If you're interested in purchasing Apple's smart speaker, the HomePod, the company is now accepting pre-orders for customers in the US, UK and Australia. The speaker comes in two colors, White and Space Gray, and will set you back $349. Devices will begin shipping on February 9th.
Apple's late to the game with a smart speaker, but the company is hoping that the quality of the HomePod will help it catch up to its rivals. It's not a great sign, though, that the speaker will ship without basic features: It won't have multi-room audio, or even stereo pairing, at launch. While it's priced higher than its rivals (Sonos is currently offering two Sonos One speakers for the same price), Apple's focus on privacy will certainly be attractive to some buyers.
Apple's late to the game with a smart speaker, but the company is hoping that the quality of the HomePod will help it catch up to its rivals. It's not a great sign, though, that the speaker will ship without basic features: It won't have multi-room audio, or even stereo pairing, at launch. While it's priced higher than its rivals (Sonos is currently offering two Sonos One speakers for the same price), Apple's focus on privacy will certainly be attractive to some buyers.