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Apple Discontinues Full-Sized HomePod to Focus on HomePod Mini
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These are the best-sounding stereo I've ever heard. Maybe the homepod mini should have a subwoofer out jack to keep it cheap and satisfy those that want a full (bass) sound.
Yeah but a new model with lower price then to bump sales? Not discontinuing it...The writing was on the wall very early on, this Mark Gurman article is from two months after launch
Apple’s Stumbling HomePod Isn’t the Hot Seller It Wanted
When Apple Inc.’s HomePod smart speaker went on sale in January, it entered a market pioneered and dominated by Amazon’s Echo lineup of Alexa-powered devices. Apple has been touting the HomePod’s superior sound quality but so far hasn’t enticed many consumers to part with $349.www.bloomberg.com
Also Apple didn’t kill the tech. The mini has more features than the original and at 1/3 the cost. The original only excels in audio quality but there are a lot more Airplay2 audio devices than there were when HomePod came out.
My money is on a HomePod pro anyhow. $299, good audio and UWB and Thread.
You mean like they should have made a HomePod mini, at 1/3 the price but even more HomeKit functionality?
I think they're probably refreshing it with a new design so they're just being transparent with the fact this one is being phased out. I may pick up another one.
Why didn't they just refresh it and then discontinue the old model like they do everything else?
And it's not just Siri on HomePod that's an issue. I have a number of Apple devices but Siri's voice is only heard if I use the navigation/maps app on my iPhone. I have turned off Siri when activating any Apple device for a number of years now. I don't need to ask Siri anything. I can find the answer myself.
It makes zero sense. Zero
Either Apple cares about outstanding audio or it does not. The mini is not a substitute
Either Apple cares about outstanding audio or it does not. The mini is not a substitute
Apple cares about money and I am guessing with the amount they sold, it wasn’t worth investing in it any further
You could be right — and I hope you are — but likely not.
Apple: “We are focusing our efforts on HomePod mini. We are discontinuing the original HomePod.”
If they were working on an additional HP model, there wouldn’t be any place for “focusing” on the mini.
I don’t think it’s true. HomePod got Dolby Atmos support not so long time ago. My bet is they are just selling the stock as newer version is on the way.
The desirable effect is about multiple deployment of speakers. With object based audio mix like Atmos, as you increase the number of speakers it'll increase the immersion.
Meh, I picked one of these up for $199 last summer and I certainly won't be shedding any tears that this is discontinued. The speaker struggles to reproduce crisp vocals and mids, often muffled out by excessive bass. There's also no EQ adjustment available for the hardware (just native Apple apps), which is salt in the wound at this point. And the lack of integration with 3rd party apps and spotty AirPlay_2 software makes for a listening experience that constantly requires re-boots (at least once a day) and unnecessary disruption; I get a more reliable playback connection to my $20 Google home in a room 60+ feet from my router.
Needless to say, the hardware specs on this thing are spectacular and it feels like such a solid speaker, on paper... in practice, it's been a let down.
To boot, Siri proves time and time again to be by far the worst "virtual assistant" vs. peers.
Needless to say, the hardware specs on this thing are spectacular and it feels like such a solid speaker, on paper... in practice, it's been a let down.
To boot, Siri proves time and time again to be by far the worst "virtual assistant" vs. peers.
That's right where you're wrong. Atmos works with 2.0 speakers as well. And now it doesn't have a fixed number of speakers on their last spec because of DTS:X.
Why do people keep saying there's no equaliser with HomePods? Do they mean when it's used as a TV speaker? Because you can definitely apply an equaliser for music. Both of the Music apps on Mac and iOS have equalisers that work over AirPlay. With the iOS app you're limited to the presets provided, but the Mac app lets you create your own preset. They don't start immediately though. You have to play a new track for them to be applied. Lots of other apps, such as Deezer, have equalisers that work over AirPlay too.
I’ll take your HomePods off your hands. I love mine. They play all day at a low volume and provide much need atmosphere.
Strategically speaking, this is not a smart move imo. Maybe, Apple is going to introduce an advanced HomePod (Pro) later this year, but the current HP still is a banger in 2021 regarding its sound and how it is integrated into the Apple ecosystem. Waiting for discounts!
I hope they keep updating the software for the regular Homepod. Man I was hoping they would add them U1 chip to this. Not completely axe the thing.
Please tell me how you connect it to the TV when watching broadcast TV. If I could I would have purchased a couple.
There's no software solution that allows you to modify playback on the device itself. For example, Sonos has a software solution that allows you to adjust the EQ across all devices: https://support.sonos.com/s/article/2850?language=en_US
Needless to say, excessive bass on the HomePod is well reported: https://venturebeat.com/2018/02/12/...nly-siri-fans-should-consider-this-bass-bomb/
