HomePod Appreciating in Value Following Discontinuation

[subjonas]

I think there were two, maybe three major reasons the OG HomePod didn’t sell well, despite being an amazing product.
1) Apple didn’t release (and advertise) them with full TV speaker functionality. I’m sure having that added functionality would have gotten a ton more people to buy them, but the function was added too late and was never advertised as far as I remember.
2) Bad timing. Cheap smart speakers from other companies had already hit the market and people were making the wrong comparison. Those were good smart assistants with a whatever speaker, the HomePod was a great speaker with a whatever smart assistant.
3) Or maybe it was as simple as not enough people care about great sound quality.

People will argue price was the major issue, but I think that goes back to reason #2 and/or 3, they were preconditioned to expect cheaper and/or simply don’t value high quality sound. (Or maybe some audiophiles don’t value smart speakers and would rather pay less for great sound quality dumb speakers—although I’d point out that dumb speakers can’t optimize audio to the room acoustics on a per song basis like HomePods can.)

 

[SamuelFleming]

The sad thing is it was phenomenal value for what you got. Incredibly so when discounted like it was. 'Good enough' is sadly enough for most people when it comes to audio quality and the proliferation of £30 Echo Dots is testament to that.

I think the sad thing is Apple didn't see a place for both devices in it's lineup. Maybe they are working on a broader lineup of devices and I'm hoping that's the case. You are right, good enough, is what most people want. I can see a use for the mini in spaces where I don't need the absolute best, but then I do wish I had two paired to an Apple TV and setup in my TV room. And I could use one in my bedroom where I am more likely to listen to music for extended periods. Maybe one day.

 

[SDJim]

I love my HomePods. They live in the living room as a stereo TV output and primary Siri device for smartphone control. Wish I could justify a couple more at the inflated prices...

 

[Black Magic]

I love my HomePods. They live in the living room as a stereo TV output and primary Siri device for smartphone control. Wish I could justify a couple more at the inflated prices...

I just got back from buying my second HomePod mini. I now have 1 HomePod and 2 HomePod Minis. Great devices!

 

[entropys]

Does that mean my PowerBook G5 is now worth $5000?

I don’t know. I do know it is worth less than mine.

 

[Diablo360]

Love my homepod, will use it until it no longer works!

 

[Duncan-UK]

I thought there was huge hyperbole about the sound quality frankly, especially for one on its own. A stereo pair sounded much better.

But... Two of my four original HomePods developed the fart of death, and so have had to be withdrawn from use. Considering the hefty price, I would have expected far more life from them.

 

[Spock]

I wanted one but I could not justify the price, now I certainly can't.. I do love my HomePod mini though.

 

[veeco3110]

I just wish they would fix my Bricked homepod! then I’d sell it

 

[Edsel]

I still have my Apple HiFi speaker. That must be worth at least $1 million now, right?

 

[NFernoSlyr]

I have 2 I purchased in 11/2018 that I use everyday. I love them!

I have 2 I Purchased in 07/2019 still sealed unopened in their box in the BestBuy bag I carried them home in.

Sonos 5.1 system in Living Room & Bedroom. Stereo Sonos Ones for other two bedrooms. and echoes sprinkled around the house. I'll put the unopened Homepods in the basement when I get around to finishing it. I have too many damn Speakers! need a bigger house....

 

[SFjohn]

For all those claiming it was too costly, now we see the real value (what people are willing to pay) is almost double what Apple charged.

 

[indychris]

Also have a pair of HomePods used with my ATV and TV. Sound is great. Had a pair of minis in my man-cave. The sound was HORRIBLE in comparison to the full-size HomePods, so they were relegated to the garage. Will never buy another mini, but would easily buy another pair of full-size. From a quality perspective, it seems to me to be a boneheaded move to discontinue to the original, but I guess I can't argue with apple if it was a money loser. I don't get how that was the case, though.

 

[warpdrive]

mine won't turn on anymore. I heard that diode failure is a thing on many of these OG homepods. The repair cost at the Apple store for out of warranty unit was more than I paid for it.

Anyway, I hope you guys fare better. Mine was barely used and it just croaked.

 

[lk400]

I ordered a second one the day the annouced it would be discontinued. Best decision. Stereo HomePods paired with Apple TV is very nice.

I did that too. I had a launch day one that I was using daily. Upon discontinuation I bought 4 more, and paid for a replacement of my launch day unit as it had the popping issue. Hopefully I will be set for a while.

 

[turbineseaplane]

The music will stop…. I hope everyone finds a chair who wanted one

 

[44267547]

HomePod mini has trash audio.

That’s not even close to being the focus of the article, and the Mini is not a comparable to what the execution was of the original HomePod, which was being a music player first, and then a smart speaker second, and the roles were reversed for the mini. I think you’re misunderstanding the difference between both models.

 

[amartinez1660]

I love the OG HomePod. Have 2 of them paired in my living room. Every time I listen to them - which is on a daily basis - I’m in awe! The sound quality is superb. I don’t believe Apple ditched the high-end tech of the OG HomePod and hopefully - fingers crossed ?? - we’ll see a new and evolved HomePod in the future.

I got one down in the US and I use it daily when I go… I love it, but I have found myself using it mostly untethered and just say basic functions: “hey Siri, play chill music”, “play work music”, “play synth wave music” (this last one it can do whatever) because the connection controls through the phone’s or laptop’s AirPlay center is unreliable.

Has this been ironed out? Been about 6 months since the last time, but I tried everything: re-pairing many times, WiFi’s router only 5Ghz, only 2.4GHz, different channels, etc… it works and then some time along the day it doesn’t appear anymore on the AirPlay center.

Also, UX is weird, it’s like the phone has a double playlist running: one for the HomePod and one for the phone itself, but it’s not clear which one is what and has to go through the AirPlay menus.

That said, it’s an amazing piece of equipment to have anywhere at home… serving the first cup of coffee of day and asking for some morning work music with amazing sound ?

 

[norbinhouston]

If they just moved the display. Its silly to have it on top.

 

[44267547]

If they just moved the display. Its silly to have it on top.

Wait…where do you suggest they move the display then? Wouldn’t the natural position be for somebody looking over the top of the HomePod? Secondly, why would Apple need to move the display to any other location other than the top? Like, what’s the distinct advantage there?

So that only leaves Apple to move the display on the side or underneath it.

Moving the display isn’t really a concern to the engineers or determines the success of this product.

 

[incoherent_1]

Just goes to show they had a quality product but didn't have the focus to keep it going. Trouble is, it's been that way for years, just look at the iPod HiFi.

We are an Apple house: 2 Macs, iPhones, 2 Apple Watches, 2 Apple TVs, etc., but when it comes to our sound system, I went with Sonos and don't regret it one bit. If Apple wants to be taken seriously in this space, they need to show long term commitment, which is the opposite of what they've been signaling for years.

 

[Shanghaichica]

They discontinued because of lack of interest and sales, used ones selling high is not going to make Apple come out with a new one, at least not because of that. It is a crowded market and Apple has great sound quality, that is pretty much it when it comes to the Homepods. Alexa is basically a living human with a soul in comparison to Siri and comes at a much cheaper price point for devices that still sound great. I have echo devices throughout my house, one in every room, I control lights, thermostat, bulbs, etc through Alexa as well as music. I have a pair in stereo with a sub and sounds amazing as well, again all for much much cheaper then what Apple was selling as basically only a music hub.

I have 6 echos that I use for smart home control. None of them sound great. I wouldn’t use them for music playback.

 

[deasys]

my bigger concern is the limited functionality of the devices if you don't subscribe to Apple Music. Wish it were possible to command Siri to play music from my local library instead...

That's what iTunes Match is for—$25 annually gives you access to your own music library anywhere on any of your devices.

 

[turbineseaplane]

That's what iTunes Match is for—$25 annually gives you access to your own music library anywhere on any of your devices.

...and it also frequently messes up your metadata and screws up matching to the correct song versions

 

[MuppetGate]

i love my HomePod, it sounds juicy and succulent, and makes me tremble to the touch

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