HomePod Launches in Japan and Taiwan [Updated]

[MacRumors]

Update: On schedule, the HomePod has now launched in Japan and Taiwan.

Original story follows.


Apple's HomePod is set to launch in Japan and Taiwan next week, on Friday, August 23, Apple announced today. Ahead of the launch, Apple is accepting pre-orders through its online stores in Japan and Taiwan.

The HomePod is available for ¥32,800 in Japan and NT$9,900 in Taiwan, which is $10 to $15 higher than the price in the U.S. When the HomePod first launched in the United States in 2018, it was priced at $349, but the price was lowered to $299 in April of this year.

Apple announced plans to expand the HomePod to Japan and Taiwan earlier this summer, and added support for the new countries in the 12.4 software made available for the HomePod in late July.

Apple now sells the HomePod in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Mexico, China, and Hong Kong, along with Taiwan and Japan.

Article Link: HomePod Launches in Japan and Taiwan [Updated]

 

[Gsmaniac]

And still not New Zealand. Makes no sense.

 

[ipedro]

This is certainly not a product Apple is giving up on. Expanding reach, frequent updates with new features, integration with Siri Shortcuts that continually give it new capabilities, an accumulating user base.

Apple isn’t giving up on HomePod anymore than they gave up on the AppleTV when it was a niche product. It was a foundation on which Apple is building on through software updates.

It’s still only a little over year old and has already received 3 major updates. If anything, they’re dedicated to it.

Eventually, the critics will end up in the same place as those who said the Apple Watch was a failure. Curiously, you never hear from those people again.

 

[Santabean2000]

Why is this thing not available everywhere already? It's not like Siri actually works anyway...

 

[OriginalMacRat]

And still not New Zealand. Makes no sense.

Especially when they haven't sold very well.

 

[goobot]

This is certainly not a product Apple is giving up on. Expanding reach, frequent updates with new features, integration with Siri Shortcuts that continually give it new capabilities, an accumulating user base.

Apple isn’t giving up on HomePod anymore than they gave up on the AppleTV when it was a niche product. It was a foundation on which Apple is building on through software updates.

It’s still only a little over year old and has already received 3 major updates. If anything, they’re dedicated to it.

Eventually, the critics will end up in the same place as those who said the Apple Watch was a failure. Curiously, you never hear from those people again.

The original Apple Watch wasn’t that great. Thankfully Apple rectified its mistakes.

 

[calstanford]

Does anyone use this thing really?

 

[ThatGuyInLa]

To all those countries, my deepest apologies.

 

[sydneysider88]

Does anyone use this thing really?

I've got one and honestly I don't use it much. If it had built-in Spotify/Bluetooth, or if Siri actually worked—it'd be useful.

 

[citysnaps]

Does anyone use this thing really?

Roughly 3-4 hours a day. Every day. For the past year and a half.

Why?
[doublepost=1565934278][/doublepost]

I've got one and honestly I don't use it much. If it had built-in Spotify/Bluetooth, or if Siri actually worked—it'd be useful.

Siri actually works. Maybe a trip to the genius bar is in order?

 

[Darth-Kylie]

Roughly 3-4 hours a day. Every day. For the past year and a half.

Why?
[doublepost=1565934278][/doublepost]

Siri actually works. Maybe a trip to the genius bar is in order?

Seconded. I have a stereo pair in one room and a single unit in a bedroom, which I used to stream music from Apple Music or from iOS and to query and control HomeKit accessories both within and outwith my home. Sounds great. Works great.

 

[bobob]

And still not New Zealand. Makes no sense.

Compare the population of New Zealand vs Japan and Taiwan.

 

[iObama]

I sure wish they'd freakin' launch one with an EQ in the US so I could replace my Sonos...

(Aside from those trash presets nested in Settings.)

 

[James_C]

Does anyone use this thing really?

I replaced my Sonos system with 4 Homepods, works and sounds much better, use them everyday. I have very few problems with Siri, awesome to control my music with my voice. Love them.

however if you don’t use Apple Music, then I understand that Homepods may not work for you.

 

[ghanwani]

My friend uses it when he visits. Otherwise never gets used. I paid $349 to get one last year.

 

[mi7chy]

Makes sense to shift unsold US stock to elsewhere in the world since internal power supply is already universal 100V to 240V AC.

Only barrier to adoption in Taiwan is Apple honoring 'one China policy' and storing Taiwanese citizens' iCloud user data on Chinese government owned servers for cracking down on dissidents.

 

[fokmik]

Of course this thing is not selling even well, not very well, since it was available in 3 countries at the beginning for years

 

[realtuner]

I sure wish they'd freakin' launch one with an EQ in the US so I could replace my Sonos...

(Aside from those trash presets nested in Settings.)

Why do you need an EQ?

 

[allenvanhellen]

No line in, no deal.

 

[PCMA]

Apple now sells the HomePod in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Mexico, China, and Hong Kong, along with Taiwan and Japan.

This not true. In fact, Apple doesn't sell the HomePod anywhere.
[doublepost=1565939462][/doublepost]

Compare the population of New Zealand vs Japan and Taiwan.

New Zealand speaks English. Presumably it's easy for Apple to rollout products to English speaking countries first.

 

[Justin Cymbal]

Shouldn’t version 2 of the HomePod be coming out soon??

This was released in January 2018..

 

[Soccertess]

Eventually, the critics will end up in the same place as those who said the Apple Watch was a failure. Curiously, you never hear from those people again.

To be honest, wearables have been a bit of a failure in general but Apple does have the best wearable by far. I think that is why so many companies have given up on wearables.

I just think the apple watch is a far cry for mass adoption though. I do blame carriers a lot who are charging way too much for a data plan. I think this is hurting Apple watch sales.

But again not a massive popular device in the grand scheme of tech unless you are in some parts of the US. While the Apple watch is a very very good device, majority of devices are Android in this world with iOS only dominating Japan and USA. Big markets like China and India, Apple is by far not the biggest player. So the smaller the eco system, the less benefit there is to owning an apple watch.

 

[Jim Lahey]

Great product with excellent audio quality. I don't have one but wouldn't hesitate if my needs changed.

 

[subjonas]

I really like my HomePod. Or I should say, I like it ok but I really like its potential. Right now it’s relegated to my bedroom mainly as an alarm clock and weather checker, and sometimes a music player, and once in awhile a smart assistant for other miscellaneous tasks (I’d use the smart assistant features a lot more if my home was “smarter”). If Apple made a cheaper version HomePod with worse speakers but same mics, that version would have been more appropriate for this role, but I got the HomePod on a very good sale.

What I think the HomePod is sorely lacking (for me), is integration with home entertainment. I would love to buy a pair of HomePods for my living room, but I’m reluctant to spend that kind of money for music-only speakers. I watch shows and movies more often than I listen to music at home. And actually regardless of money, I simply don’t want two separate speaker systems for each. So I’d love HomePods so much more if they were designed to also be used with my TV/AppleTV/bluray player for movies and shows. (It can work with Apple TV, but it’s not ideal for a number of reasons.) How great would that be to have one pair of great-sounding, good-looking Apple speakers for all my home entertainment needs as well as smart assistant needs. (Note- I actually only want a stereo pair, even for movies, but maybe Apple could add surround sound functionality to HomePods in the future for people who want that.)

I know others in these forums have expressed the same wish, and probably many out there. It could possibly boost sales tremendously if implemented (and advertised). I’m sure Apple has thought of it. I’m just hoping it’s in the works. Or if not that, then at least an AirPlay/Siri mic base system that can hook up to high quality speakers.

Til then, sadly it will continue being under-utilized on my night stand.

 

[ChrisMoBro]

Great product with excellent audio quality. I don't have one but wouldn't hesitate if my needs changed.

A trustworthy review then.