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Apple Removes References to Original HomePod From Website, Months After Discontinuation

I always wonder what the people who designed and built the HomePod must feel when they see arguably years of their work just tossed aside — mainly because Apple overpriced it from the beginning.

Must be a punch in the gut.

Would love to get one — my friend has one and its sound is amazing. But anyone selling them now has jacked up the price making it a non-purchase. I keep scouring online but have yet to find a deal in Canada.
 
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TVreporter said:
I always wonder what the people who designed and built the HomePod must feel when they see arguably years of their work just tossed aside — mainly because Apple overpriced it from the beginning.

Must be a punch in the gut.

Would love to get one — my friend has one its sound is amazing. But anyone selling them now has jacked up the price making it a non-purchase.
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I think some folks from that team actually left to start a company doing an even higher end but somewhat similar idea.

I need to find the link…
 
linkgx1 said:
It's weird to have a mini version of a device but not the full-sized version. I wonder if Apple is planning another full-sized one soon.
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I would imagine so. There is no point in leaving something still named mini if there aren't plans for a regular sized version.
 
Trust issues after the HomePod experience. If I need another or replacement speaker, not Apple. Lean more to those with a strong track record in speaker systems. Sonos comes to mind. Apple just “forget about it“ and move on.
 
I was totally expecting the bigger HomePod too as they introduced the new colors, and apple is so focused on music nowadays, it is really weird they do not, as the sound quality of the OG homepod is great. The mini does not even support the functions the bigger one does.
 
I have HomePods and I have HomePod Minis. The Minis are no match for the original. I use four HomePods in my basement for a home theatre the sound is outstanding. That I can do this without an amplifier and no wires all on WiFi that is a lot value for the money. The smart speaker features have also dramatically improved. The HomePod failed as Apple rushed the product out and took too long to get many key features which I know enjoy: stereo pairing, home theatre, air play , Dolby atmos and now lossless. The Minis have recently been upgraded to home theatre and despite missing the bass they too also sound fantastic for their size and I would recommend for bedrooms. The HomePod is and remains a great product. Owners who have them have not been shortchanged and I hope Apple builds on this product in the future.
 
They would have sold a lot of these if they dropped the price by $100, but maybe it's too expensive to produce. Gotta think they could still make a profit at ~$200 though.

Another issue is they never made a center speaker so you could use these in a 5.1 setup, or Atmos capable speakers. People like me spend thousands of $ on integrated Sonos products (I have 7 One SLs, 2 Subs, a Playbase, and I'll probably have an Arc soon), it's weird Apple doesn't want a piece of that. They're the one company that could probably do the best job making a system to compete with Sonos and others like that. The Roam is really the only Sonos that the HomePod Mini competes with and it doesn't even do that well in terms of sound quality. The only reason I have 3 of them is so I can yell at Siri and have her tell me she didn't get that.
 
What's funny is the price of the Homepods selling on Ebay have gone up since they discontinued them. And now used homepods are regularly selling for more than their original list price of $350.


That's a sign that they were premature in discontinuing them to me at least.

Before they officially discontinued them, new ones were down to as low $200 during sales.
 
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maxfromdenmark said:
I’m still waiting for promised software update to support lossless music.
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Am pretty sure I saw on MacRumors recently it’s going to be available in 15.1?

I did have the OG HomePod a couple of years ago (had to sell it) and whilst I don’t dislike the HomePod Mini the sound (to my ageing ears!) was much superior on the OG HomePod.
 
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So glad i was able to pick up a second one a few weeks after discontinuation. It’s still in the box until I know what i want to do with with it.
 
Finding one on clearance is going to be harder than I thought. It seems its discontinuation is actually driving sales and causing some to list the thing (new) for over asking, and used prices are not where I would like them to be given that it was selling for $199 to $225 new online previously. My bad, should have brought an extra one when it was more readily available.
 
anson42 said:
Finding one on clearance is going to be harder than I thought. It seems its discontinuation is actually driving sales and causing some to list the thing (new) for over asking, and used prices are not where I would like them to be given that it was selling for $199 to $225 new online previously. My bad, should have brought an extra one when it was more readily available.
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I’ve bought 2 of mine in between announcements about supporting Dolby Atmos and discontinuation. Denmark had never have them officially to sale so I bought my stereo pair of refurbished ones from Germany. It was a good price, now much more expensive. Looks like many are interested in having a bigger HomePod.
 
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I will keep mine because it is a nice speaker for the apple TV, but I do regret buying one. This was one of those buy into the apple hype type purchases and it was a mistake.
 
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