HomePod, why not in NZ

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sir1963

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#243784 1-Jan-2019 09:41

HomePod is available in Australia.

The online Apple store for New Zealand is based in Australia, and the physical warehouse is the same as the Aussie one.

So why can NZers not buy an item that is stocked in that store ?

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Biddle Corp

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#2152852 1-Jan-2019 09:58

Probably for the very same reasons that Google Home isn't available in NZ - which is presumably because customisation of the product for the NZ market isn't a priority when there are far bigger markets that would make sense to enter first.

Yabanize

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#2152909 1-Jan-2019 11:21

When I ordered a Mac online it came direct from the factory in china, it will come from where ever there is stock (although they need to be NZ/AU plug models) But yeah it is strange

sbiddle

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#2152917 1-Jan-2019 11:41

Yabanize:

When I ordered a Mac online it came direct from the factory in china, it will come from where ever there is stock (although they need to be NZ/AU plug models) But yeah it is strange

It's not really that strange. NZ is not a supported country so there is no reason for Apple to sell it in the NZ market - it's got nothing to do with where they ship products from.

Yabanize

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#2152919 1-Jan-2019 11:45

sbiddle:

Yabanize:

When I ordered a Mac online it came direct from the factory in china, it will come from where ever there is stock (although they need to be NZ/AU plug models) But yeah it is strange

It's not really that strange. NZ is not a supported country so there is no reason for Apple to sell it in the NZ market - it's got nothing to do with where they ship products from.

What do you mean by a supported country? And what customisations would they have to make to sell it to NZ? HomePod is built around Apple Music and Siri, both of which are available in NZ. They sell all of their other products here, why not this one?

antoniosk

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#2152923 1-Jan-2019 11:55

Weather feeds, news feeds, television feeds, traffic feeds and so on.

Siri, google and Alexa are pretty good for integrations, but only when there is a real range of things to connect to. We don’t know what isn’t available here until you see it overseas.

It’s disappointing that the feeds that are available aren’t being taken advantage of though, and that goes back to market economics. Although iCloud iTunes seem to get good traction 🤔

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Antoniosk

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#2152924 1-Jan-2019 12:03

antoniosk: Weather feeds, news feeds, television feeds, traffic feeds and so on.

Siri, google and Alexa are pretty good for integrations, but only when there is a real range of things to connect to. We don’t know what isn’t available here until you see it overseas.

It’s disappointing that the feeds that are available aren’t being taken advantage of though, and that goes back to market economics. Although iCloud iTunes seem to get good traction 🤔

Well, I think we have 3/4 of those feeds already. But also Siri isn't available on Apple TV here either.

sbiddle

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#2152927 1-Jan-2019 12:16

antoniosk: Weather feeds, news feeds, television feeds, traffic feeds and so on.

Siri, google and Alexa are pretty good for integrations, but only when there is a real range of things to connect to. We don’t know what isn’t available here until you see it overseas.

It’s disappointing that the feeds that are available aren’t being taken advantage of though, and that goes back to market economics. Although iCloud iTunes seem to get good traction 🤔

Pretty much all the reasons Google Home isn't available in NZ.

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alasta

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#2152934 1-Jan-2019 13:06

To be honest I don't really miss it. I think I might buy a Bose Home Speaker 500 when they update the software to support Airplay 2.

dfnt

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#2153021 1-Jan-2019 17:01

Just email Tim Cook and ask him why it's not available in NZ :p

sir1963

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#2153056 1-Jan-2019 19:24

antoniosk: Weather feeds, news feeds, television feeds, traffic feeds and so on.

Siri, google and Alexa are pretty good for integrations, but only when there is a real range of things to connect to. We don’t know what isn’t available here until you see it overseas.

It’s disappointing that the feeds that are available aren’t being taken advantage of though, and that goes back to market economics. Although iCloud iTunes seem to get good traction 🤔

Those are the fluff on top.

HomePod is all about sound, music.

I know someone who bought one, was so impressed with the sound that he bought a second one for another room.

Setting it up and trying it out, it went into stereo mode and that was SO GOOD, he kept 2 in that room and bought a 3rd for the spare room.

I gave up, I bought a 2nd hand airport express and have connected it to my stereo instead.

We have the same power requirements, same plug, we have iTunes, we have AppleTV , we have Siri on everything else but the ATV4.

I have my Bus routes on my iPhone (for Palmerston North !), News feeds, Weather, etc etc

corksta

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#2153064 1-Jan-2019 19:59

I bought one in Australia and love it, I’ll be getting a second one soon.

Great sound, HomeKit, Siri works well, there’s no disadvantages solely because of it not being sold here yet.

sdavisnz

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#2153067 1-Jan-2019 20:35

theres some on trademe, parallel imported sell them.

id call that availible in nz, just get one from them, however your on your own for tech support i guess

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bigalow

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#2153070 1-Jan-2019 20:57

maybe nz have stronger privacy laws not like other places in the world

sdavisnz

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#2153071 1-Jan-2019 21:10

biggal:

maybe nz have stronger privacy laws not like other places in the world

dont think so, nz are in the 5 eyes consortium. but we have to trust google and apple to protect our data from them

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jarledb

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#2153104 2-Jan-2019 00:37

Its really strange that Apple haven't expanded the regions they sell HomePod, and even more strange its not sold here.

I have an Aus version, and it was plug and play. No problems with lack of services, it knows the time zone its in, restaurants nearby etc, and there was no trickery involved in making it work.

Can't see any reason for them not selling it here, really.

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