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# Goodbye, HomePod
- URL: https://birchtree.me/blog/goodbye-homepod/
- Published: 2021-03-13T03:20:38.000Z
- Updated: 2021-03-13T03:20:38.000Z
- Author: Matt Birchler
- Tags: homepod, #Import 2023-06-01 22:41, #Import 2025-03-29 19:29

Apple announced they are discontinuing the original HomePod, and I’m sad to see it go. I thought it was a good time to look back on the last 3 years of writing about the HomePod and see how things held up. After all, it’s not often I get to look back on my writing that covers the entire history of a product!

[Apple’s HomePod looks like a “hobby” device built for a niche, not a mainstream hit](https://birchtree.me/blog/apples-homepod-looks-like-a-hobby/)

> Apple is surely going to do a better job of marketing the HomePod than Sonos has done with their speakers, but I’m still skeptical of their ability to make people care that much about incredible sound quality.

I actually overestimated the marketing angle here. Sonos continues to be the major name in this space and HomePod never really broke through.

[2018 Holiday Season Proposal: HomePod mini](https://birchtree.me/blog/holiday-season-2018-homepod-mini/)

> Apple should introduce a new model of HomePod, the HomePod mini. They by no means need to make a device to compete directly with the $50 (and less on sale) Echo Dot and Google Home Mini), but they need to get something more affordable out there.

I continue to be amazed how close I was on this article.

[Searching for that AirPods Feeling](https://birchtree.me/blog/searching-for-that-airpods-feeling/)

> So while I like the HomePod and think it is a good product in its own right, I just don’t feel that same magic that I was hoping I would. I’m looking forward to see what other people think, but if my response is at all indicative of the average Joe, I don’t know if the HomePod will grow to the level of adoration (and by extent, sales) of AirPods.

Narrator: it didn’t.

[My review](https://birchtree.me/blog/apple-homepod-review/)

> The HomePod sounds amazing. I don’t know much about sound quality and the most expensive pair of speakers I ever owned cost $99, so this sounds way, way better than everything I had in my apartment. I did take it over to my parents’ house and compared it to a $500 Bose Soundtouch 30 and I thought it sounded better than that too (my dad disagreed, but said it was close).

And:

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/31/25312b2a-2d5b-4d01-ba92-e6755efc202c/content/images/2021/03/10B0D1FA-3A6D-4B63-B4DE-FED580621C21.jpeg)

> The above graphic is as close as I can get to succinctly stating who this is for. If you are an iOS-only user and if you subscribe to Apple Music and if you care more about audio quality than a robust digital assistant, then the HomePod is for you. That sounds a little harsh, but I think it’s accurate.

Narrator: it was.

[9 Months With HomePod](https://birchtree.me/blog/9-months-with-homepod/)

> When I set up my HomePods as a stereo pair, I was immediately in love. Some people say that the 3D sound stuff Apple is doing makes stereo unnecessary, but that’s a load of garbage. Setting up two HomePods to output in stereo is wonderful, and blew me away with the sound quality improvement.

I still feel this way. That same stereo pair is in my living room and I love it. Apple recently made it easier to keep them permanently paired with an Apple TV, and they’re great! I still wish they had an AUX port so they could work with anything for decades down the road, software updates or not.