Vratislav Holub Apple fans have been talking about the return of the traditional large HomePod for a long time. Apparently, the giant should learn from its mistakes and finally bring to the market a device that will be able to stand up to its competition. The story of the first generation HomePod did not end happily, on the contrary. It was launched on the market in 2018, but in 2021 Apple had to cut it completely. In short, the device was not sold. HomePod failed to build its position in the smart speaker market and completely failed in comparison to the competition, which at the time already offered not only a significantly wider range, but above all also cheaper.
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Flying around the world with Apple After all, this is exactly why some Apple fans are quite surprised that Apple is preparing for a comeback, especially after the latest fiasco. At the same time, we must not forget to mention one relatively important thing. Meanwhile, in 2020, Apple introduced the HomePod mini device – a smart home speaker with Siri in a significantly smaller size and lower price – which has finally managed to win the favor of users. So does it make sense to go back to the original big HomePod? According to the verified reporter from Bloomberg, Mark Gurman, we will see a successor very soon. In this regard, a rather fundamental question is presented. Is Apple heading in the right direction?
HomePod (2018)
HomePod 2: The right move or a futile attempt?
So let's shed some light on the question mentioned above, or rather on whether a large HomePod makes sense at all. As we already mentioned in the introduction, the first generation completely failed mainly because of its high price. That's why there wasn't that much interest in the device - those who wanted a smart speaker were able to buy it from the competition significantly cheaper, or from 2020, the HomePod mini is also offered, which is really great in terms of price/performance. If Apple wants to finally succeed with the new model, it will have to take this fact into account and literally learn from the previous experience. If the new HomePod will again be as expensive as before, then the giant will practically sign its ortel itself.
Today, the market for smart speakers is also a bit more widespread. If Apple really wants to fulfill its ambitions, it will have to act accordingly. Even so, everything definitely has potential. We would still find a number of fans who prefer a larger and more powerful speaker. And it's precisely those that lack something like the traditional HomePod. According to information from Mark Gurman, the Cupertino giant is fully aware of this. That is why the new generation should not only come with a significantly more favorable price tag, but at the same time it should receive a more powerful Apple S8 chipset (from the Apple Watch Series 8) and improved touch control via the top panel. So the potential is definitely there. Now it's up to Apple how they seize this opportunity and whether they can truly learn from their own mistakes. The new HomePod could end up being quite a popular product.
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The HomePod certainly wasn't, and still isn't, a flop. There is still a lot of interest in it, it does not lag behind in terms of functionality and it holds an incredibly high price (even as a second-hand item). It is a great pity that he did not get to us through the official way. Unfortunately, it wasn't profitable enough for Apple and that buried it. Although it theoretically has some kind of competition, in practice I have not encountered it anywhere, and I would not be able to find a suitable replacement for the HomePod. Even after these few years, it's still a great device.