Apple on Friday morning began accepting preorders for HomePod, the company's entrance into the smart speaker space with audiophile-focused premium sound. The $349 accessory will ship to users in two weeks, on Feb. 9.
Preorders began first via the official Apple Store app around 5:30 a.m. Pacific, 8:30 a.m. Eastern. That was a bit later than usual for new product launches -- for example, last fall, devices like the iPhone X, iPhone 8 and Apple Watch Series 3 all saw sales kick off at 12:01 a.m. Pacific, 3:01 a.m. Eastern.
While preorders were being accepted via the Apple Store app, Apple's website did not immediately begin accepting orders.
Priced at $349, the HomePod is positioned as a high-end audio device for superior music streaming. That's different from cheaper competitors like the Amazon Echo and Google Home, which focus on voice-driven personal assistants.
Apple's offering does, however, include integration with its own assistant, Siri. It also connects to Apple Music, and supports AirPlay for other third-party music services.
At launch, the HomePod is available in the U.S., U.K. and Australia. In the U.S., it will also be sold through , while other retailers will offer it internationally.
The HomePod is powered by an Apple A8 chip featuring realtime acoustic modeling, audio beam-forming, and multi-channel echo cancelation.