Apple’s £319 HomePod smart speaker goes on sale on Friday
Apple’s HomePod smart speaker finally hits the shelves.
The firm’s £319 ($349) ‘HomePod’ smart speaker went on sale on Friday in the US, UK and Australia – two months later than initially planned.
Firmly marketed at music lovers, the wireless 7in smart speaker uses spatial awareness technology to sense its place in a room and adjust audio output accordingly.
First unveiled last year, the device houses Apple’s virtual assistant Siri, meaning it can be controlled using voice commands and provide news and weather information when asked.
It is fitted with six microphones to records owners’ voice commands.
The device joins the battle between Google and Amazon for the lucrative smart speaker market after its November release date was pushed back twice as Apple claimed it needed ‘a little more time before it’s ready’.
The HomePod is more than twice the price of the £129 ($180) Google Home and costs more than three times the £90 ($125) Amazon Echo.
During the HomePod’s launch last year, Apple CEO Tim Cook took to the stage at the McEnery Convention Centre in San Jose to unveil the speaker, which he claimed would ‘reinvent home audio.’
‘We want to reinvent music in the home in the way we invented mobile music,’ Cook said.
‘We really think its going to take your home music experience to the next level.’
The new device is available in white and space grey on the Apple Store app and on the Apple website.
It is also available in Apple Stores and at select Apple Authorised Resellers including Best Buy in the US; Argos, Dixons Carphone (Currys PC World), John Lewis, Shop Direct (Very and Littlewoods), EE and Apple Premium Resellers in the UK; and, Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Myer and Telstra in Australia.
