Apple said it is bringing its Siri-enabled wireless smart speaker HomePod to China and Hong Kong this week, on Jan. 18, according to reports.
The company made the announcement on Sunday (Jan. 13), saying the device is easy and fun to use for everyone in the family.
“HomePod is the perfect wireless speaker for music lovers. It delivers an unmatched music listening experience with high-fidelity sound wherever it is placed, and creates a new way to discover and interact with music using Siri,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing. “We’re excited to bring HomePod to our customers in mainland China and Hong Kong markets. We can’t wait for them to experience how great it sounds in their home; we think they are going to love it.”
The news comes right after Apple cut its outlook for Q1, citing low sales and upgrades of iPhones in China. Apple is the first of the U.S. smart speaker companies, including Google and Amazon, to bring a smart speaker to China.
The HomePod has been available in the country for a while, albeit unofficially and not in local languages, although Siri has had support for Mandarin and Cantonese for a while.
In China, Apple ranks fifth in smartphone sales with a 9 percent market share, behind Huawei and Xiaomi. While the Chinese smart speaker market is the second biggest in the world behind the United States, it’s fairly crowded with less expensive devices, and Amazon and Google have yet to offer their models in the market. Alibaba, Xiaomi and Baidu all have smart speakers on the market, with millions of users between them.
The HomePod will retail for ¥2,799 ($414) in China and $2,799 ($357) in Hong Kong. Alibaba has a model for about $73 and Xiaomi has one for less than $50.
The HomePod will be available in white and space gray.
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