Apple’s HomePod is finally available in Canada. The much-awaited smart speaker, which was first launched to the U.S., U.K., and Australian markets on February 9, will be available on Canadian shelves starting June 18 for $449.00 CAD.
The demand for voice-activated smart home technology won't be slowing down anytime soon and there’s no shortage of smart speakers available on the market. Thankfully Apple’s HomePod is specially designed to take on the competition. The smart speaker sits on the higher end in terms of cost, but like most things, you get what you pay for.
HomePod is 6.8-inches tall, 5.6-inches wide and weighs 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg), and is wrapped in a black or white mesh fabric to allow for audio to pass through both ways. It’s compact and stylish but is much more than its trademark Apple aesthetic.
HomePod delivers where it counts: sound.
When tested against the competition, Apple’s smart speaker delivers crystal-clear vocals, robust bass notes, and a real sense of breadth. It’s instantly impressive that you can get such crisp, high-quality sound from such a small speaker. In fact, the sound quality stays consistent regardless of where you are in the room thanks to HomePod’s ability to automatically adjust to its placement within seconds of playing that first song. The smart speaker listens and analyzes the reflections of the sound bouncing off of the surrounding surfaces. It then automatically adjusts the settings to deliver a perfect sound experience whether it’s sitting on a shelf or sitting on a table in the middle of a room. Move the speaker around the room? It will adjust the settings within seconds.
A simple pairing process allows users to sync two HomePods next to each other to create truly impressive stereo sound. And, if money is no option, multi-room audio lets you synchronize music playback on multiple HomePods set up in different rooms throughout the house.
Of course, if you use Apple Music as your primary music source, the HomePod creates a truly seamless music listening experience.
What’s more, with an array of six internal microphones you can get Siri’s attention and control the volume or switch songs, without having to raise your voice over the booming music... even if you’re on the other side of the room. Just a gentle “Hey Siri, turn the volume up" or “Hey Siri, play OVO Sound Radio on Beats 1” will do.
The setup process is simple. Once your smart speaker is plugged in, you simply hold your iPhone next to it and you’re automatically walked through the process — a couple of minutes at most.
Your iPhone’s Apple ID will be the profile associated with the HomePod, which means you can easily access your calendar, messages and music library. Being able to send and receive messages, hear upcoming calendar appointments and take advantage of other iOS features by using your HomePod as a speakerphone is incredibly useful. Of course, you can easily turn this personalization off.
HomePod was clearly designed with Apple users in mind and you don’t realize how useful this is until you start using it every day. If you’re already using Apple devices, and especially if you’re already hooked on the ease of Apple Music, HomePod is arguably the only smart speaker you should be using.
Bring it on.
