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Apple Drops HomePod Price to $299, Down From $349
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It's $399 in Canada, not sure if this is how much it was before, but that's still waaaay too much for something that you need two of for stereo.
I call bull***t on any notion that Apple would invest in a loss leader, especially a luxury one. If Apple managed to deliver the Homepod close to cost, it wasn't Apple who lowered their margin, it was the suppliers.
I bought one for $50 off from Target. Love the sound but it is even more limited than I was expecting. I wanted to airplay Peloton workouts to my apple TV and use homepod for sound-- it can't be done.
I tested HomePod last year (Stereo) and in January of this year one HomePod in an Apple Store. First test: Siri did not get titles of Metallica when I pronounced them in American English. She got the German intonation. I just thought: Wtf! Siri improved though(January). Vocals nice! Bass not bad. The rest? Meh… I´ve a Logitech Z-5400 in my room. With Stereo x2" on it sounds better then the HomePod. In our living room we have a Teufel Theater 200 which is attached to a Denon AVR 1911.
I know the sound quality is good - but man that's still a nutty price here in Canada.
And no spotify yet I still hear?
And no spotify yet I still hear?
You're totally missing the point. Outrage is the new currency. People wouldn't feel alive if there wasn't something to be outraged about!
When I'm in the same room with my Echo I'm either giving it a command "Alexa, <radio program>", "Alexa, play <something on Amazon Music>", "Alexa, notifications", "Alexa, volume <up, down>", "Alexa, off", etc., or I'm just listening to it while on my computer (like right now). I'm not talking or discussing anything of importance, usually not talking at all. If I am talking about stuff of a private nature I'm generally not using the Echo, so I just unplug it. If I just want to listen for a purely music experience I play a stream through good wired speaker(s) or headphones via nice DAC hardware, either dedicated or through (currently) my LG V40 phone. I haven't actually heard the Apple smart speaker, and have heard it has superior sound for a non-wired device. I'm not sure, given the problems with Siri, that its sound would be good enough to justify the cost, even with the $50 reduction. My Echo 2nd Gen, at $139 when purchased, was a good buy for the price.
Considering the limitations of the A.I, I doubt this thing is worth even £200. It's just Siri (like, you know, in every other Apple product) with a nice speaker; nothing transformative about that.
Even though companies like Bose have been doing it for decades?? At even higher prices?
What are you waiting for? What does the home pod do that’s so special ?
And if you’re referring to sound, it only sounds so good being a small device and just one of them. Never said the sound was bad, or worse than others... just said for what it costs it ain’t worth it.
And I stick by that.
The problem with HomePod is that normally Apple isn't competing with another luxury / design focussed established brand. They have come in against Sonos with less utility and the apple brand isn't £150 better than the Sonos brand in this department.
People have had Sonos equipment for over 10yrs that still works and sounds good. Sonos works with spotify and apple etc.. too. So its a hard sell. Audio generally works by word of mouth as well. No one can really tell in a store with different acoustics to your house, how something will really be when you actually have it.
Also, Apple really need to stop releasing stuff that isnt ready. It's damaging. Not having pairing at launch is just silly when you're trying to compete against a product like the Sonos One.
Maybe the difference I see with Steve Jobs vs Cook is that if Jobs thinks that price is effecting sales, the price got dropped quickly. Iphone for example. He wouldnt start putting out begging ad's to trade in your phone etc.. He'd just cut it.
Fixing problems quickly is what its about really.
If the Airpod is £50 less now it should have been at launch. And every Apple product should not be mentioned until its launched and available the very next day its announced. And it should have features on par or better than its competitor at the very least.
People have had Sonos equipment for over 10yrs that still works and sounds good. Sonos works with spotify and apple etc.. too. So its a hard sell. Audio generally works by word of mouth as well. No one can really tell in a store with different acoustics to your house, how something will really be when you actually have it.
Also, Apple really need to stop releasing stuff that isnt ready. It's damaging. Not having pairing at launch is just silly when you're trying to compete against a product like the Sonos One.
Maybe the difference I see with Steve Jobs vs Cook is that if Jobs thinks that price is effecting sales, the price got dropped quickly. Iphone for example. He wouldnt start putting out begging ad's to trade in your phone etc.. He'd just cut it.
Fixing problems quickly is what its about really.
If the Airpod is £50 less now it should have been at launch. And every Apple product should not be mentioned until its launched and available the very next day its announced. And it should have features on par or better than its competitor at the very least.
Ohhhhhh, I thought it said $2.99. Still not a buyer of this toilet paper roll looking speaker!
Are you kidding? The sound is amazing but their whole app/ecosystem is a disaster - It's terribly integrated with Apple Music, it takes so many steps to connect a new phone to the system, it's slow, etc. The interfaces suck, glitchy, etc. Just bad.
Was it the $20B in profit last quarter that tipped you off to the distress?
You guys are hilarious.
I have 2 Sonos Play 5's (2nd gen) at home and have imported the HomePod from Germany because all reviews praised the sound quality. To be honest, while it is not bad it isn't really that great. The Play 5 is in a different league.
I have moved the HomePod to the bedroom. I do listen sometimes, but most of the time I only ask Siri what time it is while waking up. I still think it's overpriced, $199 would be a great price.
I have moved the HomePod to the bedroom. I do listen sometimes, but most of the time I only ask Siri what time it is while waking up. I still think it's overpriced, $199 would be a great price.
Bose must have been the biggest advertiser on A&E way back then. Non-stop commercials for that little audio system.
