Apple says its delayed HomePod smart speaker will be available to order on Friday for $349 in US, £319 in UK, A$499 in Australia, will arrive in stores Feb. 9

Apple 2018-01-24

Context & Ripple Effects

The HomePod's road to shelves has been bumpy: Apple unveiled the $349 Siri-enabled speaker in June 2017 with a December ship date, then in November pushed the release to early 2018. Today's announcement closes that gap with concrete dates and prices across three launch markets.

The significance is less the hardware than what it signals about Apple's ambitions: a Music- and Home-tied speaker meant to anchor Siri in the living room, with international expansion following slowly — China and Hong Kong only arrived a year later via the January 2019 rollout.

First-order effects

Buyers in the US ($349), UK (£319) and Australia (A$499) can order starting Friday January 26, with store availability February 9 — ending a roughly two-month slip from the original December target.

Second-order effects

At $349, the HomePod enters the market as a premium-priced Siri speaker rather than a mass-market one, forcing Apple to sell it on sound quality and Music/Home integration instead of price.

Third-order effects

The delayed US/UK/Australia debut followed by a China/Hong Kong launch a year later suggests Apple is treating the smart speaker as a slow, region-by-region platform build rather than a simultaneous global push.

The trend: Apple is entering the smart-speaker market late and deliberately, prioritizing audio quality and ecosystem lock-in over speed and price.

Discussion

@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
Here's your guide to the HomePod's touch surface pic.twitter.com/BmT42RRiaM
@film_girl Christina Warren on x
Last HomePod thought for now: the price is why it will fail. You can have a feature-limited, inexpensive product. You can have a feature-rich, expensive product. It is very difficult to find success in an established market when you are both overpriced and under-featured.
@marcoarment Marco Arment on x
The HomePod should be so good that Sonos and Echo and Google Home owners *won't care* that they already own them, and will go buy a HomePod anyway because it's so good.
@michaelflux Michael Flux on x
The most bizarre thing is that Tim Cook got to where he is by being an exceptional COO under SJ. For all his flaws he ran an extremely tight ship back then. Last 2 years, every other feature is severely delayed or forgotten, and yet every other week a new interview with him.
@rjonesy Ryan Jones on x
It makes no sense to be insanely secretive - so that “employees work is honored” with a big surprise launch -only to effectively leak it yourself. Except worse because you promise things you don't later deliver. Very hypocritical.
@neilcybart Neil Cybart on x
There are plenty of unanswered questions about HomePod. For example, these two paragraphs make it seem like you are the only one that will be able to control Apple Music on HomePod via voice. However, what happens when your friend connects their music? Who controls HomePod now? p…
@neilcybart Neil Cybart on x
People's vastly different viewpoints on HomePod boil down to their views on voice assistants. I look at HomePod as a music accessory. Others seemingly want it to be a Siri speaker and be positioned as major Apple product category like iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
@caro_milanesi Carolina Milanesi on x
Interesting #HomePod can send a message but not make a call. I am sure Apple's reasoning is that you have your iPhone for that but point is that both #Echo and #GoogleHome do it pic.twitter.com/7vsNk54y8r
@idguy Bob Levine on x
Maybe I'll be proven wrong, but at some point even the most loyal Apple fans have to wake up to the fact that just slapping a logo on something doesn't make it worth what Apple is charging for it. And yes, I'm talking HomePod here.
@mikebeas Mike Beasley on x
The HomePod feels like the first real “me too” product Apple has released without adding something big to the market.
@film_girl Christina Warren on x
And I say this as the person who should be Apple's target market for HomePod. I have 4 Mac's in my house, 3 ipads, at least 3 working iphones. I buy everything and I'm the ultimate fan girl. Without more features, I will not buy this.
@film_girl Christina Warren on x
I am sad they didn't take the delay as an opp to lower the price $100. At $350 with no real app integration, no one is buying this. Get the Sonos with Alexa for better sound, esp as AirPlay 2 is delayed. https://twitter.com/...

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