Apple HomePod Now Available For Pre-Order in UK

Apple HomePod

It’s certainly taken a while, but Apple might finally be joining the ranks of Amazon and Google in the home smart speaker market.

For a company that was once a market leader for innovation to many, it was surprising that it took so long for them to join this club. A club indeed which they are still not yet members of.

The Apple HomePod is, however, finally, taking pre-orders for sale in the UK.

What do we know about it so far?

We did report on Apple’s smart speaker many months ago and if this is the final form, it’s very different to what we were expecting. Coming in a rather plain black (sorry – “space grey”) or white design, my initial thoughts are that for an Apple product, this looks amazingly boring.

What we do know is that the product will stand at around 7″ tall and will incorporate what Apple claims to be the most powerful processor incorporated into a speaker. In addition, it is also to include ‘spacial awareness’ to adapt to whatever room it is in to compensate for the acoustics.

When will it be available?

The Apple HomePod will release on February 9th, 2018, however, as above is available to download from their official UK store page.

The store page can be accessed by clicking this link.

This is a surprisingly short lead time, particularly for pre-orders. It shouldn’t be forgotten, however, that Apple initially intended to release this product at Christmas. Missing that deal line will have hurt and possibly cemented Google and Amazon’s own home smart speakers further.

How much will it cost?

Brace yourselves, because this is quite substantially higher than its competitors.

The Apple HomePod will retail in the UK for £319.00. For me, this price is concerning.

Now, of course, this is an Apple product and Apple products are never cheap. That being said, this is both more expensive and late to the market compared to its competitors. Something which concerns me a little.

What do you think? Will the Apple HomePod be a success? Can it compete with Google and Amazon despite the late launch? What about the price? – Let us know in the comments!

https://youtu.be/1hw9skL-IXc