Apple says its HomePod smart speaker will be coming to China early next year. The country is the latest in Apple’s slow expansion across the globe for the Siri-powered device. The HomePod reached France, Canada, and Germany in June, for instance, and Mexico and Spain in October.
Apple’s HomePod will come to China early next year
Photo by James Bareham / The Verge
Preorders aren’t live yet for the HomePod in China, but a new product page has appeared on Apple’s site, saying the device will be available in early 2019. The smart speaker’s ability to support Mandarin and Cantonese in addition to all the other languages it already provides puts it a cut above other Chinese smart speakers that only offer Mandarin. It’s been a struggle for Chinese smart speaker makers to develop other languages, but Apple already has that technology built in.
Like other Apple products in China, that innovative technology is coming at a premium. The HomePod in China will cost RMB 2,799 or about $408.21, which is a markup from the American price of around $350.
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