Apple Stops Selling Headphones and Speakers From Third-Party Companies Ahead of Rumored Smaller HomePod and AirPods Studio Launch

[atomic.flip]

Treading ever so steadily into antitrust territory aren’t we Mr. Cook?

There is no reason to eliminate third party accessories from their distribution channel except to prove they want no competition and quite possible are I’ll equipped to handle it.

Besides that, those accessories brought money in for Apple and kept people in their stores even when they didn’t have similar tools or technologies to offer.

I really do not like and disagree with this practice.

 

[kilimanjaro]

Have you seen the new Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95? They look exactly how the rumoured Studiopods and cost 700

They B&O H95s sound AMAZING. Clean and balanced sound for the enjoyment of your music.
I wouldn’t expect the Studio to sound anything like them, but be competing in a different space like the Sony XM4s and the Bose 700s - both really picks. (I also have the Sony’s).

 

[atomic.flip]

The Apple store use to be the place you could find all kinds of Mac accessories products including what Apple sold. No one in the store ever came across with the attitude that only Apple products would be sold there.

And those days are dead now. Thanks to Tim and his one time retail Baroness who’s since left the company.

 

[Biglethal69]

I have a HomePod and I can connect it as an audio source for my Apple TV. Only thing is the HomePod audio is delayed to my sound bar. Now I did something before that fixed it but I don’t know what I did. And now it’s delayed again. Do you know how to fix this?

The way I did it was go to video and Audio then go to Calibration then wireless audio sync inside your Apple TV that’s the way I fixed mine. Other than that it can be in your TV depending on how late of model. Hope this helps you.

 

[danny842003]

Totally in the market for a HomePod mini. I have two of the normal ones currently and would like a third for my hobby room. Doesn’t need to be deafening at all.

 

[123]

it obviously works the absolute best with the Mac/iPhone/iPad/Apple services, and it looks amazing

And it is very limited. Apple can't create products suitable for everyone. And no, it only makes "zero sense" if Apple's products suck. Or if Apple doesn't care about their customers, which seems to be what you suggest. Otherwise it makes a lot of sense to keep selling products targeting a slightly different market in order to create a store that actually offers value (compared to a monopolist's store selling the monopolist's one product: zero value). Keep in mind that selling a competitor's product still makes them money. Just like selling smart lights does.

 

[TracesOfArsenic]

Logic would dictate that if you want "choice" you wouldn't limit yourself to only shopping in an Apple store.
If you want choice you would also shop around. If this affects a customers purchase, it's because the customer isn't too bright.

I agree with you in principal about shopping around (as I do/encourage the same thing), but this is not about the tech nerds. A lot of people choose Apple products because they're not tech savvy. "Shopping around" becomes an anxiety ridden burden so by having options available in an "official" environment, mum/dad/nan/pop can make a safe decision on the spot without the overwhelming (and lengthy) process of shopping around.

If Apple disagreed with this in principle they wouldn't have been selling other brand's equipment over the decades. It simply adds strength and value to their brand having them right there when you make your purchase into the platform.

 

[MiniApple]

Would be interested in a HomePod mini for 99$ or less.

 

[insomniac86]

I agree with you in principal about shopping around (as I do/encourage the same thing), but this is not about the tech nerds. A lot of people choose Apple products because they're not tech savvy. "Shopping around" becomes an anxiety ridden burden so by having options available in an "official" environment, mum/dad/nan/pop can make a safe decision on the spot without the overwhelming (and lengthy) process of shopping around.

If Apple disagreed with this in principle they wouldn't have been selling other brand's equipment over the decades. It simply adds strength and value to their brand having them right there when you make your purchase into the platform.

Fair points. I do agree with you on that.
I'd just wish that a person could walk into a shop and buy a set of headphones without getting anxiety, such as sad world.

 

[scaramoosh]

Hopefully they'll reduce the price and add bluetooth and 3.5mm jack to the HomePod as Airplay is useless with too much latency.

 

[Abazigal]

Would be interested in a HomePod mini for 99$ or less.

Apple might sell a coaster for the HomePod for $99.

 

[warpdrive]

Coke doesn't sell Coke products either. Grocery stores, liquor stores, convenience stores and the Targets/Walmarts and big box stores sell Coke products. They also sell Pepsi products.

I've never seen a Coke Store, have you?

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[MacinMan]

It comes down to, do you like quality? And HomePod vs Echo, the HP will always win.

I can't comment on the HomePod for myself as far as Audio, since I don't have one. I can say however: Amazon has done a really good job with the Echo Studio, and with the right settings, sounds great. Plus, while I can't say this is true with every song I've compared cross services, I will say Amazon HD / 3D / lossless has the advantage here of having the highest quality streaming music available, as well as being able to download lossless audio. When Apple starts offering lossless audio as part of Apple music, it will be a more accurate comparison. The other thing I like is, the standard Echo / dot, etc plus HomePod are all mono unless paired as stereo. The Echo Studio is stereo on it's own, so that's another plus for the studio. I have low vision, and am also a musician, though I don't play as much as I used to. Point is though, my hearing is fine tuned and these little details matter to me that the average person may miss. I'd be the kind of person that under normal circumstances would say skip the smart speakers and get dedicated speakers. However with the advance of technology, I've been quite impressed with current smart speakers.

 

[sidewinder3000]

If you're an American using US American Siri on American soil, I'm sure Siri is an absolute dream - but for the majority of the world's population, "Siri sucks" isn't so much a clichéd argument but a daily reality. As for myself, I'm Swedish but I speak US English with no discernible accent. Here are my options:

iOS+MacOS: Swedish or English. If I set it to Swedish, I can get Siri to do some basic things like triggering shortcuts or taking calendar appointments, provided I remember that Siri doesn't understand 24hr time properly, e.g. if I say that the event is "from 16 to 19" (4 PM-7 PM) it'll be written to the calendar as 4:19 PM to 5:19 PM. If I tell it to play music, which typically involves English song titles and artist/band names, I have to do it in a really thick Swedish accent (aka 'Swenglish') because it's using an algorithm that Apple created while training Apple TV to understand Swedes saying stuff like "Taylor Swift" or "The Avengers". Pronouncing the names/titles with a US English accent will confuse the hell out of 'Swenglish' Siri - the better your English, the less she'll understand. If I set it to US English, I can do everything you do as far as dealing with Apple Music / TV+ etc, but it breaks everything else; Every Swedish push notification or text message I receive will be read to me like they were written in English (which is great for comedic effect but 99.8% unintelligible), and obviously Siri won't understand a word I say with regards to Swedish map locations, local establishments etc.

tvOS: Swedish/'Swenglish' only. The system refuses to allow me to select English Siri (or any other language except Swedish) for no apparent reason. I posted (polite) questions about this absurd restriction on Apple's support forum and both posts were deleted in under 5 minutes like I exposed the world's most sensitive military secret or something.

Google Assistant: I can set it to Swedish, English or both simultaneously. If I set it to Swedish only I can still address it in English or Swedish and switch mid-sentence, and the assistant will still understand me and respond in Swedish. If I enable both languages, the assistant will respond in whichever language I addressed it. The bilingual option is supposedly in beta, but it never failed me so far. That's why I as an avid Apple devotee have a house full of Google gadgetry. Well, that plus the fact that Apple adamantly refuses to sell HomePod in my country nearly 3 years after its original launch.

In case you didn't know or care, this is a long-standing issue with Apple - they love taking your money no matter where you're from, but they're as US-centric as Trump when it comes to their software and services, and only at gunpoint will they make anything work properly for people outside the native English speaking realm.

That’s a huge bummer. The dual language idea seems like a good solution. I hope you’re able to petition Apple to fix these issues. What they’re doing isn’t right.

 

[amartinez1660]

Consumers still have choice, just not at the Apple Store. It's a store for Apple's products...why would they sell products that compete with theirs? Should they also sell Microsoft and Dell PCs? Google phones? Samsung tablets?

You know what? I think it would be Microsoft and Dell the ones not allowing that, can you imagine an Apple Genius guy showing a lagging blocking app-hanging Microsoft Surface tablet with it’s somewhat inaccurate pen options next to a fully cleaned-up freshly restarted iPadPro going full force.
It would breed lawsuits, conspiracy theories and the basic fact that it will be in Apple’s best interest to show their products in the best possible light to wrap it all in future chaos.

 

[Mr. Donahue]

Thats the solution I am looking for as well. I have a decent receiver/speaker system now collecting dust. But I am building a new rec room, and my goal is to be wireless in there.

Maybe with these HomePod mini might be our solution! As soon as I get confirmation you can stereo left right connect 2 units ( to Apple TV) and.. it works consistently well. I’m sold.