Back at WWDC 2017, Apple unveiled a brand new product, the type of device Apple fans were already expecting: a smart speaker that will compete against the Amazon Echo and Google’s Home. Called HomePod and supposed to be launched in December for $349, the device just made the news again as Apple leaked the HomePod firmware, which contains a treasure trove of data.
Developer Steve Troughton-Smith first mentioned the HomePod firmware on Twitter, and he then began exploring the contents of the software. Inside, he discovered references to a facial recognition unlock mechanism coming to the iPhone 8, as well as an actual iPhone 8 schematic showing the handsets design.
No mystery, Apple presumably pushed the HomePod firmware to a feed (intentionally or otherwise) ahead of time: https://t.co/KhEKIga4j7 https://t.co/1p2r74OcRb
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) July 28, 2017
But, as expected, the HomePod software contains more clues about how the speaker will work.
So the #HomePod probably has a screen like this. If it's the right density could easily show basic things like temperature & weather icons 🤞 pic.twitter.com/l5f16EkddV
— Alan Miller (@rosewoodat5th) July 28, 2017
HomePod will run a full iOS stack, with the apps getting an “Air” prefix — like AirMusic for music. However, only Apple apps made for the HomePod will run on it initially.
Just to cut off speculation: there doesn't seem to be any kind of provision in the HomePod OS shell for installing apps or extensions. Zip
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) July 28, 2017
You can expect apps like VoiceOver and accessibility features to be built into HomePod as well.
HomePod has VoiceOver and other accessibility features, in case anybody had doubts
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) July 28, 2017
Third-party app support is likely coming down the road, considering that some of the HomePod’s competitors out there have such abilities. The + and – signs will be used for volume control, but they’re also going to work with Siri, and perform other tasks.
There’s also a screen on top of the HomePod, an LED Matrix that will be able to display shapes and symbols.
The center part of the HomePod surface appears to be an LED matrix and not just big LEDs—could perhaps display shapes/symbols 🤔 /cc @gruber pic.twitter.com/IBJKulMqHI
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) July 28, 2017
Apple will surely confirm some of these HomePod details as we get closer to December, especially since some of them are related to the iPhone 8. After all, why else include all those iPhone 8 details in the HomePod’s firmware?
