Apple Drops HomePod Price to $299, Down From $349

[cjbryce]

Woohoo - I might just buy another one to add to my bedroom HomePod for a second stereo pair!

I find the sound quality to be excellent for such a tiny package, I really do like the stereo pair I already have in the living room.

I have B&W floor-standers which are now rarely used except for TV, coupled with KEF eggs for surround/centre. If Apple would just do 5.1 via HomePod so I could replace my current Arcam Movie Solo 5.1 with an Airplay 2 equipped receiver I might just sell the B&Ws, KEFs and the Arcam.

 

[nikaru]

Tax and import duty reasons.

Nah, it is not that. If the original price drops 50$ in the US, it should drops proportianlly in other countries as well, regardless of taxes and dutis which are always calculated over the price of the product. 20 euros is 22 dollars. There are messing with the EU market here and the taxes and import duties are not the ones to blame here, not this time.

 

[Jamers99]

$199 is my price point.

 

[BriSpe]

Sorry but everyone who bought one of these will regret it...I give HomePod max 2 years and it will be abandoned as well...and then you'll have to get into a whole new eco system again.

I'm grateful HomePod is not in my country yet so I went all in Sonos and with AirPlay2 they are pretty amazing.

 

[enrincon89]

$299 is a great price and what Apple should’ve done from the start; it looks nicer in print.

From knowing a lot of non-tec people; I think Apples problem is that people don’t know or appreciate the value that HomePod offers.
If interested in a smart speaker, that many at best have heard about or maybe seen some “Google Speaker” offer for free, the regular user will go for the cheaper option. The HiFi feature (that HomePod does quite amazing) isn’t a selling point to many people.
Apple would’ve been smart by launching a small “puck” version at a lower price to show people that Apple have smart speakers. The upsell to the regular HomePod would then also be easier.

Also, I think a mini version of the HomePod would look absolutely amazing!

To be honest. I only bought the HomePod for the sound quality and for me to shout out to the air to play music. I know Siri is not great but I don’t care I just want it for simple commands like for HomeKit devices if I want to know the answer of something more complex I just pull my phone out and google it.

 

[69Mustang]

The HomePod was born at the end of Ecosystem Era. It was an additional lock-in device. It made sense (sort of, but not really). In the Services Era, the HomePod does not make sense. In the Services Era, Apple wants their products and services to have ubiquity, be everywhere. The HomePod could have/should have been a part of that. With proper I/O, the HomePod could have extended it's reach and appeal far beyond the Ecosystem. The speaker has good sound ,a compact size, and a moderately attractive design... and no I/O , thus limiting it potential market. If there's an updated version, I bet it will be built with the Services Era in mind.

 

[Onelifenofear]

I understand, but I really have no problem with Google, I mean at the end of the day, we will soon have mic on houses anyway, and from different vendors (Smart TV, home hubs and many more gadgets) so really, we won't be able to control everything.

Do I believe the Apple "privacy" battle? Not really, I mean they are not selling data, but still collecting them, and when their HW division won't make any money (if ever) they might consider selling data then, who knows.

When money (and not exclusively) is involved, trust no one (that includes Apple).

You need to read T&Cs - Apple DO NOT collect data beyond usage - they do not link data in any way to you. You pay for the service with apple. Google make money PURELY from using your data. This is Part of the reason they are more expensive than others. We are Paying for the Privacy.

 

[jpn]

something is wrong.

for a long, long time, apple did not make so many mistakes in reading market demand, features, competitor's products position, and then being able to price its products accordingly.

but during the past 3 years, apple has made repeated mistakes in its pricing.
nothing has changed in terms of the difficulty in reading market data and competitors' positions.
but apple is repeatedly misreading overall worldwide and market by market demand.
and the mistakes its making is hurting its growth in critical categories.

this does not bode well for apple in its newest of core areas: content creation / content distribution.

 

[YaBe]

You need to read T&Cs - Apple DO NOT collect data beyond usage - they do not link data in any way to you. You pay for the service with apple. Google make money PURELY from using your data. This is Part of the reason they are more expensive than others. We are Paying for the Privacy.

Again I understand, but really trust nobody, but really, I have no problem with Google listening... they might get bored quite fast anyway!

Hey Google turn on x light
Hey Google turn off y light
Hey Google turn the heater on
Hey Google what's the weather in x city today
Hey Google wake me up at xx.xx
Bored yet?
Hey Google turn on x light
Hey Google turn off y light
Hey Google turn the heater on
Hey Google what's the weather in x city today
Hey Google wake me up at xx.xx
Bored yet?
Hey Google turn on x light
Hey Google turn off y light
Hey Google turn the heater on
Hey Google what's the weather in x city today
Hey Google wake me up at xx.xx


Hey Google remind me to turn the heater off....

 

[44267547]

None of the Amazon devices are comparable - the sound is not great at all on them - they do have Sonos though. Which is a great choice. The google Max is comparable or even better - but it's 3x the size and well... GoogleSpying on you
...

That was really my main point. That I think for the average consumer, they don’t really know the sound that is capable of being produced from the HomePod until they actually try it. They just considered as another ‘smart speaker’, when it’s much more than that.

 

[TheFluffyDuck]

Theres no getting around it, HomePod is the worst AND most expensive product, out of the options available. You can speak endlessly about the quality of the speaker, but if somebody wanted a good speaker, they would just buy a speaker. People are buying it for the digital assistant, which is utterly garbage and at least 5 years behind the competition IMO.

 

[Onelifenofear]

I had to talk slow like I was a bit simple for it to understand. Hopeless.

Lovely phasing. Aren't you a lovely chap.

I, however, spoke perfectly normally and it works... just tried again and it's fine. Perhaps your Mic in your car is rubbish? Or your network connection was slow or one of the 1500(!) outside issues that could have affected it.

 

[smaffei]

Others here will list as a ‘flop’ now because Apple dropped the price. Anyone that’s experienced the HomePod, knows exactly what this speaker is capable of producing in terms of quality sound. I don’t regret purchasing mine for the Original $350 price point.

Being a flop does not mean it's not a good product. (Beta vs VHS, Sony DAT, etc…)

Doesn't matter in the end. What matters is that if the product isn't a success then chances are support for it will be dropped quicker. Companies don't like spending additional money on products that don't positively affect their bottom line (Apple killed Airport Routers for that exact reason). And, no consumer wants to spend $300 for a product that will be EOLed in less than 2 years.

 

[triton100]

No thanks. Not even interested at $99. I don't need "smart speakers" in my home, especially ones that rely on Siri which is absolutely horrendous.

Whoever is in charge of Siri development needs a damn good shoeing.

This isn’t a smart speaker. It’a a music speaker which happens to have smart functionality. The sound as such is incredible. It’s never been marketed as a smart speaker.

 

[ChrisMoBro]

Bring it down to £225 but more importantly open it up so there’s more freedom with what you can play on it

 

[PickUrPoison]

Or more signs of Trade tariffs and economic shifts and selling more units at a lower cost to increase the User Base. Possible under hood cost savings too.

But you know more apparently.

I would also throw on the fact that HomePod drives Apple Music subscriptions, which is probably what you refer to re: increasing the user base.

I think we can expect similar price reductions with Apple TV hardware when Apple TV+ debuts. $99 or even $49 for the HD version, $149 or possibly even $99 for the 4K. Maybe only with minimum subscription of three to six months. Possibly even free with one year sub.

 

[Onelifenofear]

Again I understand, but really trust nobody, but really, I have no problme with Google listening... they might get bored quite fast anyway!

Hey Google turn on x light
Hey Google turn off y light
Hey Google turn the heater on
Hey Google what's the weather in x city today
Hey Google wake me up at xx.xx
Bored yet?
Hey Google turn on x light
Hey Google turn off y light
Hey Google turn the heater on
Hey Google what's the weather in x city today
Hey Google wake me up at xx.xx
Bored yet?
Hey Google turn on x light
Hey Google turn off y light
Hey Google turn the heater on
Hey Google what's the weather in x city today
Hey Google wake me up at xx.xx


Hey Google remind me to turn the heater off....

Hey Google... are you listening to other stuff before I say hey google? Why of course I am... because the T&Cs don't specifically say I don't

 

[44267547]

Being a flop does not mean it's not a good product.

No one said it’s not a good product, what others are complaining about, is the price. And then when Apple lowers the price on something, then others (More specifically members on this site)automatically assume that that product must be struggling or it’s a flop. Hence why I used the example I did previously.

 

[bandrews]

Bring it down to £225 but more importantly open it up so there’s more freedom with what you can play on it

This is why I'm sticking with Google. Until the Homepod can play BBC radio stations when asked I'm not interested.

 

[I7guy]

As a music speaker yes. Smart speaker no. That includes the entire genre. Open up that Bluetooth. Although Verizon does give Apple Music for free with some plans.

 

[crsh1976]

Ideally $150, realistically $200 - still ways to go.

 

[kis]

This comment made my morning.

They are heading in the right direction on this, but all Apple pricing right now is a convoluted mess.

It’s ok - they’re subsidizing it with the recent 10% price hike on iMacs in Europe.

 

[Onelifenofear]

Right on all counts. I would also throw on the fact that HomePod drives Apple Music subscriptions, which is probably what you refer to re: increasing the user base.

I think we can expect similar price reductions with Apple TV hardware when Apple TV+ debuts. $99 or even $49 for the HD version, $149 or possibly even $99 for the 4K. Maybe only with minimum subscription of three to six months. Possibly even free with one year sub.

Yes the Hardware is going to get cheaper for home items - because they want to sell ONGOING services - which is fine by me. So long as the quality is good. They have some great names involved for TV+ and it definely works HBO / Netflix and Amazon all make fantastic stuff.

Agree on the Pricing... probably only 3 months free subscription though? Or keep the price and have 1 year free.

I am actually surprised they have not become a Music Publisher along with Beats / Radio etc. They used to do fantastic Music Events in London for about 6 years but they stopped that.

 

[sracer]

Again I understand, but really trust nobody, but really, I have no problem with Google listening... they might get bored quite fast anyway!

Hey Google turn on x light
Hey Google turn off y light
Hey Google turn the heater on
Hey Google what's the weather in x city today
Hey Google wake me up at xx.xx
Bored yet?
Hey Google turn on x light
Hey Google turn off y light
Hey Google turn the heater on
Hey Google what's the weather in x city today
Hey Google wake me up at xx.xx
Bored yet?
Hey Google turn on x light
Hey Google turn off y light
Hey Google turn the heater on
Hey Google what's the weather in x city today
Hey Google wake me up at xx.xx


Hey Google remind me to turn the heater off....

Because of a "lack of privacy" you'll end up with ads trying to sell light bulbs, alarm clocks, space heaters, and travel sites.

I agree with you. I think "Privacy" is simply a marketing term to draw customers... people concerned about privacy don't know how little privacy they really have.

Back to the HomePod. Given how closed it is, it should be much cheaper. As others have said, if it supported bluetooth and aux input, I would've paid full MSRP for it. I think it looks great and sounds terrific.

 

[currentinterest]

Component prices may have dropped or HomePod 2 is on the horizon. I own three. One of Apple’s best products. Siri works like a charm. I will likely buy a couple more soon.