Apple's unpopular HomePod may finally be appealing for the masses at $200
It's safe to say Apple didn't exactly hit its smart speaker debut out of the ballpark, but perhaps the most curious thing about the early 2018-released HomePod is the lack of a sequel (or spin-off of any sort) despite the incredible rise in mainstream popularity of this particular category of consumer tech products.
The Cupertino-based tech giant has put up no fight whatsoever in a global market completely dominated by Amazon, but for what it's worth, you can still buy Apple's first (and so far only) smart speaker... if you absolutely want to do that. Originally released at an arguably excessive $350 recommended price, the HomePod received a somewhat surprising official discount of 50 bucks almost a year ago.
Of course, a number of authorized third-party retailers and unauthorized but trustworthy eBay vendors constantly undercut Apple's permanent "deal", with the latest special offer essentially being a repeat of the absolute best bargain to date. Best Buy is once again charging $199.99 instead of $299.99 for brand-new, unused, unopened, and undamaged HomePod units in your choice of space gray and white hues, a reduced price that you can't even beat on eBay at the time of this writing.
Check out the deal here
While a few of the biggest flaws highlighted in our in-depth review back in 2018 have gone unchanged, Apple did roll out a number of important software features in the last few months. Together with this hot new price cut, these almost make the HomePod feel like a solid alternative for Amazon's premium Echo Studio, which just so happens to normally cost two Benjamins.
After all, the audio quality and power of Apple's smart speaker are still pretty much unrivaled. Too bad Siri has nothing on Alexa or Google Assistant in terms of versatility or even... general knowledge about stuff. By the way, in case you're wondering, Apple continues to sell certified refurbished HomePod units for $259 apiece. That's just... dumb.
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