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23rd Jan 2018

Apple’s $349 voice-activated HomePod speaker is available to order from Friday

Kate Demolder

Apple device

The speaker is set for release on 9 February.

Apple has announced it will release their long-awaited new product, HomePod, on 9 February and that preorders for the device will start this Friday, 26 January.

It’s been announced that the smart speaker, standing at 7 inches tall, will initially go on sale in the US, UK, and Australia – arriving France and Germany sometime this spring.

HomePod was originally supposed to go on sale before the end of the 2017, but due to technical delays, it was held-up in mid-December.

This means that Apple lost out on sales over the Christmas season, a year when voice-activated devices such as Amazon’s Alexa, were highly sought after.

Despite the delay in manufacturing, it seems that Apple hasn’t made any drastic changes to HomePod’s structure. The smart speaker appears to be exactly what was announced back in June.

Apple promises that HomePod is set to deliver excellent audio quality wherever it’s placed — in any room in the house, playing any style of music.

Using just your voice while working in tandem with an Apple Music subscription, HomePod promises to sound “amazing and adapt to wherever it’s playing.”

HomePod also boasts Siri, a voice-activated virtual helper which is now actively used on over half a billion devices, adding another element of understanding to your preferences.

HomePod also boasts an A8 chip – something Apple are calling “the biggest brain ever in a speaker.”

According to Apple’s website: “An Apple-designed A8 chip powers the most complex audio innovations in HomePod. Like real-time modeling of the woofer mechanics. Buffering that’s even faster than real time.

“Upmixing of both direct and ambient audio. Beamforming so the microphone can hear you over the music. And advanced echo cancellation. So you get amazing sound without even thinking about it.”

HomePod also boasts convenience as it can send messages, set timers and reminders, check the weather and listen to shows on Apple Podcasts.

HomePod is compatible with iPhone 5s or later, iPad Pro, iPad Air or later, iPad mini 2 or later, or iPod touch (6th generation) with iOS 11.2.5 or later.

HomePod is available at an Apple retail price of $349 (US) in white and space grey in the US, UK and Australia and available to order beginning Friday, January 26, from Apple’s website and the Apple Store app.

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Topics:

Apple,Tech