Apple HomePod - All You Need To Know!

Apple has finally entered the smart speaker industry and is releasing it’s very own ‘HomePod’. So, this week we’re giving you a rundown on everything you need to know about Apples smart speaker with its release date being today. This rundown will give you all the information you need from the prices to what the specs of the device are.

Release Date
The Apple HomePod was available for pre-order from Friday 26th of January and is actually released on the Friday 9th February (yes, today!). The HomePod will be available first in the US, UK and Australia with France and Germany getting it in spring.


PriceThe HomePod will be on sale for £319 in the UK and $349 in the US. You will be able to buy the HomePod from Apple’s online store as well as their high street stores. Also, the new Apple HomePod can be purchased from places such as John Lewis and other Apple stockists.

With the new Apple HomePod being so expensive in comparison to other smart speakers on the market today, for example, the one smart speaker seen as most similar to this one is the Amazon Echo which is priced at £149.99 with the smaller Echo Dot selling for £49.99.

P.S. If you're interested, read our MD, Richard Eaton's initial review of the Amazon Echo on his personal blog here https://medium.com/@richardjeaton/amazon-echo-an-initial-review-e02a1dd06cdd


What To Expect From The Apple HomePod?
The Apple HomePod is mainly a music speaker, with high-quality audio that is comparable to the Sonos wireless speakers. However, since this comparison was made between the HomePod and Sonos wireless speakers, Sonos have announced they are in the process of creating their own smart speaker. The HomePod has the ability to still hear your voice over the top of loud music that is playing from the speaker, but not only does it respond to sound but also touch. Various tap sequences instruct the HomePod to do various different things like pause, play, skip or activate Siri. The HomePod not only has high-quality audio but also answers all your questions with Siri and sends messages and makes calls.

The HomePod has an A8 chip which allows spacial awareness capabilities so that the HomePod is able to analyse the room which gives it the ability to provide the best audio for its surroundings. Apple has said that the HomePod brings together Apple Music and Siri in order to learn your music taste. The HomePod has a very simplistic minimalistic design as it is covered in a seamless mesh fabric, it comes in two different colours white and space grey and is only 18 centimetres tall.

So, there’s everything you need to know. Personally, I think the HomePod is a good investment if you enjoy playing high-quality music throughout your house. However, if you’re just looking for a smart speaker which you can ask questions and get the answers quickly then I think there are better, cheaper alternatives for that use. Let us know what you think about this new release from Apple and whether or not you’ll be buying one.