HomePod HomePod Discontinued... Discussion.

[Itinj24]

HomePod is not a personal assistant or a Siri machine designed for the smarthome market.

It is the world's best streaming speaker designed for those who care about music and sound quality. No one spends $350 to turn on a lightbulb or set a cake timer. It is 50 million songs a mere "Hey Siri" away. It's like the quality mini-systems from the 90's, those compact stereo systems that let you play a small compact disc in a small enclosure and fill a room with high quality sound. Think Bose Wave CD player. Look up the Sony CMT-EX1. That's what HomePod is.

I’m not claiming it to be a personal assistant... only. But I do believe it to be part of the appeal.

You’re talking about lightbulbs and timers. I say that whole home integrated music is part of any awesome smart home and where the HomePod shines. I can set my HomePods to play music of my choice just by opening my front door or have a theme song play in the garage when my wife pulls in lol (everyone needs a good entry theme song but she doesn’t find it amusing). Able to make a phone call while I’m in the shower or turn on the exhaust fan when I forgot to before I got in the shower... all while listening to tunes from that same HomePod.

Not many were willing to pay the full retail with Siri and the integrated “smarts.” Imagine how much worse it would’ve been if it were just an AirPlay music speaker like you say it was strictly designed to be? We’re in the age of smart home tech and a dumb speaker that sounds great wouldn’t cut it. Yes the quality of sound is phenomenal and I agree it is the best in class but take away the smarts and I have zero interest. Not many would be impressed either when their Google Assistant speaker can do all kinds of stuff but the HomePod is just sitting there only waiting to be summoned for music.

I’d even venture to say that part of the reason for the HomePod’s demise is the fact that Siri is the inferior personal assistant. I’d love to go back and see some posts from the release of the HomePod and how many complaints there were about Siri on the HomePod. Furthermore, how many people prospectively returned their units because of that.

BTW, asking Siri to play music is using it as a personal assistant, wouldn’t you say?

 

[Itinj24]

Google & Amazon gained market share by free and cheap speakers + the ginormous amount of devices. The user experience may be trash but they are the market leaders. I’m unhappy because apple can afford to keep this low selling product but it chooses to discontinue it and alienate its users who have spent a lot of money in the walled garden. Not good.

Since when does Apple cater strictly to the lower end market anyway? I’m still upset that the Mini stole the reigns.

 

[Itinj24]

Here’s another take from Rene Ritchie. Don’t know if any of you watch his content but he generally seems to know his stuff.

 

[Quu]

I've got two in stereo and love them if Apple stops Airplay from working I'll replace them.

I used an Airport Express with a dumb pair of speakers for over 10 years before I got my HomePod's and I'm willing to go back to that setup if I have to.

I really couldn't care less about the smart features of the HomePod, I bought them for sound quality and wireless convenience. They do sound amazing.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Agree completely, RD. As an example, because I'm a YouTube Premium subscriber, out of the blue they gave me a Google Home Mini, free of charge, it's in my son's room, he uses it to get sports scores and listen to bedtime stories. They're cheap and they're helping grow their userbase, but these things aren't being used for music. They are reading texts and scheduling appointments and giving homework answers and acting as alarm clocks.

HomePod is something else. It isn't "a confused attempt at a personal assistant". It is the greatest wireless speaker ever, an audiophile's entrée into streaming. The media wanted to play the "Apple fail!" card and chose this product for their misinformation campaigns, but those in the know know what's what. HomePod is 50 million songs and a subwoofer. It's not a PDA. I love mine. Discontinued or not, it's my favorite Apple product and will be until they come out with a high quality replacement.

Apple produced a high quality speaker with the HomePod but they also intended it to be a virtual assistant. HomeKit was the major selling point at the keynotes along with Apple Music, so it’s about overall experience. The major flaw with HomePod is the price and the fact Siri is largely inferior to the competition. How Apple launched Siri and haven’t invested in it enough is beyond me? Alexa is so much more reliable and Amazon joined the party late. I also think Apples approach in regards to purposely staggering unique features with once a year releases has hurt their appeal. The competition are constantly releasing hardware updates at affordable prices and this is the age we are in.

Also denying users who are Amazon music or Spotify subscribers has hurt them a lot. Whether they have finally decided to allow this is besides the point as people have likely invested now in alternatives.

 

[ChinaRye]

A user on here, believe it was “dot.me”, had all (think it was nine) of their HomePods brick after a software update. It was a 13.something update. That update did a number on a lot HomePods. Not saying that was ouimetnick’s issue but an example of what can happen.

I had both of mine bricked after that update, both out of warranty, but Apple quickly replaced both.

 

[Itinj24]

I had both of mine bricked after that update, both out of warranty, but Apple quickly replaced both.

I usually update all my devices as soon as updates are available. Not sure why but for some reason I held off on that one. Think I was able to read reviews before I had a chance to update so I was spared but glad Apple did the right thing by you.

 

[Itinj24]

Boltjames, if you don’t believe that the HomePod was meant to also be a personal assistant and HomeKit controller, maybe Phil Schiller can convince you otherwise. It needs the HomeKit app to set it up and lives in there for crying out loud lol.

 

[Htsi]

Since when does Apple cater strictly to the lower end market anyway? I’m still upset that the Mini stole the reigns.

They are doing it more and more now but with options, not like this where they discontinue.
case in point
Airpods , iPhones, macs all have new & old versions being sold for different $

 

[Itinj24]

They are doing it more and more now but with options, not like this where they discontinue.
case in point
Airpods , iPhones, macs all have new & old versions being sold for different $

Yes, I understand that. That’s why I used the word “strictly” in my post 🙂.

 

[Calumma]

I like my homepods. They sound great playing music and when paired they definitely improve the experience of watching movies on AppleTV. I also have several homepod minis and these also sound great where placed (bedroom, kitchen and office). I didnt even consider putting a full sized HomePod in most of these locations (I tried one in the bedroom but it was overkill so I moved it). Like others I believe the lack of line in and Bluetooth are serious omissions. Although I do wonder if Apple will now release a firmware update to enable Bluetooth.

For what it offers, the homepod is too expensive so I can completely understand why Apple is now concentrating on the mini. What I think many folks are missing, is that Apple made this decision a while back and has probably been focussing on the mini for some time now. The Airport Express firmware update last year to enable Airplay2 certainly makes much more sense now.

I bought a brand new HomePod in a sale last year (received a £80 voucher that I put towards a mini). The HomePod was manufactured in 2018 and came with an old os installed. From other reports it appears that there are few (none even?) homepods that have been manufactured recently. So the timing of Apples announcement may well be due to the simple fact that manufacturing of the homepod was wound down a year or more ago and available stocks are now running low. It’s quite possible that sales of the HomePod increased after the mini was launched (I chose to get another full sized HomePod after buying my first two minis), resulting in stocks dropping faster than expected. Perhaps this took Apple by surprise and they had to announce the HomePod being discontinued before a replacement was available. But that’s being optimistic that Apple really are planning to release an update. The rundown of stock just a few months after the launch of the mini is quite telling I think.

The interaction of different devices within the Apple ecosystem significantly increases the value of each product. This really struck home for me after purchasing an Apple Watch for the first time last year. I therefore don’t think Apple will want to give up the high end speaker market, especially given their Apple Music and AppleTV+ services. Apple almost certainly have other speaker products in development. What isn’t certain is whether they will consider it worthwhile to bring any such products to market. Perhaps the success of the mini will encourage them to do so.

 

[darthbane2k]

Having thought about this more, I’ve come the optimistic conclusion that perhaps Apple WILL announce a successor to the HomePod.
Most will argue that Apple do not normally issue discontinuation statements for products that will be updated a few weeks later, however with HomePod it’s different. Say if this is nothing but a heads up to allow owners of the original HomePod one final chance to buy additional units for stereo pairing? Wishful thinking or makes sense?

 

[dotme]

HomePod was a success at retail. It’s just over designed and likely not profitable enough to justify its continuance. It was built to be a $350 product.

I subscribe to the theory that there was one production run, and only one, for HomePod. You can walk into Best Buy today and take one home, and it will have iOS 11 on it. Like @Itinj24 I own nine OGs (along with 4 Minis). My first hardware failure with an OG was just a couple of weeks ago (AppleCare covered it, so I got an overnight replacement). I say "first" failure, because I'm expecting more.

The OGs needed to be discontinued. Totally agree that it was over designed (or over engineered) and while definitely a work of art, they do seem somewhat prone to hardware failures over time and even with the $299 price point, you're looking at $700+ with tax and AppleCare to put a stereo pair in a room. That's probably fine if you're a well-paid Apple engineer, but for many people who would like multi-room AirPlay, it was a bit much despite how awesome they sounded.

My hope is that Apple comes through with a "mini max" that has the same internals as the mini, but separate drivers for low and high range that gives the speakers a bit of oomph, and run comparable to Sonos One SL in price so you can drop $200 on minis for a stereo pair, or $380-$400 for a stereo pair of "mini max" units.

Failing that, @boltjames prediction of a AirPlay sub also sounds like a great idea and would probably do the job (Except I find the mini to be a bit harsh at high volumes)

Either way, Apple's probably hoarding the few remaining OGs now to issue as replacements over the next 2 years as people send their AppleCare-covered devices in due to failures. I just hope they come back with a solution for larger rooms for whole home audio. The mini just doesn't cut it, and if I ever needed to expand my setup (or replace my OGs out of warranty) I'd still prefer to buy a big HomePod vs a Sonos, assuming it doesn't break the bank.

 

[boltjames]

I’m not claiming it to be a personal assistant... only. But I do believe it to be part of the appeal.

And I disagree. IoT (Smarthome without streaming) is such a tiny business, and those with Smarthome and Apple (OSX 7% market share) are an even smaller niche. Doorbells and lightbulbs may be why someone buys a $30 Google Mini but its not the reason they buy a $300 HomePod.

Yes the quality of sound is phenomenal and I agree it is the best in class but take away the smarts and I have zero interest. Not many would be impressed either when their Google Assistant speaker can do all kinds of stuff but the HomePod is just sitting there only waiting to be summoned for music.

Its fine that HomePod can control nerd home IoT devices and tell you the weather in Madagascar but that's not why it has 7 tweeters, 1 subwoofer, 6 microphones, and an A8 chip designed to recognize floor coverings and furniture and create audiophile-caliber sound quality by adjusting the output depending on what room its in.

Don't be like the media. HomePod isn't a $30 piece of garbage and it isn't about home control. It's a minisystem, a stereo system replacement for streaming music.

 

[boltjames]

Apple produced a high quality speaker with the HomePod but they also intended it to be a virtual assistant. HomeKit was the major selling point at the keynotes along with Apple Music, so it’s about overall experience.

This wouldn't be the first time that Apple's initial pitch turned out to be out of sync or wishful thinking. The iPod was created to help sell iMacs to Windows loyalists, they never thought in their wildest dreams that they were about to disrupt the entire music industry. Back in 2016 when HomePod was being developed, IoT was the CES buzz, no different than AR was before it and 3D TV before that. Consumer electronic trends are something Apple tends to chase.

The major flaw with HomePod is the price and the fact Siri is largely inferior to the competition. How Apple launched Siri and haven’t invested in it enough is beyond me?

There is no flaw in HomePod to those who are using it for the right reasons. As an Apple Music accessory it is to first-time streamers what the Walkman was to records- a way to get rid of all your old wired audiophile equipment and make the jump to a fully wireless, no-remote future. So many of us used to use Pandora or Spotify and all it took was a minute of HomePod listening to get an Apple Music subscription and never look back.

The "flaw" is that a) Apple apparently made too many from the start leading them to lower the retail/margins and b) Apple didn't do anything to deflect the media criticism they were getting for two completely different products- Siri and HomeKit.

The reason Apple doesn't get behind Siri is because Apple isn't a Search company like Google. All Siri has to do is act as a remote control replacement for HomePod, CarPlay, and Apple TV. And it is very good at that. I've never had a problem asking Siri to call up a personal playlist, a curated playlist, a radio station, a TV show, or anything else necessary to reliably operate HomePod, CarPlay, or Apple TV with my voice. And that's what Siri is supposed to be.

Look at HomePod as a best-in-class streaming music solution and it's flawless. The fact that I can put a HomePod in my trunk, drive to my summer home, plug it in the wall, say "Hey Siri, play summer fun songs" and for the 72 hour weekend I don't have to touch it and every song is one that I love is just remarkable.

 

[AEWest]

I understand that Sennheiser is trying to sell its consumer audio division.

Apple should buy it and integrate Siri and all of its wide ranging consumer audio products.

 

[Itinj24]

And I disagree. IoT (Smarthome without streaming) is such a tiny business, and those with Smarthome and Apple (OSX 7% market share) are an even smaller niche. Doorbells and lightbulbs may be why someone buys a $30 Google Mini but its not the reason they buy a $300 HomePod.



Its fine that HomePod can control nerd home IoT devices and tell you the weather in Madagascar but that's not why it has 7 tweeters, 1 subwoofer, 6 microphones, and an A8 chip designed to recognize floor coverings and furniture and create audiophile-caliber sound quality by adjusting the output depending on what room its in.

Don't be like the media. HomePod isn't a $30 piece of garbage and it isn't about home control. It's a minisystem, a stereo system replacement for streaming music.

HomeKit and home control is literally in the spoken KeyNote by Phil Schiller. It wasn’t tacked on as one of those many extras you get that they display on the screen for a split second. Of course nobody is buying it strictly for home control. Nobody is saying that. It’s meant to be a combination. I don’t know why you are having difficulty understanding that. It was meant to be a great speaker and a home control device combined into one. Watch the KeyNote and I promise you it’s all in there. My goodness lol. Stop saying it’s not a personal assistant either when you said you use Siri on it to pull up your music. What does that classify as if not a personal assistant?

 

[pup]

Look at HomePod as a best-in-class streaming music solution and it's flawless. The fact that I can put a HomePod in my trunk, drive to my summer home, plug it in the wall, say "Hey Siri, play summer fun songs" and for the 72 hour weekend I don't have to touch it and every song is one that I love is just remarkable.

Remarkable in that it was in no way remarkable whatsoever, which of course sealed its fate from day one. Apple's one-size-fits-all philosophy only works in markets which they can define; and in the world of home audio and smart speakers, they had nothing defining to bring. It was a decent, good looking speaker; but no better than what else was already on the market - combined with a second rate digital assistant and priced twice what people were willing to pay. And it was buggy, with weak wifi, no bluetooth, inseparable from a buggy Home app, buggier iTunes, and later an even buggier Music.

The fate of the HomePod was obvious a year ago, and the only question was if Apple was going to double down and really commit to home audio with a suite of products, or if they were going to scale back and pretend that the HomePod never happened. And the answer to that question was pretty easy to guess.

 

[Christopher Kim]

Yes, lots has been discussed about why it failed. As a glimpse into why I didn't get it, even though I would think I should've been in the target market for it:

- Whole family is in the Apple ecosystem (multiple iPhones, 4+ iPads, both wife and I have MBP's, Apple Watches and AirPods)
- Hadn't invested yet into Sonos, but with a growing family, wanted to have convenient speakers in various rooms (and was looking for speakers for bedroom TV)
- Was already a long-time Spotify user (whole family had accounts)
- Cared about audio quality, but to a point

Biggest difference for me as I looked into getting a Homepod vs Sonos speakers, was the lack of ability to use Spotify well. And not having BT connectivity (or another input if I wanted to use as TV speakers).

In the end, I went with a Sonos Five, a Sonos One, and we recently got a Sonos Beam soundbar for our bedroom TV (which uses HDMI and eARC from TV to be able to play anything coming out of the TV in addition to being a Sonos speaker). We chose Sonos even with the synergies I would've gotten being pretty much all-in on the Apple ecosystem.

I agree with others above that Apple took a shot at making the Homepod quite insular / clearly best-placed if you're only Apple. When it works, it works spectacularly. When it doesn't, it falters, especially once there's momentum against you. There were a bunch of reasons why I think this didn't work - for me, the biggest was it requiring Apple Music (and my family not being willing to switch away from Spotify), and not having BT connectivity / any other inputs.

 

[dotme]

It's interesting how the reasons for non-purchase vary from person to person. For me, it was price and nothing more. I already had AirPlay in all main living spaces, but it involved AirPort Express units, amps, and wires... so many wires (A+B speakers in the big rooms). HomePods changed everything there for me. But I couldn't justify $1400 for four speakers in the formal living room and dining space (half the main floor and open concept). When Best Buy dropped the price to $199, I went on a spending spree over 4 months and filled the house with them. But all I wanted was music everywhere. I suppose I could have done the same with Sonos, but I held off and when the HomePod suddenly became available at a Sonos price, I pulled the trigger and I absolutely love them. That's why I hope Apple doesn't abandon the larger HomePod in the long term. They not only provide great audio, but extend bluetooth for my few HomeKit BTLE devices nicely as well. I really think if they can offer a $200 unit, they'd sell. But I'm no marketing expert.

 

[za9ra22]

I have three HomePods. A stereo pair at home in the living room, and one in the office. They are, always have been, great for streaming, with excellent sound quality and remarkable overall performance.

But, they were overpriced, even at the $199 sale price they were often to be found at, and for me, worst of all, not only is Siri almost entirely useless as a 'digital assistant' because in comparison to Alexa, Siri is about as capable as a fly towing a passenger jet, but Apple's closed-minded ecosystem, coupled with their secrecy, meant that even with something as basic as wanting a HomePod to play a radio station, what you got was usually silence, not music. And sometimes inexplicable error responses, dependent on where in the world you were trying to use it.

They also have relatively poor wifi connectivity, and the one in the office constantly suffers dropouts when playing music airplayed from an app on my iPhone.

The HomePod is a brilliant piece of audio and acoustic engineering, and perhaps to some of us it was/is worth the price for that alone, but to suggest it was ever a great success would be to gloss over the fact it was never as capable as the competition in the wealth of things they could do, and it couldn't, and that given the sad fact that most users of smart speakers are not all that discerning in sound quality, the price point was always way too high to be a serious contender. That is why, despite Apple's substantial investment in its development, they are dropping it. Yet in reality there is nothing at all wrong with the HomePod as a speaker, just with Apple and their blindness to their own inadequacies in this market.

Personally, I switched to Amazon Echo Studios. Acoustically not quite as good, though close, but usable for everything I want my smart speakers to do, instead of a small subset of them.

 

[AEWest]

My biggest gripe with the Homepod is the 360 design. I always have speakers on a shelf against a wall, so I prefer directional speakers, and went with Sonos.

 

[Topfry]

It's interesting how the reasons for non-purchase vary from person to person. For me, it was price and nothing more. I already had AirPlay in all main living spaces, but it involved AirPort Express units, amps, and wires... so many wires (A+B speakers in the big rooms). HomePods changed everything there for me. But I couldn't justify $1400 for four speakers in the formal living room and dining space (half the main floor and open concept). When Best Buy dropped the price to $199, I went on a spending spree over 4 months and filled the house with them. But all I wanted was music everywhere. I suppose I could have done the same with Sonos, but I held off and when the HomePod suddenly became available at a Sonos price, I pulled the trigger and I absolutely love them. That's why I hope Apple doesn't abandon the larger HomePod in the long term. They not only provide great audio, but extend bluetooth for my few HomeKit BTLE devices nicely as well. I really think if they can offer a $200 unit, they'd sell. But I'm no marketing expert.

Exactly. This is the usp of the HomePod and why it generally hit the right function, but failed on price. There’s a lot of confusion as to their purpose - they’re not oversized echo dots, they’re not top end hifi separates; they were a convenient, simplified, easy to access music delivery device that benefitted with some extra bells and whistles (ATV support and smart home). Yes it would have been an advantage to have a line in or hdmi, Bluetooth support etc. And run alongside the mini for their respective purposes. But the HomePod mini has abandoned this approach and Apples realigned focus bait and switches the og adopters.
I bought the first full rrp, but got a second on sale. The £199 I paid for the second one was by far the better price point.

 

[turbineseaplane]

My biggest gripe with the Homepod is the 360 design. I always have speakers on a shelf against a wall, so I prefer directional speakers, and went with Sonos.

Considering the HomePod always needs power from a plug (no battery, not portable), I have no idea why they went with the 360 design.

I suspect a directional design would have far better suited the majority of situations they were used in.

No one is toting them around and putting them "in the middle of the picnic table", etc.

 

[pup]

Considering the HomePod always needs power from a plug (no battery, not portable), I have no idea why they went with the 360 design.

I suspect a directional design would have far better suited the majority of situations they were used in.

It's a good design in theory. No different than an $80,000 pair of B&Os. But I think the HomePod was limited by software in what it could do. With higher end 360 speakers, you can tell the system whether you're having a party, listening from the other room, sitting directly in front, etc. and they'll adjust. They also have the oomph to act as directional speakers when desired, and you can use a microphone to carefully map the space for better results. The HomePod just played a few notes and listened for delay and overall EQ and that was it.