A lot of people think Apple’s new HomePod speaker looks like a roll of toilet paper…or a marshmallow

By
Nick Vega, Business Insider US
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source
Apple

Apple unveiled a new smart home speaker at its big annual conference on Monday, a bold move by the iPhone-maker to catch up to Amazon and Google, which each have similar products for sale.

Apple’s $350 HomePod combines the rich audio quality of Sonos speakers with the smarts of Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant. That means the device can do anything from playing music to dimming the living room lights when users talk to it.

The device doesn’t ship until later this year, so it’s too early to say how it will compare to the rival Amazon Echo or Google Home products. But the HomePod’s design and name quickly generated a flood of jokes and comments on Twitter, with many commenters noting its resemblence to a roll of toilet paper.

We’re not sure what this guy is saying, but we’re guessing he’s making a similar joke:

This guy already has an Amazon Echo smart speaker, but wanted to dress it up with some Apple-inspired stylings:

Some people likened the HomePod’s look to that of a marshmallow:

Or a chiclet:

The HomePod’s cylindrical shape also reminded some people of another recently decomissioned Apple product.

Not even the speaker’s internal hardware was spared.

Business Insider’s own Matt Weinberger noted the increasing amount of felt that each company has added to their smart speaker:

The HomePod name was also a source of amusement:

Best of all, though, was the user who pointed out the missed opportunity in naming the new device.