Apple introduced the HomePod, its rival to Amazon's Echo, at the 2017 WWDC. Apple HomePod speaker, announced at Apple's Apple Worldwide Developers Conference on June 5, 2017. SAN JOSE -- Apple has set its sights on the living room, with a voice-activated $349 speaker called the HomePod that leverages personal digital-assistant Siri and stresses its functionality with core Apple services like Apple Music. The iPhone maker was expected to announce a smart speaker, a market that Amazon -- with its sleeper hit, the Echo -- and then later Google Home, powered by Assistant -- now dominate, giving them an integral place in users' lives. Such a speaker was missing from Apple's line-up, allowing rivals Amazon and Google to siphon off some of its loyal user base.

Apple executive Phil Schiller introduces the HomePod speaker at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif. Apple executive Phil Schiller introduces the HomePod speaker at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif. And then there were three. Apple has finally unveiled its answer to Amazon's and Google's smart speakers slash digital assistants -- and it's called HomePod. This has been one major area in consumer electronics lacking Apple's footprint.

This file photo taken on June 13, 2016, shows the Apple logo displayed on a screen at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference presentation at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, California. Apple appears poised to unveil a voice-activated, internet-connected speaker that would create a new digital pipeline into people's homes. Tapping Apple's Siri digital assistant, such a speaker is expected to serve as a butler as well as an outlet for listening to music. If the speculation pans out, the speaker would be Apple's first new product since its smartwatch in 2015.

You might be able to unlock the next iPhone without lifting a finger. Rumors about Apple's highly anticipated iPhone 8 suggest the firm is tossing out the Touch ID and replacing it with facial recognition technology. The smartphone would feature a front-facing 3D laser scanner to detect the user's face, instead of their fingerprint, in order to provide first-class security. New rumors about Apple's iPhone 8 suggest the firm is tossing out the Touch ID and replacing it with facial recognition technology. The device would feature a front-facing 3D laser scanner to detect the user's face, instead of their fingerprint, in order to provide first-class security The latest rumors was revealed to MacRumors by Rod Hall, a JPMorgan analyst.