The price of the HomePod put it squarely in competition with more premium options like the Bose Speaker 500, but this was fair seeing as how Apple had chosen to focus on audio quality even with Siri built into the speaker.
Launched in 2018, Apple has now announced that the HomePod smart speaker will be discontinued in India. Instead, the company will now focus on the HomePod mini.
The HomePod mini was launched just recently, in 2020, and according to Apple has been a hit. The original HomePod while having better sound, wasn’t received well in India especially with the cheaper competition from Google and Amazon.
“HomePod mini has been a hit since its debut last fall, offering customers amazing sound, an intelligent assistant, and smart home control all for just Rs 9,900,” the company said in a statement.
“We are discontinuing the original HomePod, it will continue to be available while supplies last through the Apple Online Store, Apple Retail Stores, and Apple Authorized Resellers. Apple will provide HomePod customers with software updates and service and support through AppleCare,” the company said in a statement.
The price of the HomePod put it squarely in competition with more premium options like the Bose Speaker 500, but this was fair seeing as how Apple had chosen to focus on audio quality even with Siri built into the speaker.
Apple says that the HomePod will continue to be sold for as long as stocks last. Existing customers, too, will continue to receive updates and support from Apple.
The HomePod mini on the other hand is available at a price of Rs 9,900 in two colour options: White and Space Grey. It is powered by an Apple S5 chipset, gets Bluetooth 5.0 and Wifi connectivity and has room sensing technology to direct sound in the right directions.
The mini also gets a new intercom feature allowing you to converse with people in other parts of the house if there are multiple speakers.