Don’t break your new HomePod. That’s the message from Apple, which released details of its repair service on Friday as its Siri-powered smart speaker hits stores.
The HomePod is Apple’s much-anticipated answer to the Amazon Echo and Google Home. Priced at $349, the speaker promises high quality sound in a unit measuring just seven inches tall and 5.6 inches wide. A seven beam-forming array with individual drivers and precision acoustic horns works together with an Apple-designed four-inch woofer (packing 22 millimeters of excursion) and automatic bass equalizer. An array of microphones listen out for a “Hey Siri” command to invoke the A.I. assistant, and there’s even a microphone insight to judge the position of the woofer.
Early reviews have been positive, despite a turbulent development schedule. The company finally announced HomePod at its June 2017 developers’ conference, slated for a December launch. It unexpectedly slipped past this date to ultimately launch earlier this month.
Watch the HomePod in action here:
If you do end up breaking your new smart speaker, the amount you pay depends on when you break it and how you want to pay:
- Repairs covered by the included warranty are free. The warranty lasts for one year and comes as standard.
- If you had the foresight to pay $79 for AppleCare+, you get an extra year of service and two years worth of phone support. This means repairs covered by the above are free for two years instead of one.
- AppleCare+ also covers two incidents of accidental damage during the two-year period, charged at $39 each.
- Repairs outside of the above scenarios cost a staggering $279. That’s just $70 less than the price of another new HomePod.
- Shipping the HomePod costs an additional $19.95. This is convenient if you don’t live near an Apple repair center. Apple sends you a box through the mail to place your HomePod and send it away.
If you have pets or small children, you might want to opt for the AppleCare.
