Apple HomePod smart speaker preorders begin Friday, shipments start Feb. 9

AppleInsider · January 23, 2018 2:02PM

Apple's long-awaited HomePod arrives in stores beginning Friday, February 9 and is available to order online this Friday, January 26 in the US, UK and Australia.

The HomePod is designed to work with an Apple Music subscription. It learns preferences and tastes that are shared across devices. HomePod's Siri implementation 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.

With support for HomeKit, HomePod can control hundreds of home accessories or set scenes like, "Hey Siri, I'm home," to control a number of different accessories at the same time.

Through SiriKit, HomePod supports third-party messaging apps.

"HomePod is a magical new music experience from Apple. It brings advanced audio technologies like beam-forming tweeters, a high-excursion woofer and automatic spatial awareness, together with the entire Apple Music catalog and the latest Siri intelligence, in a simple, beautiful design that is so much fun to use," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "We're so excited for people to get HomePod into their homes, apartments and businesses to hear it for themselves. We think they will be blown away by the audio quality. The team has worked to give Siri a deeper knowledge of music so that you can ask to play virtually anything from your personal favorites to the latest chart-topping releases, simply by saying Hey Siri.'"

At launch, HomePod doesn't support multi-room audio or stereo playback. Apple notes the features are "coming this year in a free software update."

As previously announced, the HomePod retails for $349 in white and space gray in the US, UK and Australia. It will be available in France and Germany later in the spring.

The 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.

hawkeye_mo · January 23, 2018 2:05PM

Not compatible with AppleTV...no thanks

macpro · January 23, 2018 2:08PM

I was looking for that too, is there somewhere that you read that explicitly stated or is it lack of mentioning it that makes you say that? I'll be ordering one anyway but was so hoping to be able to use it for the TV as well. I was assuming in the Apple TV settings you would just select the HomePod as the output source the same way you can select Bluetooth headphones.

edited January 2018

vahancouver · January 23, 2018 2:11PM

And How about Canada ?

edited January 2018

peteo · January 23, 2018 2:13PM

"At launch, HomePod doesn't support multi-room audio"

Wow, forget replacing Sonos at least for a while.

Also where is a the marketing for this? why am I supposed to want this?

macpro · January 23, 2018 2:22PM

peteo said:

"At launch, HomePod doesn't support multi-room audio"

Wow, forget replacing Sonos at least for a while.

Also where is a the marketing for this? why am I supposed to want this?

You seem to infer that it's only marketing that induces you to make a purchase? Surely not. Perhaps you mean more information not marketing per se.

edited January 2018

appleattack · January 23, 2018 2:25PM

If the audio is truly stellar then I’ll fall in love with HomePod despite having to wait for stereo/multi-room features. People want so much from this device that it’s inevitable some will be disappointed. Apple is certainly not overselling it and I think it might end up being an Apple Music player/Homekit controller and not much else (at least at launch). I’m excited nonetheless.

peterhart · January 23, 2018 2:27PM

I'm assuming Apple is using its normal pre-order schedule -- Midnight PT (3am ET) in the U.S.?

tsschwarz · January 23, 2018 2:29PM

MacPro said:

I was looking for that too, is there somewhere that you read that explicitly stated or is it lack of mentioning it that makes you say that? I'll be ordering one anyway but was so hoping to be able to use it for the TV as well. I was assuming in the Apple TV settings you would just select the HomePod as the output source the same way you can select Bluetooth headphones.

I don't know this for sure but I am wondering if they are referring to the devices that are required to set it up. If you think about it all the devices listed could be used to set it up. Once it is set up as long as it does BlueTooth why would it be limited to just those devices. We will know better after they hit the wild but I am thinking that list of compatible devices is the list of devices that can be used to setup the HomePod.

I'll be ordering mine on Friday.

robjn · January 23, 2018 2:32PM

At launch, HomePod doesn't support multi-room audio or stereo playback. Apple notes the features are "coming this year in a free software update."

The press statement is explicitly clear that multiroom support will be will be coming later in the year. It is much less clear about Stereo playback with two connected HomePods - this feature is simply mentioned in the same paragraph as the ‘multiroom audio statement’. Is it in the same paragraph because both features are coming later in the year or because they are a similar category of feature? Based on the structure of the overal article I would argue that stereo support for two connected HomePods will be active at launch and that this only happened to be mentioned in the same paragraph as the multiroom support.

ny1822 · January 23, 2018 2:34PM

I highly doubt Homepod will not work with Apple TV, if not on release, then in the next few months.

Im down for 2 white ones

apollak · January 23, 2018 2:46PM

So maybe AirPlay 2 will also arrive later.

zroger73 · January 23, 2018 2:53PM

I already have a component audio system with Klipsch speakers, four Amazon Echos, ceiling speakers on the patio, a Bose SoundLink Mini II, and the bed panels of my Honda Ridgeline serve as speakers, so I'm not without plenty of ways to listen to audio and control devices. Still, I'm anxious to see how the HomePod performs even though I'm not a fan of the "roll of toilet paper wearing fishnet tights" design.

macxpress · January 23, 2018 2:53PM

Bring on everyone picking it apart piece by piece of what's wrong with it and that a product that was delayed should work 100% perfect. I'm sure everyone will bitch about Siri right off the bat because it can't do one little thing.

edited January 2018

foregoneconclusion · January 23, 2018 2:55PM

robjn said:

Based on the structure of the overal article I would argue that stereo support for two connected HomePods will be active at launch and that this only happened to be mentioned in the same paragraph as the multiroom support.

If you go to Apple's main web site, the section for the HomePod has both the stereo pair and Airplay 2 features listed as "coming later this year". That said, a single HomePod is not a mono speaker. Apple specifically says that it separates the sound into left/center/right channels.

My own guess is that "later this year" will be an under-promise/over-deliver type of thing. Those will probably roll out pretty quickly.

edited January 2018

mike1 · January 23, 2018 3:04PM

Curious if it will work with the iTunes library on my computer, or is an Apple Music subscription required.

cheesefreeze · January 23, 2018 3:06PM

“The HomePod is designed to work with an Apple Music subscription.”

Apple arrogance in full effect. I won’t be able to tell Siri to play music in Spotify? Forget it! I can’t do it in the car either and it’s super annoying. Apple is still not opening up Siri fully while Amazon and Google do.

Also quite surprising the HomePod doesn’t support stereo playback and do multi room at launch.

hawaiianshirtguy · January 23, 2018 3:08PM

Since it doesn't support multi-room audio, that makes me think it doesn't support airplay. WTF?

davidalgregory · January 23, 2018 3:11PM

This is a flop out of the box.
When you come to market after everyone else and even behind your announced launch, you should have your feature set complete and ready for prime time. This device is none of that.

More expensive than Google and Amazon.
Inferior Siri AI
Tied to Apple's rental rap service- not iTunes.
No apparent support for streaming from local iTunes library, Mac computer or Apple TV.
No stereo capability.
Design looks like a fingerprint and dust magnet. Every little kid will put their paws on the surface and the mesh will be a magnet for dust.
No physical audio input.

Got a nice set of Focal SuperBirds set up with my Apple TV in the Living Room. Cannot imagine how this thing in any way is better- certainly not in Audio quality.
Got a nice Focal XS Computer speakers for my Desktop Mac. This Apple TP Roll will not sound better.
Not dragging around a $350 toilet paper roll sized speaker in my computer bag.
Not replacing my main stereo setup.
Not going to use it in the car.
Not going to haul it to the beach, camping or the back yard.

So exactly what use is this thing?

lukecage · January 23, 2018 3:14PM

peteo said:

"At launch, HomePod doesn't support multi-room audio"

Wow, forget replacing Sonos at least for a while.

Also where is a the marketing for this? why am I supposed to want this?

Here you go, curtesy of Apple's home page, and there's more info that dropped today about how the HomePod works. Now as far as for traditional marketing like TV ads those will probably air in the next couple weeks.

davidalgregory · January 23, 2018 3:14PM

mike1 said:

Curious if it will work with the iTunes library on my computer, or is an Apple Music subscription required.

Supposedly can support iTunes Match if you do not use Apple Music. Not streaming from a local iTunes library is arrogant or stupid. Apparently cannot use it as a speaker for your Mac or Apple TV- much less and non-Apple device.

Apple HomePod smart speaker preorders begin Friday, shipments start Feb. 9

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