The device comes and goes, no matter how popular or how loved. Sometimes a device that is longer replaced with newer models, but there are also times when they are really retired. The last is the case for the first Apple Smart speaker, many delayed homepods announced by the company will be stopped. Full-sized speaker supplies finally run out of stock but, while it can no longer be purchased from direct channels, nothing really changes for those who already have one, at least not yet.
Apple announced in March that it stopped the first smart speaker who was a siri house at home for four years. It was a little surprising at that time because it didn’t really announce the homepod 2. Instead, Apple was cleaning the market for smaller and more affordable mini homepod which was launched at the end of 2020.
At that time, Apple said that the homepod would continue to be sold when inventory survived. The inventory was reported to shrink and even run out of stock, at least in the US. Save for a few remaining pieces, the homepod might be considered completely out of stock globally, at least from the official channel. Chances are, you can still find one from the gray retailer or market.
Just because homepod has been stopped, however, does not mean that the speaker suddenly will stop working. “Stopped” is a completely different thing from “obsolete” in the Apple book. Support for the device will continue for years after last sale, and the device might even continue to work long after that until Apple said so.
The original homepod has a rather rough trip from the start, it has come late at the smart speaker party and then launches slower than scheduled. When launched, Siri’s ability was disappointed, but the smart speaker was separated from the rest with the quality of the audio. However, after the launch of the Mini Homepod last year, it seems that Apple has found sweet spots in price and features and has decided to move forward with smaller speakers, at least for now.
