It has taken more than 2 years but looks like Apple is finally confident about launching its HomePod smart speaker in the Indian market.
The company has listed the product on its website, and it even gets a price tag of under Rs 20,000, making it more affordable in India than other countries where it’s available for buyers.
The speaker was made available in the US from 9 February 2018, and one would expect the HomePod to go on sale in India very soon. The Apple HomePod is compatible with iPhone 5s or later, iPad Pro, iPad Air or later, iPad mini 2 or later, or iPod touch (6th generation) with iOS 11.2.5 or later.
The HomePod is a 7-inch-tall speaker that is powered by Apple’s A8 chip, delivering good sound quality. Thanks to an array of 6 microphones it is much easier to interact with Siri even if you are in a room that’s playing loud music.
But Siri has been lacking support for localised features in India, especially the language, which is likely to have forced Apple to delay the launch of HomePod till Siri became India-friendly.
HomePod’ compatibility with Siri lets users to interact and perform various tasks like playing music or setting reminder just using their voice. That’s not all, using the HomePod one can also send a message, set a timer, play a podcast, check the news, sports, traffic and weather, and even control a wide range of HomeKit smart home accessories.
Most reviews of the HomePod suggest Apple sees this device is an ideal music companion speaker, which will offer quality that matches up to the best in the business. At Rs 19,900 the HomePod is priced lower than its original launch price of Rs 22,990 and it’s good to see Apple making these adjustments to appeal to the buyers in the country.
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