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They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, in which case Apple must be the most flattered tech brand in the world. Not only have the popular AirPods resulted in countless copycats, but its HomePod speaker has also inspired the first speaker product from one of the audio worldโs rising upstarts.
The WiiM Sound is the brandโs first wireless smart speaker, and is hoping to build upon its strong streaming foundation to make a splash in this arena.
Price
The WiiM Sound has gone straight for Appleโs jugular with its round smart wireless speaker. We normally see WiiM undercut its competition when it comes to price (which makes it a more attractive proposition), but the WiiM Sound costs ยฃ299 / $299 / AU$499 โ the very same price as the HomePod 2 (ยฃ299 / $299 / AU$479).
This puts it pricier than some other wireless speaker rivals, such as the Sonos Era 100, which currently retails for ยฃ199 / $219 / AU$319.
Features
If the Apple HomePod 2 is designed purely for iOS users and only sports AirPlay 2, the WiiM Sound is the exact opposite. It is platform agnostic, and can be controlled using the user-friendly and well-organised WiiM Home app.
You can play music through the Sound in a number of ways, from Bluetooth and Google Cast to various music streaming services.
The speaker supports all the popular options, as well as the Connect versions of Spotify, Tidal and Qobuz. Internet radio โ including BBC radio stations โ is also supported, and you can save your favourite stations, playlists and albums across these services as presets and access them in a pinch from the WiiM Home app and on the speakerโs front-facing touchscreen display.