Is Apple's HomePod a blatant ripoff of this startup's smart speaker?
Apple's newly-announced HomePod speaker looked familiar, but we couldn't quite put a finger on it.
Until this morning, when an email from Whyd CEO Gilles Poupardin came through, with a single sentence: "Hey Raymond - looks like you nailed it .." The email came along with a screenshot of an article we published last year—about Whyd's voice-controlled speaker, that HomePod bears a striking resemblance to.
And the headline? "This voice-controlled speaker looks like something Apple would design." 'Might as well have been a prophecy.
The similarities between HomePod and Whyd go beyond their mesh-like exteriors. Both will be offered in black and white (although Whyd has a selection of more vibrant, less-binary colors).
Both speakers have digital assistants for controlling music.
Both speakers have a serious woofer for deep, clear bass.
Both have microphone arrays with advanced noise cancellation (HomePod has six mics and Whyd has five).
Both offer the ability to pair two or more speakers together for stereo sound and multi-room setups.
Both have a glossy top.
[And, okay, this one's a bit of a stretch, given that the top of the Whyd speaker is a touchpad and—as far as we know so far—the top of HomePod only displays Siri's rainbow of lights when engaged. But still.]
Hell, look at their press shots. They've both got white speakers, staged on top of white cabinets, with picture frames, and an apparently compulsory green plant.
Coincidence? Maybe. But come on.
Both speakers are considerably expensive. The HomePod will cost $349 and the Whyd is $499.
Both speakers haven't shipped. HomePod comes out in December. Whyd says on its website its first batch are sold out (but doesn't state they've been delivered, so credit cards have just been charged), and it's not clear when more ship.
That said, there are some key differences between the two. The Whyd is larger at 11 inches tall compared to HomePod's 7-inch height. Whyd also works with practically every music service. On the other hand, HomePod and Siri are built to work with Apple Music, and Apple's website makes no mention of the speaker working as regular Bluetooth speaker. At the very least, I've confirmed music can be streamed over AirPlay (so Spotify will work with over AirPlay).
Of course, it could all be a massive set of coincidences. If you've seen one wireless speaker, you've seen them all, the thinking might go.
But even if Apple didn't copy Whyd, it's not like there's no way to make a smart speaker look different. Google Home, despite its Glade freshener-like design, at least doesn't look like the Amazon Echo. All of which is to say: If what Apple's making is so special, why does it share such distinct looks with something else?
Topics Apple
Raymond Wong is Mashable's Senior Tech Correspondent. He reviews gadgets and tech toys and analyzes the tech industry. Raymond's also a bit of a camera geek, gamer, and fine chocolate lover. Before arriving at Mashable, he was the Deputy Editor of NBC Universal's tech publication DVICE. His writing has appeared on G4TV, BGR, Yahoo and Ubergizmo, to name a few. You can follow Raymond on Twitter @raywongy or Instagram @sourlemons.
