(upbeat music)
- I love the Apple HomePod.
You may have heard me say this in the past
but I wanted to reiterate that just in case you didn't
or maybe you're new here,
and I'm not talking about the HomePod mini,
although, as you may have seen
in my recent HomePod mini review video,
I do like that product as well,
but the original full-sized HomePod
is my favorite smart speaker of all time.
The work that went into creating it
was then used to create AirPods,
AirPods Pro, the incredible AirPods Max,
the speakers in the latest 16 inch MacBook Pro
and of course, the aforementioned HomePod mini,
and that's why I was so disappointed
when Apple announced late last week
that they were discontinuing the OG HomePod
in order to focus on the HomePod mini.
No, yes, the HomePod mini is three times cheaper
but it's also several times smaller
and isn't as capable in a few aspects,
the biggest one being sound quality.
I have three HomePod mini's here
as well as 10 full-sized HomePods throughout my home,
six of them in stereo pair mode
and the sound is just incredible.
Hit that Like button, if you agree.
I know I can't be the only one that feels this way,
even if the product obviously didn't meet sales targets
that Apple had hoped for.
Oh, and by the way, I have several tech giveaways
for followers over on my Amazon page.
I will leave a link in the description below
just click over and hit Follow to enter.
I'm giving away a ton of cool brand new tech.
Okay, so, where do we go from here?
Should you just ignore the original HomePod
or does it make sense to pick one up on clearance
if you can find them at your local Best Buy or online
and in fact, I'll leave a link in the description as well
to retailers who are still offering the HomePod.
Well, as you saw in the title of this video
Apple killed the HomePod, but not really, at least not yet.
Let me explain, when Apple discontinues a product,
it isn't just dead that day.
One example that we see just about every year is the iPhone.
Apple will stop selling a previous generation model
from a couple of years ago
and then they'll move last year's model
down in the lineup to make room for the new one.
So the most recent example of this,
is going to be the iPhone XS lineup.
When the iPhone 12 was introduced
the iPhone 11 went down to the mid-tier
and then the iPhone XS was completely discontinued.
Now several months later, what if you own an iPhone XS
and it starts acting up, you can still bring that,
into an Apple store and get it serviced or even replaced
even though it's been discontinued completely
as of the end of 2020.
You see Apple has a couple of additional statuses
for products that they no longer make.
So first there's discontinued,
then after about five years it goes
from discontinued to vintage
and after seven years, it goes from vintage to obsolete.
And it's at that obsolete point where products
will no longer even be serviceable
by Apple under any circumstance.
So taking this over to the HomePod,
if you have one, it isn't just gonna stop working
because Apple stopped selling them.
If you wanna buy them, you can.
and if you find a great price
then you should take advantage of it
knowing that Apple will support the product
for several more years.
Apple has a policy of providing software updates
to the products it discontinues.
And again going back to the iPhone and even the Mac
you'll see them get software updates
for five to seven years after they first go on sale.
And, since a lot of what the HomePod does
is tied to the cloud,
when you ask it to play Apple music or a podcast
it's just pulling from an internet feed
and it'll continue to be able to do that as long
as it can connect to your Wi-Fi network.
Now, if you have trouble with it
before it hits the obsolete stage in 2028,
you'll be able to get it fixed or replaced by Apple.
And actually, Apple specifically says that,
for all of its products, you can obtain service and parts
for five years from when Apple last distributed the product
for sale at a minimum.
And in some cases where service or parts are required by law
to be offered for a longer period,
this can stretch the time to seven years
after its last sale.
So if you pick up a HomePod today, you can feel confident
that it'll be supported for years to come,
that includes the free tech support for the first year
which you can extend with AppleCare if you so choose
along with software updates.
Now, let me know, do you to plan to pick up a HomePod
now that Apple has discontinued them,
are you more focused on the HomePod mini like they are?
Do you have original HomePods
or do you use a completely different
smart home speaker altogether?
Let me know in the Comments below
and I'll meet you there for further discussion.
As I mentioned, I have 10 full-sized HomePods here
and I feel like I am pretty much good.
I can't think of any reason to buy
more of them even on clearance,
but if you haven't used one
they are fantastic speakers again,
especially if you put them in the stereo pairing mode.
All right guys, I'm out of here.
Thanks for watching as always.
I appreciate your support.
I am Andru Edwards and I will catch you in the next video.