The latest Apple HomePod beta brings an option to choose a new default music player. The update arrived yesterday as part of the iOS 14 beta 2. iOS 14 has been making waves after new privacy features revealed shady behavior from apps like TikTok. Now A…
Category archives: smart speakers
After Controversy, Sonos Scraps Recycle Mode that Bricks Old Speakers
Sonos is doing away with the company’s controversial Recycle Mode for its trade-up program. Recycle Mode on devices is a setting that could be activated by customers. Once activated, the speaker could not be taken out of the mode. After 30 days, …
Researchers Use Ultrasonic Waves to Hijack Digital Voice Assistants
Security researchers say they can use ultrasonic waves to hijack voice assistants like Bixby and Siri. Ultrasonic waves are sounds that humans cannot hear, so the hijacking is imperceptible. The attack can be used to reach messages, make fraudulent pur…
Spotify, Pandora Could Be Allowed to Stream Directly on the Apple HomePod
A new report suggests Apple is considering opening its HomeSpot speaker to rivals like Spotify and Pandora. Bloomberg reports that Apple is discussing letting users choose third-party applications as their defaults. The move is likely a response to a S…
Sonos CEO Apologizes For Confusion, But Nothing Is Changing
Sonos CEO Patrick Spence has publicly apologized for confusion around Sonos’ smart speaker plans. The company announced that older hardware would stop getting software updates in May. Those devices will continue to function, but any new equipment…
Sonos Will Stop Updating Older Hardware in May — Even Though 92% of Its Speakers Are ‘Still In Use’
Sonos will stop updating its older speakers and hardware in May, the company has announced. Sonos says it is retiring old products because “they have been stretched to their technical limits in terms of memory and processing power.” The cha…
Spotify Accidentally Leaks Details on Its Home Thing Smart Speaker
A leak may have revealed Spotify’s upcoming foray into smart home speakers. New set up images for something called Spotify Home Thing have appeared online. Spotify released its first hardware product in May 2019, dubbed the Car Thing. Spotify sta…
Apple’s AirPods Alone Make More Money Than Spotify
A new report from analyst Kevin Rooke is indicating that Apple’s revenue from AirPods exceeds that of Spotify, Twitter, Snapchat, and Shopify combined, but not everyone is buying it. In his report, Rooke presented the following graph to show just…
Amazon Responds to Sonos Litigation Threat: ‘We Were the First Out With a Connected, Voice-Enabled Speaker’
Earlier this week, Sonos filed a massive lawsuit against Google for stealing its IP. Alongside that salvo, they also warned of a pending lawsuit against Amazon. Sounds pretty serious, though frankly, Amazon doesn’t seem too concerned. For start…
If You Hate Bluetooth Audio, Things Are About to Get Better
Let’s face it – Bluetooth audio sucks; it’s unreliable, static-y, and doesn’t offer multi-stream listening. That’s all about to change with the newest Bluetooth audio standard. The Bluetooth wireless standard is celebrating its …