Apple HomePod review: Siri lets down best sounding smart speaker

It's the speaker to beat in terms of audio but being locked in to Apple services is frustrating and its voice assistant is lacking Tue 13 Feb 2018 02.00 EST Last modified on Tue 13 Feb 2018 02.02 EST After much anticipation, and speculation that Apple has missed the boat and handed victory to Amazon's champion Echo, the HomePod smart speaker is finally here. But is it actually any good? And why exactly does it cost four times as much as an Echo? The HomePod is a voice-controlled speaker that listens out for its wakeword "Hey, Siri" and then starts streaming what you say to Apple to interpret your commands and play whatever it is you wish. The fabric-covered cylinder stands an iPhone X-and-a-bit tall (172mm) with a diameter of an iPhone X (142mm), weighing 2.5kg (14.4 times the iPhone X).