Apple has reduced the price of HomePod to $280, a further reduction on the $349 it charged initially for its smart speaker. Unfortunately, you’ll have to be living in India to take advantage of it.
Having released the HomePod in 2018 in the United States, Apple has finally launched it in India. This heavily populated market is comparable in size to China. However, Apple has not yet been able to make too many inroads in terms of sales.
HomePod is now available to order in India, priced at Rs 19,900 — or $280. Although the Indian market has had to wait for Apple’s smart speaker, the price reduction makes this one of the best places to buy a HomePod in terms of price.
Most foreign markets are more expensive, not less, than the US. For example, when HomePod launched in China in January 2019, Apple charged the equivalent of $413 in local currency.
As part of its efforts to embrace India, Apple has been more willing to reduce prices there. For example, when it launched Apple Music in India it priced the service at just $1.43 per month. Students got it even cheaper for just 71 cents per month. Apple had additionally been willing to cut the cost of iPhones in order to get them into more people’s hands.
Given that HomePod already lags far behind the Amazon Echo and Google Home in the States, and that Apple products are relatively niche in India, I don’t expect HomePod to do particularly great sales. Nonetheless, it’s another sign that Apple is eager to embrace India as a market. Hopefully the forthcoming first official Apple Stores in India will help with that mission. The latest update of iOS 13 added Indian English voices support for Siri, in anticipation of HomePod’s arrival.
Currently, Apple sells the HomePod for $299 in the United States.
Source: India Today