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It feels slower than my old Amazon Echo which is certainly using a crappier chip than the A8.

Doesn't seem slow to me. Mine responds quite quickly.

Maybe depends on country. iCloud is silly slow abroad. Takes 3 minutes to download 30 second video on a gig connection.

Yes, it's super slow abroad. Especially in the US.

Do you have an Echo or Google Home for comparison?

I don't, but the wait time from when I ask my HomePod to do something and when it does it is fast enough for me that I don't much mind.

If I say "Hey Siri, turn on my lamp" it turns it on within a second or so of asking.