Skip to main content

Apple’s HomePod is coming to Canada, France and Germany June 18

Buried amid the flurry of iOS 11.4 news issued by Apple today is one key piece of hardware news: the company’s high-end smart speaker will be arriving in a number of additional key markets next month. After hitting stores in February here in the States, the HomePod will be arriving in Canada, France and Germany on June 18. That brings the Siri-powered smart speaker’s availability up to half-a-dozen countries, including the U.K. and Australia.

The HomePod’s reception has been something of a mixed bag since launch. Apple’s been almost universally praised for the small speaker’s sound quality, but pricing and limited Siri functionality have left many users looking to other options in a category currently dominated by the likes Amazon and Google.  Apple hasn’t addressed sales figures to this point, but third-party reports have been pretty lack laster, thus far.

Of course, today’s iOS update brings some good news for HomePod owners — and should make the device a bit more well-rounded, so to speak. The long awaited addition of stereo pairing means you can buy not one, but two, of the $349 devices for your living, with each one managing a different stereo channel. AirPlay 2, meanwhile, brings some welcome upgrades for multi-room streaming through iOS — though the feature is set to be compatible with devices from a wide range of third-party manufacturers.

No word yet on how much the HomePod will run in its new countries.



from Apple – TechCrunch https://ift.tt/2JgCf5A
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Axeleo Capital raises $51 million fund

Axeleo Capital has raised a $51 million fund (€45 million). Axeleo first started with an accelerator focused on enterprise startups. The firm is now all grown up with an acceleration program and a full-fledged VC fund. The accelerator is now called Axeleo Scale , while the fund is called Axeleo Capital . And it’s important to mention both parts of the business as they work hand in hand. Axeleo picks up around 10 startups per year and help them reach the Series A stage. If they’re doing well over the 12 to 18 months of the program, Axeleo funds those startups using its VC fund. Limited partners behind the company’s first fund include Bpifrance through the French Tech Accélération program, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Vinci Energies, Crédit Agricole, BNP Paribas, Caisse d’Épargne Rhône-Alpes as well as various business angels and family offices. The firm is also partnering with Hi Inov, the holding company of the Dentressangle family. Axeleo will take care of the early stage in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Puls raises $50 million for in-home technical support

A fund affiliated with the Singaporean government has a great interest in making sure that American consumers are getting the tech support they need. Temasek, the multi-billion-dollar investment fund associated with the government in Singapore, has led a $50 million round for  Puls Technologies, Inc. , a San Francisco-based company aiming to be the tech support for American homes and offices. Current investors Sequoia Capital, Red Dot Capital Partners, Samsung NEXT and Viola Ventures all participated in the new financing, alongside additional new investors Hanaco Ventures and Hamilton Lane. Founded only three years ago, Puls pitches a service that can match consumers with the appropriate technician in a little over an hour, any day of the week. The company has built a network of 2,500 technicians in the top 50 cities in the United States, and will provide same-day installation and repair of over 200 products. Some things the company’s technicians can service include smartphon...
Post a Comment
Read more