We are still far from the launch of the HomePod, the last Apple product to join its catalog but it will not arrive until December (later in Spain), but we already know some details of it thanks to the analysis of the firmware code that Apple has already revealed.
Details on the top touch pad, accessibility and an operating system based on iOS are some of the details revealed by Troughton-Smith, a well-known developer who has cracked the iOS code before.
After many months of rumors about the launch of a smart speaker that would compete with the Amazon Echo with Alexa or the Google Home, devices that are not yet available in Spain for purchase, Apple unveiled its commitment to smart speakers at WWDC 2017: the HomePod. A speaker with a superior sound quality that would adapt to the room and place where it is located and that of course will integrate Siri to be able to control it through our voice. Without further details, Apple called us to December to be able to acquire it in the United States for $ 349 in two colors, black and white.
The HomePod firmware, analyzed by Troughton-Smith, reveals that it is a system that is basically iOS but adapted to a device without a screen, and in which it has a main application called "Soundboard", comparable to the Springboard (desktop) of the iPhone and iPad. Accessibility options such as VoiceOver will not be lacking in this version of iOS. The upper part is a screen in which we can see the animation of Siri and that will be tactile, being able to control the volume of the device or invoke Siri by holding down the surface. What it seems is that the current firmware does not allow the installation of third-party applications or extensions, at least for now.