Apple HomePod Launch Confirmed for Feb. 9

Rumors have been swirling as of tardily that Apple is getting ready to release its new Amazon Echo and Google Habitation rival very soon, and now we accept an official launch engagement for the HomePod.

Apple on Tuesday announced that the $349 HomePod will hit store shelves on February. 9. The Cupertino tech giant will beginning taking pre-orders on its website this Friday, Jan. 26, in the US, Britain, and Australia. The Siri-backed smart speaker is slated to make it in France and Germany this jump.

Getting to this point has already been a long road for Apple tree, which unveiled the HomePod in June and planned to start selling it in December, in time for the holidays. But that didn't happen – Apple tree pushed back HomePod's launch until early 2022, proverb it needed more time to work on the device. HomePod recently received the FCC's postage stamp of blessing, causing speculation that the device's launch was imminent.

HomePod comes in white and space gray color options and is uniform with iPhone 5s or after, iPad Pro, iPad Air or after, iPad mini 2 or afterwards, or the 6th-generation iPod bear upon devices running iOS xi.2.five or later. The speaker is designed to work with Apple tree Music, the visitor'due south $9.99/month Spotify-like service, which offers access to 40 meg songs.

HomePod stands vii inches alpine and features six microphones, which will heed for your command to Siri. Apple tree claims HomePod and Siri tin can handle complicated queries, like "Hey Siri, when was this song released?" or "Hey Siri, who's the drummer in this?" Under the hood, the HomePod runs an Apple A8 fleck and features an upward-facing subwoofer.

In a argument today, Apple's Senior Vice President of worldwide marketing Philip Schiller said HomePod is "and then much fun to employ."

"It brings avant-garde audio technologies like axle-forming tweeters, a high-excursion woofer, and automatic spatial sensation, together with the entire Apple Music catalog and the latest Siri intelligence, in a simple, beautiful blueprint," Schiller said. "We think they will be blown away by the sound quality. The team has worked to give Siri a deeper noesis of music so that you can enquire to play about anything from your personal favorites to the latest chart-topping releases, but by saying 'Hey Siri.'"

Stay tuned for PCMag'southward full HomePod review.

About Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo is PCMag's adept on fitness and smart home products. Educational activity yoga for nearly 10 years has helped her in evaluating a range of continued wellness products including fettle trackers, middle rate monitors, rowers, smart scales, stationary bikes, force grooming machines, treadmills, and more than. Angela also tests smart dwelling devices from her ranch in Florida, including air purifiers, kitchen appliances, and robot vacuums, only to proper name a few.