• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Apple Drops HomePod Price to $299, Down From $349

CyberPanda

Banned
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.


Similar price reductions also appeared in other regions and territories on Thursday, with the price of a HomePod in the United Kingdom falling from £319 to £279, for instance.

Apple's expensive HomePod speaker accounted for just six percent of the U.S. smart speaker installed base through the fourth quarter of 2018, according to a February report.

Research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimates that the U.S. installed base of smart speakers reached 66 million units last quarter of 2018, suggesting HomePod sales in the country totaled around 3.96 million units since the speaker became available to order in January 2018. Apple does not disclose exact HomePod sales figures.

By comparison, the Amazon Echo and Google Home reportedly accounted for 70 percent and 24 percent of the installed base respectively, with both products proving to be popular holiday gifts.

In April 2018, well-connected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple was "mulling" a "low-cost version" of the HomePod, potentially due to shipments of the current version being "far below market expectations." A report out of China said the lower-cost HomePodcould be priced between $150 and $200 in the United States.

https://www.macrumors.com/2019/04/04/apple-cuts-homepod-price-worldwide/
 
whats the consensus on these? I find Siri of my phone is an awkward cunt when trying to understand my accent. Are weird microphones any use to people here? Is the speaker quality ok for music?
 

CyberPanda

Banned
Ta. I subscribe to Apple Music so this seems like it will be a good kitchen speaker. No real interest in the hub side of things (thermostat, blinds, lights). Hopefully after the price drop I can cop a discount code for one, it’s a lot of money for a speaker I can talk to.
Just wait for another price drop IMO.
 
Ta. I subscribe to Apple Music so this seems like it will be a good kitchen speaker. No real interest in the hub side of things (thermostat, blinds, lights). Hopefully after the price drop I can cop a discount code for one, it’s a lot of money for a speaker I can talk to.
Why not consider an Echo Plus? It's the higher end version of Amazon Echo. It's half the price of a Homepod. Alexa devices have access to Apple Music now.
 

EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
AI is on the upside and we’ll see what Apple does when Amazon makes their next move. I don’t know if a HomePod can be the center piece in my house just yet.
 
Top Bottom