The launch of the HomePod in Spain and Mexico on Friday has opened up speculation of the smart speaker's release in other countries, including an announcement about a rollout in Italy that could be revealed during the company's Oct. 30 event.
Apple's HomePod in white.
The HomePod's launch in Spain and Mexico required support for the Spanish language, in order to allow it to understand queries and perform commands. It is claimed Apple is already performing tests via its Apple Store employees in Italy, in order to prepare support for Italian for the speaker's version of Siri.
Sources advised to iSpaio the occurrence of the trials approximately one month ago, where dictation tests were performed by store staff. A number of employees have confirmed the tests, which strongly hints at the added language support arriving soon.
Using employees for trials allows Apple to confirm Siri has been calibrated to the language properly, including the way commands are pronounced and regional accent variations.
While a release date for Italy remains unclear, it is thought more information about when it would be could be one of numerous announcements made during Tuesday's special event, which is expected to feature new iPad Pro models alongside Macs and other hardware.
The HomePod is currently available in only eight countries, with launches in France, Germany, and Canada in June doubling the count from the existing markets of the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, as well as today's additions of Spain and Mexico.
The Homepod is priced at 349 euros ($397) in Spain, and 7,999 pesos ($411) in Mexico. Apple CEO Tim Cook used part of his European tour to promote the HomePod in Madrid on Thursday, ahead of its launch in the country.