The company today confirmed its goodbye to the original Apple HomePod, with the Siri-powered smart speaker stopped. The speaker was launched in early 2018, and he received high sound quality praise. However, its $439 price tag on its release led him to fight against Amazon and Google rivals.
This launch was a fight for the Cupertino company. In fact.
In June 2017, HomePod was announced, but its release date has changed several times. HomePod was published. In fact, deliveries and in-store sales did not commence until February 2018.
Apple subsequently tried to deal with price criticism by reducing the HomePod to $299, but this was still a difficult sale.
One of the challenges was that several other intelligent speakers – like stereo pairing and multiroom use – arrived not until later firmware updates had been provided. This combined with frustration about Siri and the assistant’s ability to keep rival music services in line compared with Alexa and the Google Assistant.
Now it’s time for the full-size HomePod to wave away, Apple has confirmed TechCrunch. The speaker’s existing stock will be sold online and in stores through Apple, but after this, there will no longer be anything. The company is instead planning to focus on the last year’s HomePod Mini.
“Since their debut last fall, the HomePod mini has been a hit, providing customers with a fantastic sound, smart support and smart home control for just $99,” Apple said in a statement.
“We’re concentrating on HomePod mini. We are discontinuing the original HomePod and will remain available during the Apple Online Store, Apple Retail Stores and Apple Authorized Resellers’ supplies. Apple will offer software updates and support and service to HomePod customers via Apple Care.”
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The HomePod mini suddenly does not sound as impressive at a third of the original HomePod price. However, the charge Amazon and Google charge for their smart speakers is much more consistent. That opens the door to a more economic way of placing Siri at other places in the home, which is generally impossible to achieve with the full-size HomePod pricing
