Apple HomePod Wireless Speaker: Release Date and Price
In fact, in this first round, the wireless speaker will only be released in the US, UK, and Australia. Other users will still have to wait. Apple has also announced that the speaker will arrive in France and Germany in the spring. There are no official announcements for the other European countries. The price in the United States is $ 349.
HomePod: audio and technology
A lot of information was already known. But there are also some more details on the Apple-branded speaker. HomePod is equipped with a high-excursion woofer designed by Apple for low deep and clean frequencies. It is also equipped with an array of seven tweeters, for crystalline treble and the control of the spatiality of the sound.
An additional array of six microphones allows HomePod to be ready to pick up the "Hey Siri" command even while the music is playing. The support for Siri also extends to third-party apps, by means of Sirikit.
The Apple A8 chip oversees all these features. The processor takes care of real-time audio processing, echo cancellation, and other advanced features. For example, HomePod can "feel" its position in the room and optimize the sound accordingly.
Personal assistant
The speaker is naturally designed to work in an integrated way with Apple Music, the subscription music streaming service of Cupertino. HomePod is also a personal assistant for the smart home.
Thanks to the support for HomeKit, it can be used to control compatible smart accessories. Later in the year, there will also be a software update that will bring support for multi-room audio. Furthermore, it will be possible to configure two HomePods in the same room as a pair of stereo speakers.
After months of repeated referrals, it seems that this is the right time to finally see HomePod, the smart speaker designed by Apple.
HomePod, how many delays!
Initially, the launch of the company's first smart speaker was to take place before the end of 2017 but was postponed until mid-December. Now we are in January and the further delay has cost dear to Apple. Since it could not take advantage of the Christmas holiday season, during which millions of smart speakers were sold.
Compared to the smart speakers produced by Amazon and Google, smaller and much cheaper, Apple's HomePods are placed in a high-end market. Here the competition is represented by the wireless speakers made by Sonos, the US company specializing in the development of intelligent speakers.
The difference compared to competitors
Delays aside, Apple does not seem to have made any changes to the HomePod announced last summer at The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Compared to competitive products, which focus their attention mainly on the appearance of intelligence, the HomePod wants to optimize the musical experience and sound quality. Apple's smart speaker will still have an active voice assistant. However the implementation of Siri will be more limited than seen in other devices.
HomePod is designed to connect primarily with Apple Music, allowing access to over 40 million songs. It is able to recognize the tastes and musical preferences of users, helping them to discover new music.
The musical revolution of Apple
Apple has reinvented portable music with iPod and will now reinvent with HomePod the way we listen to music wirelessly in our homes. HomePod offers a powerful diffusion technology. All the intelligence of Siri and the ability to wirelessly access the entire library of Apple Music in a beautiful speaker less than 18 cm tall. Ready to help users from every corner of the house and flood every room with distortion-free sound.
One thing that was missing in this market was a quality audio experience, a truly immersive audio experience. Music deserves this kind of quality rather than a creaking sound.