Apple Hires New HomePod Software Head as It Takes on Amazon Echo
- Apple’s smart-speaker efforts have struggled since 2018 debut
- Afrooz Family takes job after co-founding Syng speaker startup
Photographer: Mark Kauzlarich/Bloomberg
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Apple Inc. has hired a new engineer to lead software efforts for its HomePod smart speaker, aiming to turn the product into a bigger hit.
The iPhone maker is enlisting Afrooz Family to lead the work, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Family worked at Apple from 2012 to 2016 before leaving to co-found audio startup Syng with former Apple industrial designer Christopher Stringer. Family left the startup earlier this year after helping develop the company’s product, the Cell Alpha.