Apple £319 HomePod to finally go on February 9th

Apple fans who are worried about the firm’s smart devices recording their private conversations may be in for some good news, according to a new find.

Experts discovered icons in the latest version of iOS that suggest always-listening microphones on Apple’s Homepod speaker can be disabled.

The delayed £350 ($349) ‘Echo-killer’, which will be activated with the words ‘Hey Siri’, is due for release in the next four to six weeks.

If confirmed, the microphone mute feature will assuage privacy concerns raised over smart speakers eavesdropping on conversations.

The find was reported by Apple expert Filipe Espósito, based in Londrina, Brazil, who discovered Homepod icons with microphone off symbols in the developer build of iOS 11.2.5.

The icons were found buried in the assets for Apple’s Home app.

Some of the microphone mute icons also contain the text ‘Siri-off’ in their filenames, lending further support to his conclusion.

As with other smart speakers, like Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Home ranges, command phrases are used to trigger voice activated services.

But some users are uncomfortable with the idea that the devices are always listening out for these vocal prompts.

Users previously uncovered a quirk in some models of the Google HomeMini which meant that the gadget was constantly monitoring and recording their speech.

Due to what Google has called ‘phantom touches’, the Home Mini was in a constant state of anticipation, listening for and awaiting verbal instructions, even before the ‘Ok Google’ vocal prompt was given.

While this in itself is a fairly minor inconvenience, it has major implications for the privacy of users and could, in theory, let Google monitor everything that is said in your home.

This information is also transmitted to the Mountain View firm’s servers, raising the possibility of the information being recorded.

The ability to switch off the microphones until they’re needed may go some way to addressing similar privacy concerns in the Homepod. 

Two speakers can be linked together to form a stereo pair

At just under 7 inches tall, HomePod represents years of hardware and software innovation, Apple says.

It is activated by a user saying ‘Hey Siri’. 

It has an Apple-designed upward-facing woofer, paired with the custom A8 chip, enables bass management

Custom array of seven beam-forming tweeters, each with its own amplifier

Apple-designed A8 chip provides the brains behind the audio

Automatic room-sensing technology allows HomePod to quickly learn its position in a room

The $349 speaker will work with Apple Music and has several speakers and a built in woofer 

A Siri waveform appears on the top to indicate when Siri is engaged

Six-microphone array with advanced echo cancellation enables Siri to understand people whether they are near the device or standing across the room

Siri waveform appears on the top to indicate when Siri is engaged, and integrated touch controls also allow easy navigation;

Automatic detection and balance of two speakers using both direct and reflected audio to deliver amazing audio wirelessly for an even more immersive experience

Easy setup that is as intuitive as setting up AirPods — simply hold an iPhone next to HomePod and it’s ready to start playing music in seconds

Six-microphone array with advanced echo cancellation enables Siri to understand people whether they are near the device or standing across the room

Gadget makers are flocking to create smart speakers. 

Already Samsung has revealed plans for a Bixby speaker to take on Apple’s HomePod, Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Home.

Apple’s speaker will have a higher price tag than the Amazon Echo range, which begins at $49 (£49) for the Echo Dot.

The speaker will provide a hub for appliances via Apple’s HomeKit system and establish a centre inside the home to lock people in to using other Apple services, according to the report.

Apple’s $349 HomePod speaker will work with Apple Music and has several speakers and a built in woofer

A speaker might help customers stay loyal to other services such as Apple Music, Apple Watch, Apple TV and AirPods. 

Google’s $130 (£105) Home speaker is triggered by the phrase ‘Hey Google’ while Amazon’s Echo uses ‘Alexa’.

Amazon’s $50 (£40) Echo Dot puts the firm’s smart speaker in a small package

Amazon’s smart speaker is available in two versions – the full sized $180 (£145) Echo shown here, and a smaller, $50 (£40) version called the Echo Dot.

Amazon Echo uses Microsoft’s Bing search engine to provide additional information, while Google Home uses the company’s own Google Search.

Both Home and Echo are continually listening for commands, though Google and Amazon say nothing gets passed back to them until the speakers hear a keyword — ‘OK, Google’ for Home and ‘Alexa’ for Echo.

Google Home Mini:  Google’s clever tech-filled $49 (£34) doughnut can do almosteverything its bigger voicecontrolledGoogle Assistantpoweredsibling can do,including answer questionsand control third-party devices.

Google’s Assistant software is also able to answer follow-up questions on the same topic, in a near-conversation style, but Echo as yet cannot.

However, Amazon’s Alexa software has a wider range of skills on offer that enable it to link up with and control more third-party devices around the home.

A light comes on to remind you that it’s listening.

You can turn off the microphone temporarily, too.