HomePod New Homepod manufactured in 2017?

[Alwis]

Hi,

in December 2019 I bought a Homepod at a local Apple Store in Germany.

The serial number is PPP V R SSS CCCC. According to the information I found on this site, the V represents manufacturing of the device in the second half of 2017. But the installed software version was 12.4, which was released in 2019.

So I am woundering, if the Homepod really is 2 years old and was updated by Apple, if it is a device returned by an other customer (it did not look used) or if the information about the manufacturing year is inaccurate.

Would there be any reason to return it? Since there are no batteries in the Homepod I assume that it does not matter if it is 2 years old? Maybe the capacitors could degenerate with age?

Thanks for your help!

Alwis

 

[malcky77]

Where did you find out how you can check when a HomePod was built?

 

[Alwis]

There are several sites on the net explaining the serial number format, e.g.:

https://www.macrumors.com/2010/04/16/apple-tweaks-serial-number-format-with-new-macbook-pro/
https://beetstech.com/blog/decode-meaning-behind-apple-serial-number

The 4th and 5th digit give the year and week of manufacturing.

Is there any address where I can check the product with apple?

 

[newellj]

I had the same results at a local Best Buy in the Boston, Massachusetts area. It took forever to update the OS when I set it up, otherwise seems to be no difference vs. the newer one (I bought a pair). That may explain why they were on sale for $180, though!

 

[ICBM]

HomePod wasn’t even introduced until Feb. 9th 2018

 

[Alwis]

Meanwhile I contacted the Apple store and Apple care, as recommended by the person I spoke with at the store. Booth where very helpfull, great support experience!

They confirmed the production date as 12/2017. Apple stores would never sell products returned by an other customer, so it should indeed be a new homepod. The person at Apple Care said, that the software would be update just before the devices would be packaged.

If Apple stores the devices without packaging, that would explain the software version 12.4?!

 

[cynics]

Meanwhile I contacted the Apple store and Apple care, as recommended by the person I spoke with at the store. Booth where very helpfull, great support experience!

They confirmed the production date as 12/2017. Apple stores would never sell products returned by an other customer, so it should indeed be a new homepod. The person at Apple Care said, that the software would be update just before the devices would be packaged.

If Apple stores the devices without packaging, that would explain the software version 12.4?!

Apple will have devices built in large quantities to reduce cost (few large runs is cheaper than many small runs). Those devices are bulk prepackaged if they dont have an immediate destination so they remain new. Once it has a destination the latest version of the OS is loaded and its retail packaged and sent to a store.

AudioOS/iOS 12.4 came out around the time Apple started offering the HomePod in Germany.