Apple’s HomePod smart speaker finally available for order this Friday (but don’t get too excited, Canada)

Smart speakers are the fastest growing segment of the home electronics segment these days. Both Google (with their Google Assistant-powered Home line) and Amazon (Alexa’s Echo et al) have sold millions of units, carving out a huge market lead.

Apple, which announced their HomePod smart speaker to great fanfare, wasn’t able to get the unit in stores in time for Christmas, digging itself into a deep hole. Can their Siri-powered devices claw their way back into contention?

All reports I’ve heard is that they sound fantastic–certainly better than Alexa and Google Home units–and uses all kinds of fancy tech.

From the press release:

• Packed with Apple-engineered audio technology, HomePod uses advanced software for real-time acoustic modelling, audio beam-forming, echo cancellation and more, powered by Apple’s A8 chip, delivering a wide, spacious soundstage. Using spatial awareness to sense its location in the room, it automatically adjusts the audio to sound great wherever it is placed.
• HomePod features a large, Apple-designed woofer for deep, clean bass, a custom array of seven beam-forming tweeters that provide pure high frequency acoustics with directional control, and powerful technologies that preserve the richness and intent of original recordings. With an array of six microphones, HomePod can hear “Hey Siri” from across the room, even when loud music is playing.

There’s also an SDK for developers who want to come up with interesting apps that will work with HomePod.

We’ll see. The first batch of HomePods have arrived and will be available for order this Friday (January 26) and will appear in stores February 9.

Did I mention that Canada won’t be getting HomePod right away? Nope. US, UK and Australia to start. France and Germany in the spring. Canada? Who knows?