Apple discontinues its HomePod smart speaker
Apple has discontinued the original HomePod smart speaker after four years, and says it continues to produce and focus on the HomePod mini, which was introduced last year.
The larger HomePod provided better sound space, but the HomePod mini was highly acclaimed.
The HomePod mini clearly fulfills many of the tasks that were assigned to the larger version, as the audio is extremely powerful especially for size and provides access to Apple's Siri voice assistant.
The original HomePod was an acoustic engineering feat that Apple spent more than five years developing.
To accomplish its development, the team at Apple created a full development center near its Cupertino headquarters, with a world-class development environment with dozens of anechoic chambers, including one of the largest anechoic rooms outside of academic use in the United States.
Besides testing the acoustic qualities of the subwoofer, these rooms allowed Apple to delve deeper into the calculation and mitigate the problems that typically arise from having a loud subwoofer in such a compact size.
There are smaller chambers that allow them to isolate the buzz from electronic components and make attempts to isolate and control this noise so that it does not appear in the final output.
The main issue with the amplifier was the $ 350 price tag, which was high for smart home amplifiers, especially those with built-in home assistants.
The HomePod mini, launched last year, was well received, with a remarkably loud sound at $ 100.
In a statement about the discontinuation, Apple said: The HomePod mini has been a hit since its launch last fall, providing customers with great audio, smart assistant and smart home control for just $ 100.
She added: We are focusing our efforts on the HomePod mini, and we are in the process of discontinuing the original HomePod to remain available while supplies continue through Apple's online store, Apple retail stores, and authorized Apple retailers, and Apple is providing HomePod customers with software updates, service and support through Apple Care.
And Apple appears to be betting on the HomePod mini in the future, which may indicate a desire to fill every room with good enough sound rather than focusing on the living room.
The HomePod itself has not reached the level at which it can function as a complete home theater alternative, despite being paired in multiple speaker configurations.
Research and production efforts into the larger smart home speaker are continuing in some ways with advanced audio display systems that have led to things like Spatial Audio in AirPods.
This move is not entirely surprising, as sales of the larger smart home amplifier are reported to have been lower.