Apple ’s past week was all about sound.

After months of anticipation, Apple on Friday finally released it’s HomePod smart speaker. The device, which costs $349, is Apple’s answer to competitors like Amazon’s Echo and Google Home that come with virtual personal assistants that let users play music, control smart home devices like thermostats and lights, and give users access to their calendars. Now questions abound over whether Apple can compete in a hotly contested market with a virtual assistant in Siri that doesn’t work as well as Amazon’s Alexa or Google Assistant. But it wasn’t all about HomePod. This week, we heard rumors that Apple has big plans for a product release in March. Meanwhile, the New York Police Department (NYPD) is now using iPhones.

Review on the HomePod

Apple’s new HomePod savvy speaker sounds awesome, however, most people should likely simply purchase a Sonos.

The HomePod is Apple’s first invasion into the speaker showcase. With Apple’s Siri voice aide worked in, the gadget is Apple’s $350 reaction to the Amazon Echo and Google Home and it’s made just for iPhone and iPad clients. In the event that you utilize an Android telephone, this isn’t for you.

While the sound execution is better than that of its opponents, Siri isn’t as brilliant as Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa. Also, if sound if your essential concern, you can spare a huge amount of cash purchasing a Sonos.

The Apple HomePod, accessible in dark or white, looks, feels and seems like an exceptional item. It’s anything but difficult to set up: simply connect it to, bring an iPhone close-by, and you’ll be tuning in to music in minutes. It likewise has a considerable measure of smarts worked inside that enable it to consequently recognize where it is in a room so it can push out the best sound. It’ll know whether it’s in a corner rather than on a side table, for instance.

I tuned in to a wide range of specialists, including Duke Ellington, Ludovico Einaudi, and Drake. The HomePod was the best out of the Echo, Google Home, and Sonos at making a rich sound even at high volumes without destroying parts of the melody. It additionally has extremely incredible bass.

Apple Music is the main administration that is upheld in the event that you need to stroll by the speaker and say, “Siri, play jazz.” However, in the event that you have a cell phone with another administration, for example, Spotify, you can play that through the HomePod utilizing Apple AirPlay.

HomePod has Siri inside, so I could request the climate, the season of the following Villanova ball game and could even add notes to my iPhone. The gadget can likewise create and send instant messages or give you everyday news instructions.

I likewise like that HomePod goes about as a shrewd home center point, so you can utilize Siri to control your lights, savvy shades, an associated carport entryway opener or whatever other devices that work with Apple Home. Be that as it may, you can’t request that Siri play a film or TV appear on your Apple TV, which is something you can do with an Amazon Echo and Fire TV or Google Home and Chromecast blend.

Apple’s HomePod was released on Friday. The smart speaker is available at Apple stores and Best Buy locations, as well as Apple’s online store. It costs $349. If you order an Apple HomePod on the company’s online marketplace today, however, look for it to ship next week: Apple’s initial supply for online orders sold out last week.

Overall, Apple’s HomePod reviews were quite good, with many critics saying that the device’s sound quality was second to none in its marketplace. However, they all cautioned that Apple’s Siri needs to gain some smarts if it ever wants to compete with Amazon’s Alexa, the smart assistant baked into HomePod competitor Echo.

If you’ve bought a HomePod or plan to do so soon, don’t break it. Apple this week published a support page online that said the company will charge HomePod owners $279 to fix out-of-warranty units. The HomePod, however, is fully covered in its first year of use and if you splurge for a $39 AppleCare+ warranty on the smart speaker, you’ll extend your coverage out to two years. In other words, get AppleCare+ on HomePod.

The NYPD has begun issuing iPhones to its officers. The NYPD previously used Windows Lumia devices, but after Microsoft announced last year that it would stop updating the software those handsets were running, the department sought alternatives. Officers are now able to choose from Apple’s iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus and can use the devices to get information about calls they’re responding to, information on warrants, and real-time surveillance footage.

Apple’s been quiet on the new product front, but that could change soon. According to a report this week, Apple will announce new hardware starting in March. It’s believed that the company’s March event will center on new iPads and could also include some new Mac releases. Apple hasn’t yet confirmed it’s planning a March press event.

Apple last year agreed to acquire music-discovery company Shazam in a deal believed to be valued at $400 million. However, the deal still isn’t final and now the European Union’s competition watchdog has announced plans to review the acquisition. The European Commission didn’t say this week why it’s now stepping in but decided to do so after EU country Austria asked the Commission to take a closer look. The move is even more surprising, considering it’s too small to trigger an automatic European Commission probe.

One more thing…Interested in getting a new iPhone battery after discovering yours isn’t working too well? You’ll need to wait. A Barclay’s poll released this week found that on average, Apple Store customers wait between two to four weeks to get a new battery for their iPhones due to widespread demand for replacements.