People are still selling new HomePods for above original msrp and used ones for msrp on eBay daily. Shows that there is definitely an audience for it.
Biggest drawback for any HomePod is Siri.
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Kuo: Apple to Release New HomePod in Late 2022 or Early 2023
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People are still selling new HomePods for above original msrp and used ones for msrp on eBay daily. Shows that there is definitely an audience for it.
Biggest drawback for any HomePod is Siri.
Forget about spending millions on R&D/design changes
Swap out the current A8 with an A15 (or something newer), maybe put in some new, more modern hardware components, call it a day and watch the cash flow in
It’s not rocket science and Apple should stop trying to hit a home run on EVERY product that they release. There is indeed a market for this, albeit smaller than their HomePod mini:
www.macrumors.com
Swap out the current A8 with an A15 (or something newer), maybe put in some new, more modern hardware components, call it a day and watch the cash flow in
It’s not rocket science and Apple should stop trying to hit a home run on EVERY product that they release. There is indeed a market for this, albeit smaller than their HomePod mini:
HomePod Appreciating in Value Following Discontinuation
The original HomePod, which Apple discontinued in March 2021, now appears to be appreciating in value on online marketplace sites (via The Verge). ...
www.macrumors.com
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Moved on from Apple on the sound side of the equation. While my OR HomePod was and still is a good speaker, others have the complete system that meets and exceeds my Todays needs. No need to wait for Apple, others have every sound need I require, Today.
You make a good point about the resale value of the HomePod on eBay, but I wouldn’t misconstrue the reason why, which is primarily because consumers are attempting to make an extra dollar, because they know that’s usually what happens when Apple products are discontinued, they tend to inflate in value. Similarly to what will happen with the 7th Gen iPod Touch that was discontinued last week, that will also accrue a higher dollar on eBay when new units no longer exist to retailers.
As far as your other reference point regarding Siri, I generally didn’t have problems with issuing commands to Siri, which is mainly controlled through how well you pronounce the words without any other ambient noise in the background. Now, I’m not saying Siri is perfect, because it isn’t, but that is actually one of the last complaints I would have.
I wish this time HomePod will have a wider global release. Sick of paying more to buy from shopee seller who get it from other countries.
I wish that the time lag when clicking play/pause at MacBook will be fixed.
Please be around HomePod mini price.
I wish that the time lag when clicking play/pause at MacBook will be fixed.
Please be around HomePod mini price.
Hopefully Apple prices it better this time. Would be nice if it came in many colours like the HomePod mini
The hardware wasn’t holding it back in any way that was limiting sales or interest.
Before they were discontinued and supply started drying up, they were on sale a lot…sometimes all the way down to $199, brand new.
It was, and is, too restrictive and limiting and expensive.
It needs a refocus and redesign or it will flop all over again.
Always said they gave up on it too soon. Mini was the perfect gateway drug. And the HomePod got much better around the same time they got rid of it.
I really think they rock as tv speakers. And that use case really made them a great value on top of being great music speakers. Probably why they got rid of them.
I really think they rock as tv speakers. And that use case really made them a great value on top of being great music speakers. Probably why they got rid of them.
I've said this a few times before but I can't be bothered to look and link so:-
My wishlist for a HomePod ecosystem:-
OTOH, good dumb speakers will last many years, even decades (my B&Ws are about 12 years old and don't have any requirement for software upgrades or more powerful processors) so maybe the lure of wireless and smarts in one box isn't as, erm, smart as all that in my use case.
My wishlist for a HomePod ecosystem:-
- HomePod OGs (or a new replacement) for front and rear L/R (and for pseudo-Atmos or just music in bedrooms/kitchen &etc)
- HomePod Centre for, well, centre
- HomePod Minis for side/Atmos and music in smaller rooms
- HomePod Sub
- Home Theatre driven by a slightly improved Apple TV at it's core
- Music driven by whatever your choice is, Apple Music, Spotify, Bluetooth source, hell even a 3.5mm jack for all I care.
OTOH, good dumb speakers will last many years, even decades (my B&Ws are about 12 years old and don't have any requirement for software upgrades or more powerful processors) so maybe the lure of wireless and smarts in one box isn't as, erm, smart as all that in my use case.
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I’m surprised Apple are still going after this market after attacking it so poorly and half heartedly in the past.
It’s good to know Apple are reaching out to customers but I think they should survey all iPhone/Apple consumers to find out why so many have not invested in HomePod.
That’s a very limited audience I can assure you. The price of HomePod stifled it as it was astronomically more expensive than rival products by Google and Amazon. Not a single one of my friends or family have a HomePod yet nearly all of them use iPhones and I think even that small global snippet is rather telling. Too expensive, too restrictive in terms of not allowing Android connectivity or Amazon music, Spotify etc. it was just a great sounding device with poor implementation for the wider market.
I very much hope it’s not going to be a sound bar. Pointless things, ugly and with horrible audio quality. Stereo speakers have to be far away, so unless they make a 2 or 3 m long bad it’s never gonna sound good. Not to mention the silly claims that sone of these products have to provide 5.1 sound. Ludicrous!
Yes you are completely right. I don’t buy them either unless it can hover above the shelf
It doesn’t have to be a ridiculous unachievable feature like you mention for HomePod to be realistically desirable as a product. The first stab Apple had at the smart home assistant market has been a bit of a flop despite being one of the first into it. Expensive hardware and restrictive services has meant they aimed it at a very small market. The iPhone market is smaller than the wider market anyway without restricting it further. Not every iPhone user subscribes to Apple Music for starters.
Detachable power cable, Bluetooth audio connectivity and 3.5mm input should cost… maybe one or two dollars per unit?
Way less than the hovering functionality.
Point being: they could have greatly increased the product‘s appeal to „casual“ buyers (rather than just diehard Apple ecosystem evangelists) for free.
But they couldn‘t get over themselves and their greed for service revenue (Apple Music subscription $$$) they thought they needed to push.
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I'm still sad that the HomePod Fatboy got discontinued. It's such a great speaker. I replaced all my Sonos Play 5's with HomePod Fatboy's and they sound better, and they spread sound throughout the room better. And their software integration is better compared to Sonos for our home. I purchased two HomePod mini's and returned them as they don't sound even remotely close to as good as the big one.
The only annoying part for me is how Siri somehow can't understand Norwegian on either the HomePod or the Apple TV even though she is fully capable on my iPhone, iPad and Mac. And I would love to be able to disable the touch controls on the top of the speaker. My cat really enjoys sitting ontop of our HomePods and blast music at full volume in the middle of the night..
The only annoying part for me is how Siri somehow can't understand Norwegian on either the HomePod or the Apple TV even though she is fully capable on my iPhone, iPad and Mac. And I would love to be able to disable the touch controls on the top of the speaker. My cat really enjoys sitting ontop of our HomePods and blast music at full volume in the middle of the night..
Wait, you don’t think the original HomePod had enough bass? See…that’s the thing, is you don’t want such a small unit like the HomePod to have too much bass, because that overrides the acoustics from the treble to hear other audible notes. I don’t know about you, but I think the HomePod has more than enough bass that creates quite the boom, and in a living room setting where I have vaulted ceilings.
Nowhere near enough for dynamics of movies. What makes speakers really shine and more immersive is when they are supported in low end frequencies by a sub or when they are huge speakers that offer enough lows on their own. HomePod has a good enough base, but could be a lot better with a dedicated sub. Apple manages to weork around that with great eq and computational audio, but is not a real substitute.