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Apple announced that it will begin taking pre-orders today for the HomePod, its long anticipated entry into the bustling smart speaker market.

Originally slated to ship in December, the speaker is now scheduled to arrive in stores on February 9 with a retail price of $349.

In a press release announcing that HomePod is back in the mix, Apple provided this overview:

At just under 7 inches tall, HomePod represents years of hardware and software innovation:

• Packed with Apple-engineered audio technology, HomePod uses advanced software for real-time acoustic modeling, 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.
  
• Setup is as easy and intuitive as setting up AirPods — simply hold an iPhone next to HomePod and it’s ready to start playing music in seconds. The Siri waveform appears on the top to indicate when Siri is engaged, and integrated touch controls also allow easy navigation.

For more information, visit apple.com.

COMING SOON: Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller reveals the inside story behind HomePod in the extended version of his exclusive interview with Sound & Vision. The interview first appeared in our January 2018 print edition.

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