Few electronic products today are marketed worldwide simultaneously. Manufacturers prefer to take their time and launch their devices in waves. Apple’s HomePod was no exception. it will soon be arriving in Japan.
The deployment of Apple’s smart speaker, the HomePod, has been quite slow. Unlike the iPhone, iPad, and other Macs, Apple HomePod is available today only in a limited number of countries. However, the Cupertino firm extends this list quite regularly. From August 23rd, the HomePod will be available in Japan. The Land of the Rising Sun will finally have the right to the smart speaker, according to Apple. Perhaps this will boost sales of this device, which is struggling to find its audience.
The Apple HomePod preorders have recently been opened for Japan. The speaker is offered at 32 800¥ (280€) which is very similar to the price charged in France – Apple offers it at 329€ on its awning, but it is cheaper at some specialized retailers -. Why did the apple brand take so long to market Apple HomePod in Japan? It’s hard to say. Probably this is due to Siri, Apple having some modifications and optimizations to make for each country, especially to manage languages and their different accents.
For the moment, opinions are somewhat mixed about Apple’s speaker. Some people praise the quality of the sound offered; others do not find it as useful and complete as the competition, more precisely the Amazon Echo or Google Home. There were also some criticisms of its tariff. It must be said that the 300€ requested clearly places it above the competition, for advantages that are not so obvious. Some rumors suggested that the Cupertino firm could work on a mini (more affordable) version of its HomePod. So far, the apple brand has not communicated anything on this subject.
