HomePod Price Reduced to $299
Apple today cut the price of HomePod on its online store by $50, with the smart speaker now listed for $299, down from $349. The price drop follows recent promotional discounts at several third-party retailers across the U.S.
I wonder whether that will affect sales much. My gut feeling is that $250 would have been a lot more interesting and that there are not that many more people who would want a HomePod for $300 than for $350.
In a new entry in its Machine Learning Journal, Apple has detailed how Siri on the HomePod is designed to work in challenging usage scenarios, such as during loud music playback, when the user is far away from the HomePod, or when there are other active sound sources in a room, such as a TV or household appliances.
Previously:
- Margins on AirPods, Apple TV, and HomePod
- Conversations With AI, Featuring Brian Roemmele
- Initial HomePod Sales
Update (2019-04-05): Marco Arment:
It’s a lot like the Apple Watch: great at a few core things, mediocre for some others, and regularly fails at simple tasks.
Great for music, as long as it’s Apple Music. Great for HomeKit. Mediocre for assistant tasks. Mediocre for timers.
Siri makes — and breaks — the HomePod.
If music quality is a high priority, it’s a good option.
But if so, you’ll really want two of them in a stereo pair, which is a HUGE improvement in music quality. Budget accordingly.
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They really should make a Mini version of this at around half-price. Despite its faults and limits, it's the only internet connected speaker that is discriminate enough that I will (and have) allowed to let it live in my abode.
I’m not touching it until its sub-$200. Not when an Alexa is in that price range. $250, $300, $350 all are overpriced for me.