Apple’s virtual assistant has finally surfaced. It might have been the worst-kept secret in tech – the idea has been thrown around for months – but HomePod is here, and it’s absurdly expensive. This is Apple’s take on Echo, but does it do anything better to warrant that hefty price jump?
At its core, Apple says HomePod is a speaker first, virtual butler second. Its tagline, pretentiously, says the firm has “completely reimagined how a speaker should make music”. There’s some fancy tech inside that should make it stand out from those other home-helper alternatives – more on that later.
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It’s an odd-looking, dumpy little thing. HomePod looks like an Apple-fied version of the UE WonderBoom Bluetooth speaker we reviewed recently. It’s not a bad design per se, and is in keeping with Apple’s minimalism, but its mesh-covered exterior is a touch bland (and uninspired) for my tastes.
Inside its chubby little body is a handful of impressive tech, including seven tweeters splayed across the base and a 4in upwards-firing bass driver. That’s exciting in its own right, but there are also six outward-pointing microphones that pick up your voice commands when you bark orders at it, just like Echo and Home before it.
Interact with it and you’ll spot this weird, pulsating waveform on the top – similar to the visual interaction you get on your iPhone as Siri speaks. That way, you know HomePod is doing something, be it playing music or talking to you, and not just an expensive paperweight.
HomePod will spout news, sport and weather updates should you ask for it, and work hand in hand with HomeKit’s other supported smart-home devices. Just as with Google Home, Apple’s equivalent won’t be always-listening either, lending an ear only when you bark the “Hey Siri” command.
You’ll spot Apple’s A8 chip inside, which helps with all the behind-the-scenes audio features such as echo and distortion cancellation. In a similar way to how Samsung did things with its recent MS650 soundbar, there’s some clever tech that actively monitors speaker driver movement to predict and negate potential incoming audio distortion. Samsung’s technology is marvellous, but we’ll have to spend more time with HomePod to see if it offers the same – or even better – listening experience.
It should be a treat for your ears, then, but only if you’re signed up to Apple Music. If not, HomePod isn’t for you, unless you’re really set on an over-priced living-room ornament. Apple forces you to only use its own music-streaming service – a Spotify speaker this ain’t.
Apple HomePod: Early verdict
If you think you’re sold on Apple’s HomePod, don’t reach for your wallet just yet – there’s a sizeable caveat to consider. As is always the case with these things, that is HomePod’s ludicrously steep asking price.
At $349, HomePod is almost twice the price than its Amazon- and Google-powered alternatives. Obviously, Apple seeks to justify that with an improved audio experience over its competitors with that fancy distortion reducing tech, but at face value, it seems like you’re paying double just for the Apple name on the box.
Don’t get me wrong, HomePod has the potential to be the de facto speaker-come-home helper when it launches in the UK in December, but until I place it on my living room shelf, I’ll remain cautiously pessimistic. Apple: I’d love it if you proved me wrong.
Expect my full Apple HomePod review in the near future.
