Apple shares behind the scenes images of HomePod audio lab
With the public release of Apple’s Siri controlled smart speaker nearing, the Cupertino tech giant has allowed tech reporter Jim Dalrymple access to their secret Audio Lab used to test products such as iPhones, iPads, AirPods and of course the soon to be released HomePod.
The Loop was taken on an exclusive tour of Apple’s testing facility, with Apple showing the news outlet their three main audio chambers which are believed to be almost the largest in the United States used in the development of HomePod.
One chamber has been designed to be -2 dBA, which is lower than the threshold of human hearing. This basically provides complete silence for Apple when testing the audio quality of Apple products.
Apple’s Hardware Engineering VP, Kate Bergeron told The Loop that Apple has been working on HomePod for almost six years, claiming the team working on the speaker has grown overtime and allowed it to become the product it is today.
We think we’ve built up the biggest acoustics and audio team on the planet. We’ve drawn on many of the elite audio brands and universities to build a team that’s fantastic. The reason we wanted to build that team was certainly for HomePod, but to also to double-down on audio across all of Apple’s products. – Senior Director of Audio Design & Engineering, Gary Geaves.
It has previously been reported that original HomePod prototypes stood three feet tall (around five times as tall as the current HomePod), with another supposedly shaped like a flat panel with a mesh screen on the front. – Although Apple didn’t comment on earlier prototypes, Gary Geaves claimed work on HomePod is feeding into other projects, however no specifics were given.
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