The HomePod mini next to the original HomePod.
Chris Monroe / CNET
Apple said on Friday that it cut its original HomePod and will turn its attention to the smaller version of its smart home assistant, the HomePod Mini.
“We are discontinuing the original HomePod, it will remain available as long as supplies last at the Apple Online Store, Apple Retail Stores and Apple Authorized Resellers,” Apple said in a statement previously released by TechCrunch. “We are focusing our efforts on the HomePod mini.”
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Apple will continue to provide existing HomePods with software updates and support through Apple Care, the company said.
THE HomePod Mini was released in November last year, costing $ 99 compared to the original $ 300 HomePod. When it was released in 2018, CNET reviewer Megan Wollerton praised its “stellar” sound, but said it does not offer so many features as competing speakers with Amazon Alexa technology and Google Assistant. “If you and everyone else you live with have an Apple device and you are convinced you have an Apple smart home, it’s worth taking a look at HomePod,” she wrote at the time.
The HomePod Mini received equally strong praise from CNET’s critic, Molly Price, for its sound when it launched in 2020, with a note that the lower price made it much more attractive. “The HomePod Mini is at the same level as Apple wants with the offerings from Google and Amazon, and I would recommend it to anyone invested in the Apple universe,” she wrote.