod worked just like any other smart speaker where it brings a wireless audio experience powered with the voice control offered with the help of Siri. Apple promised that it will bring a premium sound experience which will be coupled with the enhanced voice-control functionality with Siri support resulting in a much better experience than the Amazon Echo speaker. Being an Apple product it is designed to work seamlessly with the Apple Music along with some advanced features like smart home integration, multi-room audio as well as voice messaging.

Apple HomePod Key features you would love

Apple is coming quite late into the category of smart home speaker which is led solely by Amazon with its Echo and Echo dot models. Now the major competitor for HomePod includes the Alexa powered Echo series made by Amazon and the Google’s very own Home speakers. Apple has spent a huge time with several of years of research and development in order to come up with its own version of the smart speaker. It had given two years of free reign to the Amazon while it kept on developing the smartphone therefore it will come with a premium price tag along with some cool features baked right into the smart speaker.

HomePod becomes the first smart speaker from Apple which gets powered by Siri. Apple has baked in a number of features based its voice and smartphone assistant Siri into this smart speaker in a bid to give competition to Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Siri will allow users to send messages, play a podcast, set a timer or even check the news. Furthermore it will allow users to link a wide range of HomeKit smart home tech appliances with it to turn it a true smart home. Apple has brought the HomeKit ability right into the smart speaker to bring the function of controlling multiple devices or home accessories by simply saying “Hey Sir, I am Home”. You can turn on and off the lights, set up the temperature and perform other smart home automation right by speaking to the HomePod.

Finally the wait is over for the Apple fans

The HomePod will be making its available for pre-order on January 26 in the UK and it will be realizing worldwide on 9the February 2018. A number o fans had gone ahead and waiting whole night for the HomePod sales to begin but they were left disappointed. Apple had announced it at the WWDC developers conference in June but it kept getting delayed from November to December then finally to New Year. Apple has priced the HomePod at just $319 in the US while in UK it will cost around £ 319.

The Cool Stuff in iOS 11.3

The iOS 11.3 beta version has just been released recently with a lot of cool stuff for developers to check out. No one expected the .3 version of the OS to contain a lot of improvements to the overall OS. Besides the smoothing up of edges and giving everything a more polished feel, Apple has also gone the extra step in introducing a lot more features than before in iOS 11.3.

Besides the basic fixes and patches, Apple has also introduced a new animoji, a fix for that battery fiasco and AR upgrades. Apple iOS 11.3 will be available for iPhone 5 and upwards.

That Battery Fiasco and iOS 11.3: 

So a while back Apple had to disclose a feature that makes your IPhone’s processing slower due to an ageing battery, Apple had to apologize for secretly doing this and now has released a way to take control of your own battery through iOS 11.3.

As of iOS 11.3 you can switch off this battery feature or check out your battery’s health by going to Settings>Battery. With iOS 11.3 your IPhone will inform you if you need a battery swap and for a limited period only, and by that I mean a year, you can get a battery swap at just $29.

Adding more to AR with iOS 11.3: 

Although Apple’s ARKit can do a lot, it still had some limitations in that you couldn’t add stuff in vertical terms. You could add for example a sofa against a wall but you couldn’t stand a cabinet against the wall.

Now all that is changed in iOS 11.3. The newer version of iOS can not only recognize vertical spaces but also oddly shaped items as well. Besides this, the ARKit can now also recognize pictures or posters and give out AR content.

More Animojis and iOS 11.3: 

Users with an IPhone X may be aware of animojis, the floating avatar that you can control with your face when you want to send those emotion filled messages.

With iOS 11.3, Apple has added a few more to the floating avatar group, namely a dragon, a skull, a lion and a bear.

Once deleted Stays Deleted in iOS 11.3: 

In iOS 11.3 you can now read and delete your messages from any Apple device and what’s more is that if you delete a message from your laptop then it will be deleted across all other Apple devices as well.

Introducing business chat in iOS 11.3: 

iOS 11.3 is also introducing business chat where you can chat with businesses on business chat instead of phoning them or looking them up online for any enquiries. You can even stop chats whenever you like and you don’t even have to send your personal info to them.

All your medical records in one place: 

Visiting a number of doctors and hospitals all requires you to make several folders and whats more is that you have to lug these medical files to every doctor visit you make. With iOS 11.3 all that is in the past with all your medical files stored in one location.

5 ways to adapt your online store in 2018

The new year has arrived, and with it comes an opportunity for change. So, take a look at your online store – what can be done to elevate it into the future? These five ways to adapt it will ensure it strives in 2018 and the years ahead.

Is your hosting provider good enough? 

Think about how your store is doing. Are you receiving more and more traffic as time goes on? Are you unhappy with the reliability and/or support of your hosting provider? If so, it might be time to reconsider. Begin the year with a new hosting provider that fulfils your demands and meets your needs.

Shared hosting is ideal for small online stores, as highlighted by Ecommerce Guide, but if your store is beginning to grow bigger, it may be time to make that step up and invest in a dedicated server. It’ll cope better with larger audiences, with faster speed times and a much lower risk of any downtime.

Ensure your design is set for the future

One of, if not the most effective way of getting customers to stick around on your store is through its design. Consider your store’s ease of access – can customers find their way around easily? Or are vital links and features hidden behind a garish, difficult design?

Although it’s good to be independent and innovative, look at competitors to see where their designs succeed. Flat design is often the way forward and looks to be so for the significant future, so ensure your online store brings your products and services to the forefront, with a minimal design to prevent any distractions or confusion.

Think about mobile browsing

Online shopping via mobile is becoming more popular than ever, and so it’s important your mobile design is just as forward-thinking and easy to use as the desktop version. 62% of e-commerce shoppers used their mobile phones to make purchases in the last six months, which means it’s definitely a priority.

Upon mobiles, online stores should be quick, simple and striking, bringing the product to the forefront and omitting any unnecessary steps – the process from browsing to buying should be minimal and fast. As handheld devices begin to overtake desktops, it’s important to be prepared.
Consider changes in the market

Make sure you remain vigilant and prepared for any shifts or changes in the market. Trends often change and phases of popularity for certain products can be short-lived, and so it’s crucial you remain a frontrunner and get ahead of the competition – innovation is key. Observe the market and be prepared for the tides of new demands and expiring products, and be prepared to reinvent and introduce new ideas to keep customers coming back. Remember – if you’re not forward-thinking, they’ll likely end up looking elsewhere.

Employ new levels of security

Hackers and attackers are always finding new ways to breach the security of online stores, so make sure you’re prepared for any eventuality. Ensure your security is top-level – especially when dealing with a large number of customers – as confidential details could easily be discovered should an attack be successful.

SQL injection is a common threat in e-commerce, but thankfully there are many methods of prevention that’ll protect you from any harm. This is crucial – should a customer fall victim to a hack, they’ll likely never shop with you again.

Do you have any more tips for adapting an online store for the future ahead? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.

The Battle of the Voice Assistants: Google Assistant or Alexa

The recent CES saw a lot of new and innovative products, but most importantly we are now seeing trends where various gadgets whether it is house hold gadgets or otherwise, are adopting voice assistants into the mix. A common standard against which to measure performance of a voice assistant is how many products come with a particular voice assistant.

Currently there are many voice assistants out there, but the more prosperous of the lot seems to be the ones made by Amazon and the Google voice assistant. So who will take the lead in being the best voice assistant out there?
  
The Battle Between Alexa and Google Assistant Begins…
  
Talking of house hold appliances, at the recent CES Amazon’s Alexa has been inserted into a bathroom mirror whereby you can pass commands to the other house hold appliances through Kohler Konnect.

At the CES a number of products have built in voice assistants which you guessed right- Alexa and Google assistant being at the forefront.

Many smart speakers have a built in Google assistant like JBL, Altec Lansing and LG. Apart from speakers two leading TV brands have also adopted the Google assistant which are Sony and LG.

Getting into cars is another place where you’ll find the Google assistant courtesy of the new android auto.
  
YouTube Between Alexa and Google Assistant:
  
A little set- back for Amazon’s Alexa is that Google has recently blocked Alexa powered echo Show devices from YouTube. While this might be a deal breaker for some, Alexa is still ploughing on with house hold appliances such as fridges that dictate recipes to you while you cook, to bathroom mirrors that can control your other appliances.

In other news, Whirlpool remains non –committal when it comes to the best voice assistant out there. The users are given a chance to pick their favorite voice assistant on their microwave and/or oven appliances.

One of the most talked about gadgets at the CES this year has been the $1000 Vuzix smart glasses and these too feature Amazon’s Alexa to browse through the net for you.

  
So who’s the Winner?
  
While some say that hands down Amazon’s Alexa is the winner, others are a little dubious about the same.

Amazon is a long way off when it comes to countries outside Europe and the US; this may slow down its progress as compared to the Google assistant. The Google assistant too has more language support as compared to Alexa giving it a head start in world markets.

For now voice assistants are a novelty to a great many and while Google and Amazon do have their loyal fan base getting others to use voice assistants and their advantages stills remains a challenge.
What about other company’s voice assistants?

Coming to Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana and Samsung’s Bixby, all seem a far way off when it comes to the reigning champions Alexa and Google assistant.

But you got to hand it out to Samsung for remaining loyal to its own voice assistant by seeing bixby into its fridges, TVs and Smartphones.

Intel, ARM and AMD Chip Scare: What You Need to Know

In recent news Google’s team Zero team has come out with a report that shows that hackers could potentially get through to your personal data through a fundamental fault in chips.

Coming at a not so great time for the industry with the consumer electronics trade show only a few days away, this scare about a security flaw has put the world on pins. With 1.5 billion users having laptops and desktop computers, the security flaw is far reaching and could be potentially very damaging.

What is the security Flaw about? 

Researchers have discovered that flaws in CPUs or to be more precise the chips that do most of the processing, seem to have gaps that allow or could allow hackers to gain access to a user’s most private data such as credit card passwords. These chips that are most susceptible to hacking are the Intel, ARM and AMD chips.

The security flaws are mainly of two categories. Meltdown is one of the security flaws that affect desktops, laptops and internet servers running on an Intel chip. The more far reaching of the security flaws is spectre that could affect smartphones, tablets as well as PCs running on any of the three chips that is Intel, ARM and AMD.

Also coming under the purview of the security flaw is any computer or device connected to the cloud, too can be susceptible to an attack.

How serious is this Security Flaw to be taken? 

The security flaw is no doubt far reaching, however, there have not been any reported cases of people taking advantage of this security flaw at present.

This is not to say that with the news being divulged of such a security flaw, there won’t be people out there who are going to look out for loopholes to get to user’s personal data.

The most important thing for users to do at present is to ensure that their systems are up to date with the latest update and any third party security packs should also be updated at the earliest.

Safeguarding against the Security Flaw: 

The news about the security flaw was already known to tech experts at least 6 months prior to when the issue has come out. This has given them ample time to develop patches and fixes for the security flaw.

All users no matter what the device should install the latest update as soon as possible to protect their data from any potential threats.

Effects of downloading the patches: 

Downloading the patches, as researchers have discovered, will likely slow down performance by at least 30%. Intel has rubbished the claims saying that they are exaggerated and any performance slowdown will be mainly work related.

With the CES coming up shortly, researchers are worried about how news of the security flaw is likely to affect sales of products on display.

News of the security flaw has revealed a fundamental flaw in the way that chips are made which will now require a complete rethinking of how chips are to be developed.