Apple HomePod Release Date Confirmed

Apple unveiled its Siri-powered HomePod speaker last year. The company was supposed to release the new device before the end of last year but it announced in mid-December that the HomePod was being delayed to early 2018. Apple has now finally confirmed the HomePod release date.

Apple has confirmed that the HomePod is going to be released on Friday, February 9th. It’s going to be available to order online this Friday, January 26th in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. The HomePod will also be released in France and Germany this spring. It costs $349.

Even though the HomePod was delayed by a couple of months, it doesn’t look like Apple has made any changes to the device. It seems to be the very same smart speaker that the company unveiled in June 2017 at its Worldwide Developers Conference.

At $349, the HomePod is priced significantly higher than the cheap and tiny smart speakers from Google and Amazon. Apple is playing in a different league with this product. It wants the HomePod to be compared to high-end wireless speakers like the ones from Sonos instead of just another voice-enabled smart speaker.

Since music is the priority here, the HomePod has been designed to work with Apple Music primarily. It’s unclear how it’s going to work for those who subscribe to other services like Spotify. Siri isn’t going to be as capable on the HomePod as it is on other Apple devices.

Apple has also said that the multi-room audio feature won’t arrive until later this year via a software update.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Apple, Gadgets
Tags: HomePod