Apple HomePod will finally be available to buy in the Indian market. With the release of iOS iOS 13.3.1 and iPadOS 13.3.1 update today, the iPhone maker has unofficially announced the availability in the Indian market. The main feature with this new update is the option to disable the U1 Ultra Wideband chip found inside the iPhone 11 series. However, the changelog has something buried deep down the list. Apple has enabled support for Indian English Siri voice for HomePod. Also Read - Apple HomePod will soon get multiple timer, phone calls and iPhone ping support
Apple HomePod in India: Price, Features
The smart speaker powered by Siri has also been listed on Apple India website. It is priced at Rs 19,900, which makes it cheaper than the US price. In the US, Apple HomePod is available for $299, which translates to around Rs 21,300. This also makes India the cheapest market for HomePod anywhere in the world. During the earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said iPhone sales registered double digit growth in India. It seems the iPhone maker is now willing to expand its product portfolio further by bringing HomePod to the Indian market. Also Read - Report claims Apple HomePod to account for 6 percent smart speaker market
Since its release, HomePod has been available in a short list of countries. It first launched in the US, UK and Australia and became available from January 2018. It was later expanded to Canada, France and Germany in June 2018 while Spain and Mexico got the device in October 2018. Apple started selling HomePod in China and Hong Kong in January 2019 while Japan and Taiwan got in August 2019. Now, India is joining this very short list of countries where HomePod is officially available. Also Read - Apple HomePod might get call support and multiple timers with software update
At the time of writing, Apple HomePod is still listed as coming soon and there is no word on official availability just yet. Apple launched HomePod at $399 in the US but the price was revised to $299 in April 2019. The smart speaker comes in space grey and white color and weighs 2.5Kg. It features a high-excursion woofer with a custom amplifier and has an array of seven horn-loaded tweeters. Each of them have their own amplifier. There are six-microphone arrays for far-field Siri voice recognition.
The HomePod also supports direct and ambient audio beam-forming and can be paired for stereo audio. The speaker also has an internal low-frequency calibration microphone for automatic bass correction. It supports Apple Music for music streaming and users can AirPlay content from iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV or Mac. The HomePod is wrapped in a mesh fabric material and has a touch layer for controls at the top. It supports WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0 and multi-room speaker support with AirPlay 2.
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