No, $179! You just have to buy a bunch of random crap first though.
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Stella, meet Shill.
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Apple Drops HomePod Price to $299, Down From $349
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No, $179! You just have to buy a bunch of random crap first though.
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Stella, meet Shill.
I’m more likely to buy it at the new price. Getting it up £300 ticks a physiological box for me
Seems to me like this just further illustrates how out of touch Apple is with what the customers really want?
I already bought a couple Alexas to experiment with the "smart speaker" thing, and while these don't have the same sound quality as Apple's HomePod, they're also cheap enough so a pair of them only cost me $50. And at that $25/each price point, they still have surprisingly good, full sound.
Just as importantly though, they're so much more flexible than Siri. Amazon has a whole library of thousands of extensions you can choose from to add to your Alexa's profile, giving it new skills/capabilities. (With one click, I could add one that lets me check on my electric car's charging status, range, and so on.)
We also own a couple of Sonos products, which we use in the master bedroom at home right now. Really good sound that would be tough to argue is beat by the HomePod. And these were purchased years ago ....
I think that's one of the main reasons the HomePod is a slow seller; way too late to the market with it, and already trying to vie for a saturated market of stand-alone powered speakers. I think the HomePod's price isn't going to be that attractive to a LOT of people unless it comes down to where it's $99 per speaker. Then, you're looking at a $200 investment for a pair of them to listen to music in stereo. That price gets it in the range where you might replace or update a pair of good sounding Bluetooth amplified speakers you already own or what-not. (I still have a pair of Harmon Kardon Onyx speakers that cost around that price. I guess if I could resell them to someone and buy a pair of HomePods for something close to what these cost, I'd do it.)
I already bought a couple Alexas to experiment with the "smart speaker" thing, and while these don't have the same sound quality as Apple's HomePod, they're also cheap enough so a pair of them only cost me $50. And at that $25/each price point, they still have surprisingly good, full sound.
Just as importantly though, they're so much more flexible than Siri. Amazon has a whole library of thousands of extensions you can choose from to add to your Alexa's profile, giving it new skills/capabilities. (With one click, I could add one that lets me check on my electric car's charging status, range, and so on.)
We also own a couple of Sonos products, which we use in the master bedroom at home right now. Really good sound that would be tough to argue is beat by the HomePod. And these were purchased years ago ....
I think that's one of the main reasons the HomePod is a slow seller; way too late to the market with it, and already trying to vie for a saturated market of stand-alone powered speakers. I think the HomePod's price isn't going to be that attractive to a LOT of people unless it comes down to where it's $99 per speaker. Then, you're looking at a $200 investment for a pair of them to listen to music in stereo. That price gets it in the range where you might replace or update a pair of good sounding Bluetooth amplified speakers you already own or what-not. (I still have a pair of Harmon Kardon Onyx speakers that cost around that price. I guess if I could resell them to someone and buy a pair of HomePods for something close to what these cost, I'd do it.)
Have a Sonos sound beam and two home pods in my lounge. HomePods beat Sonos hands down in my opinion and make such a difference when added to the Sonos sound beam. Find the sound quality excellent. I do wish though Apple would release smaller HomePods which cost under £100. Wish they also would sort Siri out as when I try to invoke Siri for HomePod, my other Apple devices sometimes pick it up instead. Can be frustrating.
I like the playlists better. Seems to recommend me more music i like. I can cast to just about any device out there, xbox, tv, echo speaker, whatever really. It is basically on any smart device. Spotify connect is awesome. Sptify connect is very convenient also. You can actually airplay to a homepod too.
Watching Apple's moves in this space, I believe that there's a good chance that HomePod is going to become the centre of the home, taking over that capacity from the AppleTV.
AppleTV is progressively becoming software rather than hardware. This was confirmed in the renaming of the TV app to Apple TV and the service as Apple TV+. Apple worked with major manufactures to get AirPlay on all TVs going forward and has also announced that the Apple TV will be available on TVs as an app.
Further fitting this strategy is that Apple is downgrading the importance of tvOS' home screen in favour of the Apple TV app. Pressing the Home button on the Siri remote now takes you to the Apple TV app, not to the Home screen.
HomePod has already taken on the task of being a HomeKit hub from the Apple TV. It already plays Apple Music in your home and works as an assistant as well. With Siri Shortcuts, Apple has enabled developers to put their iOS apps on HomePod.
Now, what if it could take commands to play TV shows and movies on a TV? "Hey Siri, play Star Trek Discovery in the living room". Well, it just so happens that in iOS 12.2 Siri on iPhone and iPad became capable of doing exactly that. When the feature comes to the HomePod, you won't really need to have an Apple TV if your TV either supports AirPlay or has the Apple TV app (or both).
In the Fall when AppleTV+ is launched, I expect this strategy to tie up loose ends with perhaps an HDMI AirPlay stick + remote to be released for those without AirPlay enabled TVs or who want to use a tvOS UI and Siri remote with their TVs.
Getting the price of the HomePod down would be important to build on this strategy as it becomes the device you purchase instead of an AppleTV. The current model Apple TV is $199. At $299 for an Apple TV replacement, a premium speaker and access to thousands of iOS apps via Siri Shortcuts, the HomePod starts to make a lot more sense.
AppleTV is progressively becoming software rather than hardware. This was confirmed in the renaming of the TV app to Apple TV and the service as Apple TV+. Apple worked with major manufactures to get AirPlay on all TVs going forward and has also announced that the Apple TV will be available on TVs as an app.
Further fitting this strategy is that Apple is downgrading the importance of tvOS' home screen in favour of the Apple TV app. Pressing the Home button on the Siri remote now takes you to the Apple TV app, not to the Home screen.
HomePod has already taken on the task of being a HomeKit hub from the Apple TV. It already plays Apple Music in your home and works as an assistant as well. With Siri Shortcuts, Apple has enabled developers to put their iOS apps on HomePod.
Now, what if it could take commands to play TV shows and movies on a TV? "Hey Siri, play Star Trek Discovery in the living room". Well, it just so happens that in iOS 12.2 Siri on iPhone and iPad became capable of doing exactly that. When the feature comes to the HomePod, you won't really need to have an Apple TV if your TV either supports AirPlay or has the Apple TV app (or both).
In the Fall when AppleTV+ is launched, I expect this strategy to tie up loose ends with perhaps an HDMI AirPlay stick + remote to be released for those without AirPlay enabled TVs or who want to use a tvOS UI and Siri remote with their TVs.
Getting the price of the HomePod down would be important to build on this strategy as it becomes the device you purchase instead of an AppleTV. The current model Apple TV is $199. At $299 for an Apple TV replacement, a premium speaker and access to thousands of iOS apps via Siri Shortcuts, the HomePod starts to make a lot more sense.
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I was going to take issue with what you wrote above. But I decided to do some Googling first so I could have some facts.
I was surprised to find that Bose' revenue was $3.8 billion 2017. Now not all of that is in the home audio/home entertainment business. And they don't really compare to Apple's $229 billion in 2017. But I cede to you that the home audio market is larger that I had envisioned.
Still, Apple is going to have a hard time getting its smart-speaker business to even one-tenth the volume of iPhone sales.
Nah. I don’t regret it, I would happily pay full retail for the HomePod given the exceptional sound quality it delivers. That’s all I can ask for.
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I’ll stop your post right there, there’s nothing ‘Flop’ about the HomePod. Rather you disagree who is missing the point, clearly others agreed with my narrative, rather you see it or not, that’s your own prerogative.
This is great news. I'm hoping to see that $249 price drop again. I have two Echo Dots that I like but I've grown tired of the inability of Alexa to recognize my commands unless I enunciate my words in a monotone voice. I've been on the verge of smashing my Echo a couple times out of frustration.
I agree. While HomePod is a fantastic speaker, a great speakerphone and a versatile Siri interface, the $349 price tag is a pretty high psychological barrier.
Personally, I love HomePod. I have two, and would like two more cut could not previously justify the $700 expense. Dropping that to $600 helps, but it's still expensive.
Speaker: I've had several expensive wireless speakers, but never cared for them much. With HomePod, it was love at first play. It produces tight, accurate sound overall and tight, deep bass that isn't overpowering. I love playing music on this thing.
Microphone: It is scary (and cool) how sensitive that HomePod microphone is. The other day I wanted to add hot chocolate to our shared shopping list, but I was under the bathroom sink fixing a plumbing issue. The door to the hallway that leads to the living room and into the kitchen where HomePod is was closed, but my phone was on the counter. In a normal voice I said "Hey Siri, add hot chocolate to the shopping list" and HomePod responded through the door from 3 rooms away.
Speakerphone: I can sit in the front room or the kitchen and use HomePod as a speakerphone, and no one on my conference calls has ever said the quality was less than excellent even when I'm pacing the room.
Siri: Siri works really well, but I completely admit it is not as functional as Google/Amazon assistants. That's something I am willing to live with because of the privacy concern surrounding smart speakers...
Privacy: HomePod is the safest home smart speaker. Apple has total control over the hardware, OS and software that goes into it. This is important because speakers that allow third-party apps open the device up to malware constantly snooping into every conversation you have. Do you trust that thermostat with Alexa built in? Apple also anonymizes the requestor ID so nothing can be tied back to your account. I don't foresee ever doing anything illegal, but the last thing I want is the TV to trigger a smart speaker to record something scary. I also really appreciate that things I speak into HomePod don't turn up as advertisements the next time I do a web search or login to Amazon. Sometimes that connection is helpful, but mostly it just feels creepy and pushy.
I never get why people complain about it. Works perfectly for me but then again I speak correctly
And with the ability to add custom commands with workflow it's fantastic.
I quite enjoy it as well, and guests who have accents (India, Russia, New Zealand) have been able to use it with no issue. The speech recognition is truly incredible on this hardware/software platform.
I would change a few things:
- Make it voice-aware, so multiple family members can use it without everyone's music preferences, etc. clogging up my account and making Apple Music make silly suggestions when I'm in the car or office. I know, easier said than done.
- Let us adjust the bass via the app. Sometimes it's a little too much for the space.
- Let us change the name, or change the attention word. "Hi sweetie" tends to trigger Siri a couple times a day for me. I'm incapable of changing my own behavior, so "Siri, Listen" or similar would be better for me.
- Allow us to block Siri on HomePod from certain commands or devices, like unlocking smart door locks or changing the temperature. As a prowler, I could easily do that by speaking loudly from the front porch, so we intentionally have no Siri-controlled locks. It's possible I'm out of date on this one, though -- maybe it's been addressed.
Which are no different in UK than Germany or rest of Europe.
You actually maybe exactly right on this!!
(Macrumors really needs to have it's historical research on articles such as this .. would be refreshing to know) Great memory btw.
In Canada ... I honestly don't think the price dropped at ALL!
https://www.apple.com/ca/shop/buy-homepod/homepod/space-grey
Still shows $399!
I'm going to see what I can do with what you were able to accomplished.
In my country just north of the border our currency parity is at an almost all time low so no price drops are ever noticed at all in the final price after taxes.
One HomePod was £300 and I’d have needed two for my living room. I just bought a Sonos soundbar for £300 so I wouldn’t say Sonos is dearer. Not a massive difference but Sonos has a ten year track record in this space and they rarely drop functionality on older devices so I’d also say it’s more of an investment.
But each to their own, I’m not saying there’s an outright winner in this space. Sonos is working for me.
For those that want bluetooth functionality at a good price in a smart speaker, I recommend the Insignia (Best Buy brand) that has built in Google assistant, can be cordless (has plug as well as built in battery).
Sound is decent (though can sound a bit muffled) as it is fairly large (much larger than echo dot) and they are often on sale for $30! I picked up four on Black Friday. It has a clock display so I use it as alarm clock.
I took it outside when working on my deck and connected via bluetooth. Very handy!
Sound is decent (though can sound a bit muffled) as it is fairly large (much larger than echo dot) and they are often on sale for $30! I picked up four on Black Friday. It has a clock display so I use it as alarm clock.
I took it outside when working on my deck and connected via bluetooth. Very handy!
So to be a true price comparison, you system is:
Echo + nice DAC + wired speakers
Correct?
This probably means that Apple has some new speakers that will be coming out this year, which is fantastic news! I love my HomePods (5), but it will be great to have some diversity in the lineup.
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I suppose having extra nodes can never hurt, but you need to have them in the right spots if you want coverage throughout your entire home.
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Mesh Wi-Fi is an interesting concept, but I’m not certain that it’s the end all be all. Because optimal speaker location is not always the best place for a Wi-Fi node.
I suppose having extra nodes can never hurt, but you need to have them in the right spots if you want coverage throughout your entire home.
No, compare it to the Sonos One...like the blind testers did....and where Home Pod was beaten. It's comical those who try and justify the price tag on this thing.
It’s a great speaker. Worth more than $199. $250 is probably the sweet spot.
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A control knob? No. Software, yes.
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Can you Bluetooth to Sonos speakers?Or, they could just keep the same price, add a jack & allow any audio to be bluetoothed to it, I don't think the price is the main issue.
iPhone 2007. They dropped the price from $600 to $400 in 3 months (June 29 2007 was $599. Dropped to $400 by September 2007)