I don’t know @sflagel ’s daughter lolQuick, tell her an old fart thought of it first, and she might come around!
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Looking to Grab a HomePod Before They're Gone? These Retailers Still Have Stock
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sure, I’d be all over an Apple TV stick. It’s just the all round usability and feature set of the 4k that isn’t matched by anything else on the market. I don’t love the remote but I also don’t particularly dislike it, nowhere near enough anyway to detract from the overall experience of the Apple TV.
Picked up an open box Space Gray for $50 off at my local Best Buy yesterday, to give me a pair for my office. Still had the clear protective tape on the display.
According to the original poster…
“This is a prime example of what happens when you start to build solutions to problems that don't exist in your current line up. ”
They don’t feel that Apple should build solutions to problems that don’t exist and the mesh system problem has already been resolved. I’m not against Apple doing it. They’re a multi-jobsillion company that’s free to do what they think is important. If they want to come out with iPad socks, it wouldn’t bother me in the least, but it would send a lot of folks (those looking for an Apple wireless networking solution or a Mac mini pro) over the moon. HOW CAN THEY WASTE MONEY ON iPAD SOCKS WHEN THEY COULD BE MAKING (insert thing they want) HERE???
I did it today but boy it was a mess finding it anywhere. It was selling like hot cakes on our local “Craiglists” (I’m in Russia). And I mean it literally: it was sold out completely by this evening.
I grabbed mine without a box, and I was not the first person to reach out to vendor (luckily I wasn’t really worried about the box as much as previous guys).
Stereopair sounds fantastic though!
I was so bothered by this, I wrote timcook@apple.com and got a response from a different Tim - ttwedahl@apple.com, who still signed with "Tim:"
Hi
Thanks so much for your note — and for your passion for HomePod. Rest assured that we are committed to continuing to support HomePod with software updates — and AppleCare will continue to offer service and support.
We remain excited about the HomePod product line and hope you’ll continue to be a part of it.
Best regards,
Tim
Hi
Thanks so much for your note — and for your passion for HomePod. Rest assured that we are committed to continuing to support HomePod with software updates — and AppleCare will continue to offer service and support.
We remain excited about the HomePod product line and hope you’ll continue to be a part of it.
Best regards,
Tim
Looking at the HomePod Big Boy plus the recent AirPods Max sticker shock, I wonder if Apple cancelled the HomePod because they realize their company target market has changed. They are no longer in the business of selling premium hardware.
Growth is now in the mid-low consumer market, not the premium market. There are not enough people to drive volume with products at the top of the price range. They have to compete with the mid range Sony, Sonos, Samsungs, and also the ad subsidized products from Google and Amazon offering good enough audio and product design.
If there was only one manufacturing run on HomePod BB 3 years ago then they obviously misjudged price sensitivity to a beautiful sounding but ultimately not very smart speaker. There aren't that many people seeking out high quality audio in a cool beam forming acoustically neutral mesh or (probably) a beautiful but heavy pair of wireless headphones with great sound.
Growth is now in the mid-low consumer market, not the premium market. There are not enough people to drive volume with products at the top of the price range. They have to compete with the mid range Sony, Sonos, Samsungs, and also the ad subsidized products from Google and Amazon offering good enough audio and product design.
If there was only one manufacturing run on HomePod BB 3 years ago then they obviously misjudged price sensitivity to a beautiful sounding but ultimately not very smart speaker. There aren't that many people seeking out high quality audio in a cool beam forming acoustically neutral mesh or (probably) a beautiful but heavy pair of wireless headphones with great sound.
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I bought 4 of them for 199 in December glad I did. They are worth 199.00 sound quality and ease of use is outstanding. Not sure 299.00 is worth it……
Judging from the replies to this thread, most people don't want to pay for good sound. Apple heard it, so I guess sadly the 'upgrade' path is HomePod Mini. It's not what you and I wanted, but hey, that's the cost of being in the minority.
Certainly not meant to upset you. Sorry about that. But to me at least, it makes no difference if Apple hadn't discontinue it now. I can still enjoy the sound, for a few years at least, until it won't work with Airplay 5 probably.
you are right. I kinda get why people are pissed, but in reality this is unlikely to make any material difference to how anyone uses their HomePods for a while. The devices will be supported with security updates for a long time and aren’t going to suddenly stop working.
Definitely buy it. I'm telling you in stereo pair these things give my Sonos Arc, Sonos One Pair, and Sub a run for their money seriously. I'm very sad that Apple is ending this product.
New for $150 where?And this is why I bought another HomePod when I learned Apple was discontinuing them. While I own 3 Mini's and the sound is "good", the HomePod - Big, sounds way better. I own 3 of them as well. I wanted to enjoy better sounds/bass and can get one new for $150 - why not!
I anticipate Apple making a new version at some point but it's not going to have the same quality as previous. It's going to be a cheaper version. Will it be newer and better? Probably. Still cheaper though.
I don't need line in, I use Apple Music, I am happy with Siri and I can have music in every corner of my home. Where Apple made the mistake, $399 for speaker. $199 out of the gate would have changed the game.
People who complain about the price really just don't understand just how good the HomePod is. At $349 it was a lot of money, yes. Also, 100% worth it. I bought two of them at $349, and two of them at $199. on sale. In both cases no regrets. Stereo pair is sublime. Sound quality is truly excellent.
Probably a dumb question but you can pair the HomePod original with a HomePod Mini correct? Does anyone have any experience with the two paired in stereo ?
Not a dumb question. Unfortunately it isn't possible to pair a OG HP with a HPM.
It makes perfect sense actually. It would be a subpar experience. The HomePod Mini doesn’t sound anywhere near as good as a HomePod.
Poor decision by Apple to discontinue it. There's a huge drop off in audio quality with HP mini, and at $99 it's too expensive for home automation. Apple should just drop the entire HP line and license Siri to speaker manufacturers.
