The system will sell for HK $2,799 ($357) in Hong Kong and RMB 2,799 ($414) in mainland China.

Apple faces an uphill battle in China. Mainland smart speaker sales are dominated by models from domestic brands like Alibaba, Baidu and Xiaomi, with international mainstays like Amazon and Google effectively non-existent. HomePod might not do much to change local tastes, especially when it sits at the high end of the price spectrum. China still represents a massive potential audience for Apple, though, and it shows that the company is still committed to promoting its take on connected audio.