HomePod Launches in Japan and Taiwan [Updated]

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.

homepodjapan
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.

Related Roundup: HomePod
Buyer's Guide: HomePod (Neutral)

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Top Rated Comments

citysnaps Avatar
83 months ago
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?
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Santabean2000 Avatar
83 months ago
Why is this thing not available everywhere already? It's not like Siri actually works anyway...
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ipedro Avatar
83 months ago
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.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Darth-Kylie Avatar
83 months ago
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.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
calstanford Avatar
83 months ago
Does anyone use this thing really?
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ThatGuyInLa Avatar
83 months ago
To all those countries, my deepest apologies.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)