Apple CEO Tim Cook: Hardware and Software Integration Will Set HomePod Apart From Competitors

Apple CEO Tim Cook is spending some time in Canada this week, and yesterday he attended a hockey game and visited the Eaton Centre Apple Store in Toronto.

Cook today stopped by the offices of Canadian e-commerce platform Shopify, where he spoke to the Financial Post about augmented reality apps and the HomePod.

timcookshopifyarvisitcanada
On the topic of the HomePod, Cook said that Apple's deep integration between hardware and software will help to differentiate the smart speaker from competing products like Amazon's Alexa and the Google Home.

"Competition makes all of us better and I welcome it," Cook said. "(But) if you are both trying to license something and compete with your licensees, this is a difficult model and it remains to be seen if it can be successful or not."

Cook also said a quality, "very immersive audio experience" was one thing missing from the smart speaker market, which Apple is aiming to fix. "Music deserves that kind of quality as opposed to some kind of squeaky sound," he said.

The HomePod, which, at $349 in the United States is more expensive than competing products, features a 7 tweeter array, an Apple-designed 4-inch upward-facing woofer, and spatial awareness, all of which is designed to provide the best possible sound.

During his interview with the Financial Post, Cook also spoke about augmented reality, a topic he's covered many times in the past. Cook said AR is "the most profound technology of the future" that's able to amplify human experience instead of substitute it.

Cook said developers across Canada are adopting AR at a "very fast rate" and that he "couldn't be happier" with developer interest in ARKit.

Cook's full interview, which includes additional comments on augmented reality and details on features coming to Shopify, can be read over at the Financial Post website.

Related Roundup: HomePod
Buyer's Guide: HomePod (Neutral)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. iPhone 17 Pro's alleged design via Front Page Tech Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive a New Perk

Thursday March 20, 2025 12:01 am PDT by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. The new perk is the ability to create invitations in the Apple Invites app for the iPhone, which launched in the App Store last month. In the Apple Invites app, iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations for any occasion, such as birthday parties, graduations, baby showers, and more. Anyone ...
iOS 18

Top 5 New Features Coming in iOS 18.4

Friday March 21, 2025 3:26 pm PDT by
We're not getting new Siri Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.4 as expected, but the upcoming update does have quite a few new additions that will be worth upgrading for. We've rounded up the five best features to look forward to, and if you're not running the beta, you can expect to get access to these in early April. Priority Notifications If you have an iPhone or iPad that supports...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock

iOS 19 Coming in June With These New Features

Thursday March 20, 2025 2:04 pm PDT by
While the first iOS 19 beta is still more than two months away, there are already plenty of rumors about the upcoming software update. Below, we recap the key iOS 19 rumors so far. visionOS-Like Design In January, the YouTube channel Front Page Tech revealed a redesigned Camera app that is allegedly planned for iOS 19. According to Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser, the Camera app...
Generic iOS 18

Apple Seeds iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 Release Candidate With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music and More

Monday March 24, 2025 10:07 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after Apple released the fourth betas. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update. With iOS 18.4, Apple is adding the Priority Notifications...
airpods max 2024 colors

Don't Buy Into Apple's Hype About AirPods Max Gaining Lossless Audio

Monday March 24, 2025 4:24 pm PDT by
Apple today announced that AirPods Max with a USB-C port will be gaining support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio with a firmware update next month, alongside the release of iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4. For context, audio files are typically compressed to keep file sizes smaller. There are lossy compression standards like MP3, and Apple's own Advanced Audio Codec...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Iridescent Search

Foldable iPhone Expected to Launch Next Year, Costing Around $2,000

Monday March 24, 2025 3:43 am PDT by
Apple will launch its long-rumored foldable iPhone next year with a ~$2,000 premium price tag attached, expects well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman. Gurman's comments on Apple's launch plans for its first foldable device appeared in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter. Earlier this month, the reporter said Apple's foldable iPhone could be arriving "as early as 2026,"...
iOS 19 Rounded UI Elements Light

iOS 19: What to Expect From Apple's Dramatic Design Overhaul?

Monday March 24, 2025 9:47 am PDT by
Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Apple is planning "one of the most dramatic software overhauls in the company's history" – an update that aims to bring iOS, iPadOS, and macOS into closer visual alignment. The redesign is said to be "loosely based" on visionOS, the software behind Apple's Vision Pro headset, and will reportedly update the look of icons, menus, apps, windows, and...

Top Rated Comments

verniesgarden Avatar
94 months ago
well, Timmy, what's setting Apple apart right now is how poorly Apple is launching products and announced features.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
eeboarder Avatar
94 months ago
Am I the only one that thinks it's crazy to put all these home microphone/camera devices in multiple rooms of your house?!
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cyber86 Avatar
94 months ago
I’m missing something here: how is Alexa / Prime Music not a “deep integration” between software and hardware with Alexa (and likewise with Google’s software and hardware)? I know Apple was revolutionary with phones / computers for developing both the hardware and the software, which resulted in this “deep integration”, but that ship has sailed for speakers with built in assistants and music services. Someone wake Apple up to this??
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AustinIllini Avatar
94 months ago
But Sonos does everything HomePod does...but better
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Naraxus Avatar
94 months ago
A device locked ONLY into the Apple ecosystem or ones that plays music from a variety of services? Hmm I think I know which one I'll be taking.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chaszmyr Avatar
94 months ago
But Sonos does everything HomePod does...but better
You base this on your extensive experience with HomePod?
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)