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Apple is discontinuing the original HomePod model. In the company’s online store, you will see the message “While supplies last” on the product page. In some regions, it is no longer available.
Apple currently has no announced plans to replace the model. There have also been no rumors of a replacement HomePod in sight.
The HomePod launched in 2018. The product received rave reviews for its audio quality, especially considering the size. However, the reviewers weren’t too keen on the $ 349 introductory price, the poor experience of using Siri compared to other voice assistants, and also the general restrictions on playing your own music on the device, other than Apple. Music.
Apple has since lowered the price to a more reasonable $ 299 and has continued to improve the product through software updates. Despite all those efforts, the original HomePod was never a big seller, and while most people who bought one like it, the average consumer is still not very keen on spending $ 299 on a smart speaker when there are plenty of alternatives. cheapest on the market.
To combat them, Apple released the HomePod mini last year for $ 99. While it is much smaller, the mini is said to have respectable audio quality and a much broader set of features than the original HomePod had on it. launch. It seems this may be the way to go for smart speaker manufacturers, as most customers just don’t seem to care about audio quality, as can be seen from the growing sales of cheap wireless speakers and soundbars.
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