In order to compete with the Amazon Echo and the Google Home, Apple released the HomePod, a smart-speaker that is integrated with Siri, Apple’s smart assistant. Apple hopes that the sound quality of the device will blow away the competition, despite being almost 300 dollars more expensive than the Echo Dot. The preorders start on January 26th and will be launched on February 9th.

Tech Expert Lance Unaloff received the opportunity to view the HomePod early. He wrote in his review, “At $349, the HomePod is more expensive than virtually all of Amazon’s Echo line and most Google Home devices… [Despite the price, it] is an ultra-high-quality speaker and the first physical instantiation of Siri without a screen. The fact that Apple is finally entering the smart speaker race is cause for muted celebration. It’s attractive, sounds amazing and is an excellent Siri ambassador.”