FAQ: Should I Buy a HomePod mini? Is Now a Good or Bad Time to Order One?

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Rest in peace, HomePod. You’ll always be remembered as Apple’s brazen attempt to get into the smart speaker market. The HomePod first launched back in 2018 and was built for amazing sound quality, Siri integration for our homes, among other capabilities to make our homes smarter and future-proof. On paper, the HomePod was bound to be a success, like most Apple products. In reality, though, Apple didn’t stand a chance against its competition. Now, after a little over three years, the HomePod has been officially discontinued. But what does that mean for HomePod owners? And should newcomers buy a HomePod mini instead?

Apple Officially Ditched the HomePod

This year, on March 12, Apple officially discontinued the HomePod to focus on the HomePod mini instead. Although Apple didn’t give us many explanations as to why this happened, we have a few speculations about it.

First, the smart speaker market was a rough place. Despite the decent sales the HomePod accumulated, Apple’s competitors, Amazon and Google, were still way ahead on the market – and that’s mostly because of the HomePod’s price.

The HomePod started at $349, which made it one of the most expensive smart speakers in the market. Currently, the price for a HomePod is $299, which is still too high for most people.

For comparison, you can get an Amazon Echo Dot for a low as $40, and you’ll get the same smart assistance, albeit with worse sound quality. Still, it’s one of the best tech gifts under $50 you can get.

Enter the HomePod mini – Smaller and Better Than Ever

Apple reinvented its strategy just last year with the introduction of the HomePod mini. This tinier, more affordable device was more competitive with other smart speakers in the market, and it’s actually high-quality.

Reviews showed the HomePod mini to be a great success, with fantastic sound quality and the ease of use you know and love from Apple products. The timing couldn’t have been better, too, since most of us were staying at home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

For just $99, you’d get everything that’s great about the HomePod, plus some newer technology the original HomePod couldn’t compete with.

It was such a good deal Apple itself confirmed the HomePod mini was a hit since its debut. Not only that, but smart speaker sales are expected to rise to 163 million this year with the help of the HomePod mini, hence why the company decided to focus only on the newer, smaller smart speaker.

Should You Get a HomePod mini Right Now?

Even though the HomePod mini looks like a great new product, so did the original HomePod a few years back. This raises the question, should you get the HomePod mini right now?

If you were thinking of buying a HomePod mini and you really want one right now, more power to you – the HomePod mini will work great with your other Apple devices, and, for the price of the HomePod, you can buy three HomePod minis instead. That’s more than enough to turn your house into a smart home.

Plus, the amazing speakers and the smart features make the HomePod mini a great tool for your home. There are many things you can do with the HomePod mini that other devices just won’t do.

However, Apple has said the company will focus only on the HomePod mini, but we don’t know exactly what that means and what’s going to happen in the next few months. So if you’re still unsure and you want to be more cautious, I’d suggest you wait until we see what Apple has in store for us.

Let’s just hope Apple has learned from its past mistakes with the original HomePod, and the company continues to develop the powerful, but affordable, smart home ecosystem we all want.

What About Current HomePod Users?

You don’t have to worry about your original HomePod becoming obsolete for the time being. Apple confirmed that they will keep supporting the original HomePod with software updates and technical support through Apple Care. You can still use and enjoy your HomePod for years to come; just know that, like Apple said, the company won’t focus on the original HomePod in the future – so expect some newer features won’t be supported on the original model.

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