Every Apple product I have owned has had lengthy software support well after it was discontinued, so why should the HomePod be any different.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Discontinues Full-Sized HomePod to Focus on HomePod Mini
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Every Apple product I have owned has had lengthy software support well after it was discontinued, so why should the HomePod be any different.
When Apple ends support for the HomePod, I will be dropping all of them off at the nearest Apple Store to be recycled out of spite.
My iPod is 20 years old and still works (had to replace its battery). I wouldn’t necessarily expect the same from a HomePod, but who knows?
I would imagine it would still work even if they dropped support. Apple can’t support everything they make forever. I can’t walk into the Apple Store with an Apple //c+ and ask them to fix it. Just keep using it. Look around the forums - people keep old Apple products running for 20+ years through self-support or reaching out to communities like the MR forums.
The HomePod is three years old...
And they haven’t dropped support for it. I was replying to a post that said “When Apple ends support..."
Apple always supports their hardware products for years.
Ok - I'm not going to try to convince the HomePod owners.
If you feel comfortable hanging onto them with the software path and support path they are likely on - more power to you.
It's your money.
Cheers all
If you feel comfortable hanging onto them with the software path and support path they are likely on - more power to you.
It's your money.
Cheers all
I have, and it didn't work out. On paper, yeah, Alexa is smarter and just as capable. In practice, there were a few issues that led me to return my Echos.
- Lack of integration with iOS reminders
- I love that I can use my HomePods to setup reminders
- Echos and Alexa can setup reminders via the Alexa app, which I have no interest in using and is under baked, or To Dos which are a little better but still lacking functionality.
- For third party, the integrations are just okay. E.g. I could add a To Do and it would show up in Todoist under an Alexa list, which was okay but not great
- Lack of streamlined household functionality in the Alexa app.
- I setup a bunch of smart devices in the Alexa app
- My wife (part of our Amazon household) downloads the Alexa app and...can't see any of the devices I setup. Apple and Google both allow for this, not sure why Amazon doesn't
- Lack of multi-user support for Spotify.
- If I ask an echo to play music, it plays for the "active" Spotify account; I'd have to ask Alexa whether it's mine or my wife's account before playing music otherwise I risk getting the wrong playlists or interrupting playback somewhere else
- You also can't use Spotify connect unless you are the owner of the Echo. I setup the echo devices and can select them for playback through Spotify Connect. My wife can't see them unless she tells Alexa to change to her account and starts music playback through her voice. This is stupid, and again, Apple and Google handle it better
I’m totally in favor of privacy, and it’s very important to me. But I’m really not so convinced that Siri is actually private. Let us not forget that Apple got sued over this.
If you say anything to any digital assistant, you are sending it over the Internet. I would avoid providing sensitive data to any digital assistant whenever possible.
If you say anything to any digital assistant, you are sending it over the Internet. I would avoid providing sensitive data to any digital assistant whenever possible.
One thing you’re ignoring is that the HomePods routinely die post 2yrs. Apple care runs out next year for me but beyond that it’s a sham. I bought and returned the mini.
just like the airport express never returned, hope HomePod doesn’t go the same way
just like the airport express never returned, hope HomePod doesn’t go the same way
The person I was quoting stated they expected Apple to support their HomePod for 20 years after purchase. Later he corrected that and said he expected it just to work. That's reasonable. Expecting a company to support a smart speaker for 20 years is too much to ask.
Possibly just timing. When they axed the HomePod, they've presumably decided to complete the software development and release it rather than waste the work that had already been done. If it's purely software, they might even be able to port it to the mini or other systems in due course?
My bad I re-read.
Wondering if he meant to last 20yrs, not the full support for as long. Then again as I said the HiFi speaker is nearly that old and there have been reports (featured on this site) that Apple stores in the USA still would make repairs not too long ago.
With all that said this thread, and the source article on TechCrunch states this OG HomePod is discontinued; nothing about NOT supported. Erg different.
TVOS still gets updated for ATv4 (I’m guessing the 3 too) and WatchOS still supports S2/3. Most bugs are resolved. Siri is the real “bug” in terms of features vs competition but it’s still improving in the background what we all cannot command.
discontinued production doesn’t mean no longer supported.
They will work for the foreseeable future as an Airplay speaker i would've thought barring some big change to the Airplay protocol. The rest of it really is anybodys guess.
LMAO! You won't upset Apple by doing that. They highly promote their customers to give their old Apple equipment to them for recycle, so you might want to rethink your version of spite.
A soundbar/Apple TV combo could be a winner.
My 3rd gen Apple TV’s still work as airplay receivers in my classroom. I know they are just one missed update away from not working with my iOS devices, but at this point, they have more than paid for themselves. It’s like, every year, I update my iPhone and iPad to the next OS and expect something to break, and they still run! After 8 years.
I think a lot of their target market already made investments in Sonos and Alexa. I started the former in 2015, so by the time HomePod came out it was a no-go.
During a demo in the Apple Store I thought the bass heavy stereo pair had started an earthquake
Not my cup of tea. I wonder how long it will take for Apple to stop supporting them?
Being at Apple they believe “our way is always the best way. Every other way is worse and inferior in every way”. This is so-called Apple Culture. Otherwise, adding an equaliser is a piece of cake for Apple for a long while.