Apple’s first ever smart speaker, Homepod, has been a subject to several delays and slow sales in the past. But now, months after making it available in select countries, Apple is all set to launch its Siri-based smart speaker in India. The indirect confirmation comes from the HomePod listing page on the Apple India website. Although it still says ‘Check back later for availability’, the price of the device has been revealed as Rs 19,900.
Considering the price tag of the speaker, it will be safe to assume that this Siri-enabled accessory will be going up against Bose Home Speaker 300, Amazon Echo Studio and even the Echo Plus (2nd-gen), all of which are in the same range.
HomePod saw the light of the day three years ago at WWDC 2017 and went on sale in Australia, the US and the UK in early 2018 at US$349 (roughly Rs 24,860). You can also buy the smart speaker from Germany, France, Canada and select other regions. Last year it went on sale in China, Japan and Taiwan.
Sporting six microphone arrays, Apple HomePod is said to recognise the physics of a room (or what Apple calls as Spatial Awareness) and play audio accordingly so the user gets the best experience. There’s also seven beamforming speakers, each with its own amplifier. Powering the speaker is Apple’s A8 chip. You can also setup a multi-room audio system using AirPlay 2 connectivity. On the outside, you can see Apple HomePods in two colour variants – Black and White. There’s a mesh fabric coating on the outside with all the controls on the top.
What’s more is that if the user is in the middle of a phone call or listening to a song, you can easily hand it off to HomePod. All you need to do is to hold the iOS or iPadOS device next to the speaker.
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