From Apple’s press release:
HomePod, the innovative wireless speaker from Apple, arrives in stores beginning Friday, February 9 and is available to order online this Friday, January 26 in the US, UK and Australia. HomePod will arrive in France and Germany this spring.
HomePod delivers stunning audio quality wherever it’s placed — in any room in the house, playing any style of music. Using just your voice, it’s easy and fun to use, and works together with an Apple Music subscription for a breakthrough music experience, providing access to one of the world’s largest cloud music libraries.
On Siri:
Siri, now actively used on over half a billion devices, has developed a deep knowledge of music and understands your preferences and tastes. And with Siri, HomePod can send a message, set a timer, play a podcast, check the news, sports, traffic and weather, and even control a wide range of HomeKit smart home accessories.
And:
Using Siri to deliver deep knowledge of artists, songs, albums and more, HomePod can handle advanced searches within Apple Music’s catalog, so users can ask questions like, “Hey Siri, when was this song released?” or “Hey Siri, can you play something totally different?” to change the mood. Apple Music subscribers can enjoy a catalog of more than 45 million songs, combined with their entire iTunes library, for online or offline listening — completely ad-free.
On SiriKit:
Through SiriKit, HomePod supports third-party messaging apps, so users can ask Siri to send a message to a friend or colleague using apps like WhatsApp. Reminders, note-taking and to-do list apps like Things and Evernote will automatically work with HomePod, so Siri can set reminders, create a new list, mark items as complete, or create and modify notes. For developers interested in adding SiriKit support, more information is available at developer.apple.com/sirikit.
On setup:
Setup is as easy and intuitive as setting up AirPods — simply hold an iPhone next to HomePod and it’s ready to start playing music in seconds. The Siri waveform appears on the top to indicate when Siri is engaged, and integrated touch controls also allow easy navigation.
The biggest question for me, how will Apple distinguish HomePod from Amazon Echo and Google Home, both priced significantly less. HomePod is $349.
Order it Friday, arrives February 9th.
Oh you mean other than it will sound 100x better than either of those speakers? Isn’t that distinguishable enough?
I’m curious if there will be an update to Apple TV at some point in the future to have it default all audio through a HomePod (or another AirPlay 2 device). I’d really like to see the HomePod used as my primary sound system, since nearly all video is played through my Apple TV. Really, a combination HomePod and Apple TV would change everything.
this is a weird launch. for a new product category i expected more than a press release. so many questions.
As I’ve said elsewhere, I’ll be very curious to hear this thing in an Apple store. Ideally while it plays something with a genuinely wide dynamic range.
I can’t wait to hear it.
If excellent sound is one differentiator, how can Apple possibly allow for the Homepod to be effectively demo’d in a noisy, acoustically poor Apple store?
While I agree, one of the Homepod’s main tricks is supposed to be adapting the space better than any home speaker on the market (and doing it automagically). It seems like working against yourself to demo them in such an acoustically poor environment but perhaps, for those who appreciate the setback, it will actually end up a selling point.
I always wanted the iPod HiFi. Really interested to hear how it sounds first. But who am I kidding, I’m probably going to preorder Friday.
An Apple HiFi-like event was probably ruled out pretty quickly :-), but I generally agree with you.
What would have been ideal or appropriate?
How much can you get from listening to it at an ARS? Experiencing HomePod where one intends on using it seems like the only way to fly.
If I didn’t already have an enduring, halfway-decent 2.1 speaker system at my desk, I just might. But I’m just curious to hear how the new tech works.
(Pardon me one moment while I pour one out for the late, lamented Cambridge Soundworks.)
Please come back here after you get it and tell us how it’s working for you.
Nice. Cracking a bubble water for Cambridge now.
Until recently, I worked through every iteration of H/K/s SoundSticks (and the iSub before that).
Interestingly, SoundSticks have (de)evolved into the Aura, which looks suspiciously like a clear version of the HomePod.
As will everything else, fairly soon.
I’ve wondered whether some small corner could be dedicated to a sound-proofed testing environment, but I don’t see how this would be practical in most Apple stores; and… it’s just too fussy for Apple. How about a Bose-style automated demo? Too stale, too last-decade, also doesn’t fix the main problem. How about a large, dedicated area right in the middle of the store, with comfortable places to sit and some acoustical aids, where people can relax while a Homepod plays sharp, precise, carefully-curated music to alternately soothe and impress the various souls wandering through? Way too much effort for a “minor” product, although it does fit Apple.
My perplexity persists.
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Over 500 million Siri active users. A cold shower to Alexa-as-smartspeaker-to-rule-them-all cheerleaders.