Apple HomePod Revealed: Apple Confirms Release Date And More For Its Smart HiFi Speaker

The Apple HomePod was announced last summer, scheduled for late 2017 and then postponed to this year. There have been rumors recently that it was very nearly here.

This post is now updated with more details mined from the Apple press release, including the revelation that multi-room playback will be possible - but not yet.

Anyway, this morning, Apple confirmed all the details for the machine the company hopes will outdo Amazon Echo, sound better than the Sonos One and offer more connected-home smarts than Google Home.

Here’s all you need to know.

Apple (Apple HomePod in white.)

Onsale date

Finally, we know when to expect it: Friday, February 9 in the US, UK and Australia. Pre-orders start two weeks sooner, on this Friday, January 26. Also revealed is that it will go on sale in two more countries in Europe, France and Germany, this spring.

Price and compatibility

That’s already been announced in the US, $349, but Apple now has a price for UK listeners, £319 and one for Australian customers, A$499. Apple says its 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. By the way, one eagle-eyed Forbes reader has spotted that this release of iOS 11 hasn't yet appeared, we're only on iOS 11.2.2 right now, so clearly this much-anticipated update to iOS must be with us on or before February 9! And in fact, Apple has literally just now released 11.2.5 - you can download it now. Improvements include support for HomePod and the ability for Siri to read the news in the US, UK and Australia, in other words, the countries HomePod is heading towards. Oh, and some bug fixes are in there, too.