Apple’s $349 HomePod speaker is now available to preorder


Apple’s $349 HomePod smart speaker is now available to preorder through the Apple Store app, with shipping slated to start from February 9th. But, despite Apple delaying the speaker’s launch, HomePod will ship without features like AirPlay 2, which allows pairing and multi-room audio. Apple says those features are “coming this year in a free software update.” HomePod is powered by Apple’s A8 chip (that first appeared in the iPhone 6) and features built-in Siri, six microphones, HomeKit support to control your compatible smart-home devices, and the ability to automatically optimize sound for a given room.

We briefly played with the speaker last year, with my colleague Dieter calling it “a cute little ovoid thing” that “sounds really good...

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via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2rKZD3I"

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