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Maybe COVID is making supply chains complicated and they have a successor coming out soon, but they were forced to have a gap between products. Their wording does not imply that, but maybe they’re just not talking about future products ??♂️
— Matt Birchler (@mattbirchler) March 13, 2021
Apple’s statement really makes it sound like they’re dropping the original because people only care about the Mini in any meaningful quantity.
— Matt Birchler (@mattbirchler) March 13, 2021
My immediate reaction is to wonder how long software updates will keep coming. How long until they become inconvenient to use?
would be cool if they can add Apple TV home theater support with multiple homepod minis then https://t.co/nfPpwEJ1vw
— Tatsuhiko Miyagawa (@miyagawa) March 13, 2021
Apple’s rep is coming in late to a market but doing so with a product that transforms it. I’m not sure what market Apple was going for – it didn’t have the AI chops for ambient computing nor the ecosystem for immersive home audio.
— Dieter Bohn (@backlon) March 13, 2021
Sounded nice, though
https://t.co/7Aphm6tEt2
The original HomePod was an instance of zigging when the rest of the industry was zagging, and I guess it didn’t work long-term.
— Harry McCracken (@harrymccracken) March 13, 2021
(Think they’ll rename the Mini or come out with other variants?) https://t.co/Z8Tu81gbbw
— nilay patel (@reckless) March 13, 2021
HomePod was a rare hardware flop for Apple, and now it’s focused on the smaller version. Both still need Spotify support and much more https://t.co/lxANugI8qF
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) March 13, 2021
in the last 6 months, two of the large, high priced smart speakers on the market (Google Home Max & Apple HomePod) have been discontinued, leaving just the Echo Studio. (there are some smaller players like Marshall too)
— dan seifert (@dcseifert) March 13, 2021
Sonos should put some voice assistant mics on the Five ASAP
Apple is killing the things I love and I’m getting really irritated, sorry about that, haha. I’ll get over it.
— Michael Kukielka ? (@DetroitBORG) March 13, 2021
“Siri, remind me to bury the HomePod in the backyard.” https://t.co/rMwmI7uiIA
— Joanna Stern (@JoannaStern) March 13, 2021
Apple waited until late Friday night to announce that they're killing their premium home speaker, the HomePod.https://t.co/S5iLzZwOBO
— Stefan Constantine (@WhatTheBit) March 13, 2021
I want a HomePod but with an iPad glued to it.
— Quinn Nelson (@SnazzyQ) March 12, 2021
iMac Pro discontinued last Friday.
— Joe Rossignol (@rsgnl) March 13, 2021
HomePod discontinued this Friday.
What will be discontinued next Friday?
And I’m one of those people! One of those products built for my use case but not for the broader world — but Apple is sometimes good at bending the world to their will. But couldn’t see it here, Amazon had beat them to the bending…
— M.G. Siegler (@mgsiegler) March 13, 2021
Now make a $50 one so it can actually compete with all the other smart speakers. https://t.co/2Bbq6Uoe1X
— Paul Haddad (@tapbot_paul) March 13, 2021
Just going to leave this here... https://t.co/PLRgLkAy23 https://t.co/D6B9dfk76i
— M.G. Siegler (@mgsiegler) March 13, 2021
If this isn't an outright admission of the HomePod's failure, I don't know what is. https://t.co/JSzyKWnzTf
— Dan Masters – OhMDee.com (@OhMDee) March 13, 2021
I have several stereo pairs connected to Apple TVs which I REALLY like, again super niche, but nonetheless Apple is stepping away from some premium in-home features for basically an overpriced echo dot.
— Michael Kukielka ? (@DetroitBORG) March 13, 2021
The HomePod mini’s only saving grace is its price, which has me interested in picking up a few — if it’s ever made available here —, but I don’t expect the user experience to be any better
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) March 13, 2021
LOL totally. Gonna be super weird when the iPhone mini is all Apple sells in a couple years because it’s the best phone and all y’all are haters who don’t get it. https://t.co/SfLFESyNAW
— Quinn Nelson (@SnazzyQ) March 13, 2021
☹️ #Apple #watercooler pic.twitter.com/MKDncS56Rd
— 9to5Mac.com (@9to5mac) March 13, 2021
They’ve also burned so much goodwill with Siri. Amazon is not spending half its time being like “No, Alexa is good now”
— nilay patel (@reckless) March 13, 2021
Next Apple product to be discontinued…iPad mini?
— Michael Kukielka ? (@DetroitBORG) March 13, 2021
Farewell, original HomePod: https://t.co/m55grFuBwV
— Geoffrey A. Fowler (@geoffreyfowler) March 13, 2021
Apple never really seemed to understand that the primary purpose of a smart speaker isn’t high-end audio
For sure. Also imagine if Apple had taken advantage of their legit first-mover advantage with Siri and it was leaps and bounds ahead of the others, the HomePod may have actually been a killer device!
— M.G. Siegler (@mgsiegler) March 13, 2021
Apple discontinues original HomePod, will focus on mini
— Brenden Mulligan ?? (@mulligan) March 13, 2021
[... until it discontinues mini after acquiring @Sonos] https://t.co/em3oLYHRvQ
It’s so weird that there’s now just a mini version of a thing that doesn’t exist... pic.twitter.com/E7Kfdlch8L
— Luke Miani (@LukeMiani) March 13, 2021
Mark Gurman/Debby Wu in Oct 2020: "Apple has also internally weighed a new HomePod that sits in size, price, and sound quality between the original $299 HomePod and the $99 HomePod mini. It's unclear if Apple will ultimately launch that product."
— Joe Rossignol (@rsgnl) March 13, 2021
Seems unlikely now? https://t.co/Qm1eA2KKhO
I feel like Apple would have waited until this mid-range HomePod was introduced to "quietly" discontinue the full-size HomePod, as discontinuing a product without an immediate replacement never looks super great. (Hence why this is a Friday night news dump.)
— Joe Rossignol (@rsgnl) March 13, 2021
was too expensive
— Sam Sheffer (@samsheffer) March 13, 2021
mini for $99 makes a lot more sense than $349 for the original
let’s see if if apple does airpods... mini (smaller, less expensive version of airpods max — $549 is insane) https://t.co/tE9UI2rQuR
Not surprised. HomePod always seemed flawed. Over-engineered smart speaker you really need two of to fill the room properly, appealing to a market whose money would be better off going into a more flexible ecosystem like Sonos.
— Adam Demasi (@hbkirb) March 13, 2021
HomePod mini is the clear path forward for Apple. https://t.co/zyzufoYIgo
Pretty atypical exit from the premium priced hardware category for Apple.
— Matthew Ball (OOO) (@ballmatthew) March 13, 2021
Apple discontinues original $349 HomePod smart speaker, to focus on $99 HomePod Mini https://t.co/PnmEjzWscw
…iPod Touch?
— Michael Kukielka ? (@DetroitBORG) March 13, 2021
Right now Apple is saying it's because they're focused on the HomePod mini. I think it's to make room for a home theater audio product. Maybe a soundbar with HomePod-quality sound and an Apple TV built in.
— Mikah Sargent (@mikahsargent) March 13, 2021
Apple discontinues $299 original (larger) HomePod. Will focus on $99 HomePod mini.
— Neil Cybart (@neilcybart) March 13, 2021
Initial reaction: Wow. Apple betting market for premium sound (music) in home will remain niche.
Second reaction: Apple's first AR/VR headset must not be too far away. https://t.co/kPwUD3g1WA
Apple has axed the original HomePod smart speaker. The Mini will live on. https://t.co/tkmAdH4NCq
— Stephen Shankland (@stshank) March 13, 2021
so there's going to be a product in Apple's lineup with "mini" in its name but no bigger version for it to be mini against once the original HomePod sells out. odd.
— dan seifert (@dcseifert) March 13, 2021
I wonder how long that will lasthttps://t.co/aOnJEevken
Winning answer from @Apple_Tomorrow pic.twitter.com/2hcFF556I6
— Joe Rossignol (@rsgnl) March 13, 2021
How it started: How it’s going: pic.twitter.com/baJljZYOSd
— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) March 13, 2021
Well here’s a Friday night news dump https://t.co/2KVGy4HAvM
— Brad Sams (@bdsams) March 13, 2021
RIP. Now make a new one with U1 for spatial surround theater pls.
— Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie) March 13, 2021
??? https://t.co/mxH7uJoxlT
happens with the iPod touch every cycle; replace the hardware, then drop it from the next OS. They’d need a new Apple TV before June to justify that though
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) March 13, 2021
Allow myself to quote my 2017 self… pic.twitter.com/yD2UzxCxZx
— M.G. Siegler (@mgsiegler) March 13, 2021
2017 was a cursed year. AirPower, iMac Pro, and HomePod were discontinued by Apple.
— Filipe Espósito (@filipeesposito) March 13, 2021
I love my original HomePods but having used the mini, this move makes sense. It also feels a lot like clearing the decks of bad news in advance of an imminent event.
— John Voorhees (@johnvoorhees) March 13, 2021
Apple Has Discontinued the Original HomePod https://t.co/12rSlkgFQP pic.twitter.com/qbl51l2D6H
opening Twitter & seeing the HomePod news pic.twitter.com/5nrTsF7ZYL
— Jonathan Morrison ??♂️ (@tldtoday) March 13, 2021
Poor decision. Minis can’t do surround sound for TVs. Even pairing them together isn’t a HomePod equivalent. Apple is basically ceding home audio to Sonos. Sad. https://t.co/qG9c60ItR1
— John Wilson (@JohnWilson) March 13, 2021
I was busy setting up my HomePod stereo pair & getting ready for a night of Quibi! What did I miss? pic.twitter.com/Uaa8ZKyPa1
— Basic Apple Guy (@BasicAppleGuy) March 13, 2021
How many years until HomePod can no longer access Apple’s servers and since it has no I/O will become just a useless tube of heft? Any guesses?
— Quinn Nelson (@SnazzyQ) March 13, 2021
I wonder if they'll add home theater audio support to the mini or if they're going to announce something else (are they finally making the soundbar I've been asking for?), because I started to enjoy my HomePod again after enabling home theater audio.https://t.co/Pn61CIkpcq
— Mikah Sargent (@mikahsargent) March 13, 2021
#Apple #HomePod pic.twitter.com/DgNtVT25Jl
— ᴺᴼᵀ Jony Ive (@JonyIveParody) March 13, 2021
RIP to the most overpriced Apple product ever. https://t.co/82AZ0874xh
— Christina Warren (@film_girl) March 13, 2021
Part of my frustration is that I use HomePod extensively for my HomeKit setup and sound system with stereo pairs everywhere. With Apple leaving that (admitedly niche) market, I’m kinda stuck assuming much of that will be abandoned, mini is not really an audio product.
— Michael Kukielka ? (@DetroitBORG) March 13, 2021
I wish I had good things to say on the eve of the HomePod’s death, but it was just never a great product. I was never happy with the audio quality of a standalone unit, and Siri+HomeKit is incredibly inconsistent, and nowhere near as fun as a voice assistant as Google’s/Amazon’s
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) March 13, 2021
Thanks @Apple for discontinuing the HomePod but keeping this relic around for sale: pic.twitter.com/wR1soH8GHb
— ᴺᴼᵀ Jony Ive (@JonyIveParody) March 13, 2021
This thing is great but not mass market. The volume is in the mini. https://t.co/rNrZKgtl7v
— Ben Bajarin (@BenBajarin) March 13, 2021
I expect the original HomePod to be dropped like a stone from future OS updates — it’s saddled with a CPU no longer supported by mainline iOS (they moved it to a tvOS core recently, just to stay afloat), and the HomePod mini is built on Apple Watch chips
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) March 13, 2021
Also, HomePod mini discontinued ~2023? I'm afraid Apple is simply too late to the market here – cheaper, more diverse options from the competition, available *everywhere*, in multiple languages, with smarter assistants.
— Federico Viticci (@viticci) March 13, 2021
We'll see. Happy to be proven wrong!
Apple should buy Sonos https://t.co/Vz8lyelOXE
— Daman Rangoola (@damanr) March 13, 2021
Want to know why the HomePod failed?
— ⌗ChrisMessina (@chrismessina) March 13, 2021
Because it reminds you how financially irresponsible you are *at home*.
Whereas the iPhone and AirPods let you show off how wealthy you are, *out in the world*.#SexTurdThatFucksYourselfhttps://t.co/5jUPNdXWdZ
Apple HomePod No More - https://t.co/ArxPDbshNL #AI #DigitalTransformation CC:@TamaraMcCleary https://t.co/1Oj5WU6ft4
— ????????????４??? (@digital_trans4m) March 13, 2021
This happened. I'm not sure whether to praise Apple for realizing its mistake and taking action or deride it for so many poor decisions. @voicebotai#apple #HomePod @chrismessinahttps://t.co/FlDZcRT1qv
— Bret Kinsella (Mondays on Clubhouse 3pm EST) (@bretkinsella) March 13, 2021
The HomePod may be gone, but the HomePod mini lives on #HomePod https://t.co/wqCg4y9A6m
— iMore (@iMore) March 13, 2021
이제 애플의 라인업에 HomePod mini만 남고 오리지널 HomePod는 사라지는군요. 그래도 당분한 남아있는 물량은 계속 판매한다고 하고, 소프트웨어 업데이트도 앞으로 계속 지원한다니 다행입니다.https://t.co/RhrshFbquZ
— YoonSeok Choi (@Early_Adapter) March 13, 2021