Apple's HomePod speaker coming to Canada on June 18

A year after they debuted at WWDC 2017 and six months after they went on sale in the US, Apple's Siri-powered speaker is finally coming to Canada. The long wait would have been well worth it for Canadians looking to sink $449 into the Apple Music connected speaker because a new software update now makes it capable of creating stereo pair and multi-room functionality.

This is thanks to an update in iOS 11.4 which brings AirPlay 2 as well as compatibility with other AirPlay 2-enabled speakers when they become available, "so Siri can control music playing on speakers from Bang & Olufsen, Bluesound, Bose, Bowers & Wilkins, Denon, Libratone, Marantz, Marshall, Naim, Pioneer and Sonos."

This could be half of the good news, WWDC 2018 kicks off in June 4 and is expected to be an AI and Siri-heavy announcement, hopefully adding more smarts, skills and functionality to Apple's voice assistant to make the HomePod truly compelling in this very crowded market of smart speakers.

HomePod is available in white and space grey for $349 (US) in the US, UK and Australia and will be available for $449 (CAD) in Canada beginning Monday, June 18. HomePod will be available in Apple Stores, apple.com/ca, the Apple Store app and at select Apple Authorized Resellers.