HomePod is a direct competitor to Amazon Echo and speakers with Google’s Assistant installed. Apple’s HomePod goes up for pre-order on Friday.
The $349 speaker will start shipping to customers on February 9, Apple said on Tuesday in a statement.
The HomePod was revealed last summer with a promised launch before the end of 2017, but Apple delayed the product in December, saying that “we need a little more time before it’s ready for our customers.”
It’s only launching in the US, UK and Australia for now.
HomePod is a direct competitor to Amazon Echo and speakers with Google’s Assistant installed. It comes with Siri installed, and users interact with Apple’s smart speaker by talking to it.
‘It’s gonna rock the house’
Apple hopes to set HomePod apart from its competitors by emphasizing sound quality.
“We decided we would combine great sound and an intelligent speaker,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told Bloomberg’s Megan Murphy last summer.
“When I was growing up, audio was No. 1 on the list of things that you had to have. You were jammin’ out on your stereo. Audio is still really important in all age groups, not just for kids. We’re hitting on something people will be delighted with. It’s gonna blow them away. It’s gonna rock the house,” he continued.
However, compared to Amazon’s Echo, the number of things that users can control with Siri through HomePod may be limited. Voice music controls are reserved for Apple Music, and not Spotify, for example.
Tech: Apple’s delayed HomePod speaker is finally going on sale (AAPL)
