In a surprise Friday night information dump, Apple has actually killed the initial HomePod, noting an ignominious end to the pricey Siri-powered speaker that battled to discover a target market. Like the iMac Pro, which was discontinued a week ago, the audio speaker is available “while materials last”.
Apple revealed HomePod at WWDC in June 2017 with much fanfare and also an extremely high cost. Referred to as “an innovation speaker” with “personalized Apple-engineered audio innovation”, HomePod was introduced as a high-end audiophile item with spatial recognition for room-filling noise. Nevertheless, with an initial price tag of $349, a delayed rollout that missed the holiday shopping season, as well as an odd issue that left rings on some surface areas, HomePod had not been the success Apple desired it to be.