Apple Needs to Reinvent Itself. It Just Might Be Doing So.

One of Apple's greatest strengths is timing. The company that's hailed for innovation does not often invent things first -- it didn't create the first personal computer, the first digital music player or the first smartphone. Instead, Apple reinvents, slipping in and producing something more original than what we used to use. On paper, Apple is aiming to pull the same trick with a device called HomePod. The $349 gadget -- which Apple unveiled on Monday at its annual developer conference and will begin shipping in December -- is inspired by the Amazon Echo, the smart speaker that houses Amazon's virtual assistant, Alexa, and that seemed like a joke until many people (including yours truly) suddenly began to love it.