Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...

has produced and sold numerous music and multimedia

speakers Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

, available for standalone purchase and bundled with

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...

products.

Plug-and-play speakers

Bose RoomMate speakers

In September 1986, Apple sold a special edition of the Bose RoomMate speakers for the

Apple IIGS The Apple IIGS (styled as II), the fifth and most powerful of the Apple II family, is a 16-bit personal computer produced by Apple Computer. While featuring the Macintosh look and feel, and resolution and color similar to the Amiga and Atari ST ...

computer–which sported a built-in

Ensoniq Ensoniq Corp. was an American electronics manufacturer, best known throughout the mid-1980s and 1990s for its musical instruments, principally Sampler (musical instrument), samplers and synthesizers. Company history In spring 1983, former MO ...

synthesizer chip with optional stereo sound. The front grille each of speaker had the "Bose" logo inside a black rectangle, and the official rainbow Apple logo in a square next to it. The speakers matched the platinum gray color scheme introduced with the IIGS that year. Later editions of the speakers, likely for legal issues pertaining to Apple Records, replaced the Apple shaped logo with a rainbow colored square, and eventually removed any Apple reference entirely. The powered speakers lacked a variable volume knob or magnetic shielding (a warning label stated to keep it distanced from the CRT and magnetic storage) and retailed for US$229.99. Although primarily intended for the Apple IIGS which it cosmetically matched and better suited for its advanced audio capabilities, the speakers were also made available for early Macintosh models.

AppleDesign Powered Speakers

Along with the

PowerCD Apple PowerCD is a CD player sold by Apple Computer in 1993 and discontinued several years later. It was a re-badged Philips-designed product (Philips CDF-100) which was sold in addition to Apple's speakers and also included a remote control. Th ...

introduced in 1993, Apple released two versions of their desktop speakers: the AppleDesign Powered Speakers (M6082) and the redesigned AppleDesign Powered Speakers II (M2497) a year later. The original speakers came in platinum gray to match Apple's desktop line, while the second generation were smaller, curvier and came in both platinum gray and a darker granite gray color designed to match the PowerBook line and PowerCD. Both were powered with an AC adapter and could be attached to any audio output source, with two separate inputs for the computer and an external CD player. Both had a headphone jack in the front of one speaker along with the volume control and an optional

subwoofer A subwoofer (or sub) is a loudspeaker designed to reproduce low-pitched audio frequencies known as bass and sub-bass, lower in frequency than those which can be (optimally) generated by a woofer. The typical frequency range for a subwoofer is ...

connection port on some models.

G4 Cube speakers

Apple bundled a pair of model M7963 clear spherical/globe Sound Stick 2.1 based speakers with the

Power Mac G4 Cube The Power Mac G4 Cube is a Macintosh personal computer sold by Apple Computer, Inc. between July 2000 and 2001. Designed by Jonathan Ive, the Cube was conceived by Apple chief executive officer (CEO) Steve Jobs, who held an interest in a power ...

, which was released on July 19, 2000. They used a custom USB interface and originally worked with the G4 Cube, Power PCs and ADC/ADP monitor screens. They work right up to OSX 10.6.4 Snow Leopard. They were designed by Jonathan Ive & created in partnership with

Harman Kardon Harman Kardon (stylized as ) is a division of US-based Harman International Industries, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, and manufactures home and car audio equipment. Harman Kardon was originally founded in 1953 by business partners, Sid ...

, and were enlarged versions of the Odyssey speakers built in to the

iMac G3 The iMac G3, originally released as the iMac, is a series of Macintosh personal computers sold by Apple Computer from 1998 to 2003. The iMac was the first major new product release for Apple under Steve Jobs, Apple's interim CEO and cofound ...

Apple Pro Speakers

Apple Pro Speakers were introduced in January 2001 alongside the Power Mac G4 Digital Audio, based on the G4 Cube's spherical speakers with a new digital audio system, plastic grilles, white rubber/silicone surrounds rather than the black foam used on the G4 cube speakers and changed the connector to a proprietary minijack that provided both power and audio. They were available as a standalone purchase for $59 and bundled with some versions of the

iMac G4 The iMac G4 is an all-in-one personal computer designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from January 2002 to August 2004. It replaced the iMac G3 and was succeeded by the iMac G5. Design and marketing The iMac G4 featured an L ...

Harman Kardon SoundSticks and iSub

Apple announced the iSub in 1999, a 6-inch

produced in partnership with

, designed by

Jony Ive Sir Jonathan Paul Ive (born 27 February 1967) is a British industrial and product designer, as well as businessman. Ive was the chief design officer (CDO) of Apple Inc. from 1997 until 2019 (known as senior vice principal of industrial desig ...

. It uses clear plastic to match the aesthetic of the

. It connected over

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad v ...

. Harman Kardon and Apple next designed SoundSticks, which were introduced at the 2000

Macworld ''Macworld'' is a website dedicated to products and software of Apple Inc., published by Foundry, a subsidiary of IDG Inc. It started life as a print magazine in 1984 and had the largest audited circulation (both total and newsstand) of Macint ...

expo.

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

led the industrial design and mechanical engineering to have them fit into its product family. They include a new revision of the iSub. They won an

Industrial Design Excellence Awards The International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) is an award program previously co-sponsored by ''BusinessWeek'' magazine, and in 2010 ''Fast Company'' magazine and the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA). According to the IDSA, IDEA "i ...

gold award and were featured on the cover of ''I.D.'' magazine. SoundSticks II were a minor upgrade, adding capacitive volume control buttons and a 3.5mm mini-jack input, replacing the previous USB input. SoundSticks III changed the styling slightly using black highlights and white lighting, instead of green and blue of the original SoundSticks and the SoundSticks II. SoundSticks Wireless introduced

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...

iPod Hi-Fi

iPod Hi-Fi is a speaker system that was released on February 28, 2006, for use with any

iPod The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes ...

digital music player A portable media player (PMP) (also including the related digital audio player (DAP)) is a portable consumer electronics device capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, and video files. The data is typically stored o ...

. The iPod Hi-Fi retailed at the

Apple Store The Apple Store is a chain of Retail, retail stores owned and operated by Apple Inc. The stores sell various Apple products, including Macintosh, Mac personal computers, iPhone smartphones, iPad tablet computers, Apple Watch smartwatches, Apple ...

for

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

349 until its discontinuation on September 5, 2007. The iPod Hi-Fi received criticism due to its high price, lack of an AM/FM radio, and the limited functionality of its remote control.

Smart speakers

HomePod

HomePod is a

smart speaker A smart speaker is a type of loudspeaker and voice command device with an integrated virtual assistant that offers interactive actions and hands-free activation with the help of one "hot word" (or several "hot words"). Some smart speakers can al ...

, announced on June 5, 2017. Its launch was later delayed from December 2017 to early 2018. Designed to accompany other Apple products such as the iPhone and Mac, the HomePod is designed to work with

Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...

to create a "new way for you to discover and interact with music at home," according to Apple marketers. It incorporates

beamforming Beamforming or spatial filtering is a signal processing technique used in sensor arrays for directional signal transmission or reception. This is achieved by combining elements in an antenna array in such a way that signals at particular angles e ...

and eight speakers and is sold in two colors: white and space gray. It has a small touchscreen on its top, and seven

tweeter A tweeter or treble speaker is a special type of loudspeaker (usually dome, inverse dome or horn-type) that is designed to produce high audio frequencies, typically deliver high frequencies up to 100 kHz. The name is derived from the high ...

s in its base and a four-inch

woofer A woofer or bass speaker is a technical term for a loudspeaker driver designed to produce low frequency sounds, typically from 50 Hz up to 1000 Hz. The name is from the onomatopoeic English word for a dog's bark, " woof" (in contrast to th ...

towards the top, as well as six

microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public ...

s used for

voice control A voice-user interface (VUI) makes spoken human interaction with computers possible, using speech recognition to understand spoken commands and answer questions, and typically text to speech to play a reply. A voice command device is a device con ...

and acoustic optimization. Its

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

-based operating system, "audioOS", enables the HomePod to play audio, run the

Siri Siri ( ) is a virtual assistant that is part of Apple Inc.'s iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, tvOS, and audioOS operating systems. It uses voice queries, gesture based control, focus-tracking and a natural-language user interface to answer questio ...

voice assistant, and control the device's screen. On March 13, 2021, Apple announced that the HomePod production was being discontinued.

HomePod Mini

HomePod Mini is a smart speaker released on November 16, 2020. It is smaller than the HomePod, roughly spherical, and has three speakers and four microphones. Intercom, a new feature on HomePod and HomePod Mini introduced in iOS 14.1 and iPadOS 14.1, allows iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch users with multiple HomePods and HomePod Minis to communicate between rooms using their voice. Siri recognizes up to six voices, and personalizes responses for each one.

References

{{Apple Inc. hardware Apple Inc. peripherals IPod accessories IPhone accessories Macintosh peripherals