Apple has removed all references to the original, full-sized HomePod from its website, months after officially discontinuing the smart speaker that struggled to reach mainstream adoption.
The removal of references to the original HomePod came as a result of brand new changes to Apple's website. With the new changes, Apple now only highlights the HomePod mini, which now comes in brand new colors.
Apple announced HomePod in 2018 as its first major home-centric product, focused around delivering high-quality audio combined with the integration into services, such as Apple Music and Siri.
Priced at $349 at launch and eventually decreased to $299, Apple struggled to market the HomePod in a way appealing to the masses, yielding lower sales than the company was likely aiming for. Additionally, Siri, which powers the HomePod experience, continues to grapple with catching up to the capabilities of Google's smart assistant and Amazon's Alexa.
Apple followed up the full-sized HomePod with the HomePod mini last year, and today added new colors for the smaller speaker. The HomePod mini features a significantly smaller design than the original HomePod, but continues to feature the same Siri experience, powered by Apple Music and third-party services. Unlike the original HomePod selling for $299, the HomePod mini is priced at $99. The HomePod mini recently became available in more countries, including Austria, Ireland, and New Zealand.
Apple today announced it will be permanently closing three retail stores in the U.S. in June, including Apple Trumbull in Trumbull, Connecticut, Apple North County in Escondido, California, and Apple Towson Town Center in Towson, Maryland.
Apple Towson Town Center in Maryland
Apple issued the following statement to MacRumors:At Apple, we are constantly striving to deliver exceptional service...
Wednesday April 8, 2026 7:17 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple has released a minor iOS 26.4.1 update for the iPhone 11 and newer. While the release notes for the update only mention unspecified "bug fixes," we have since learned about two specific changes that are included in it.
First, 9to5Mac spotted an Apple Developer Forums thread suggesting that iOS 26.4.1 fixes an iOS 26.4 bug that affected iCloud syncing in some apps.
Second, an...
As we wait for WWDC to kick off next Monday, Apple today announced the winners of its annual Apple Design Awards, recognizing apps and games for their innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement.
The 2025 Apple Design Award winners are listed below, with one app and one game selected per category:
Delight and Fun - CapWords (App) and Balatro (Game)
Innovation - Play (App) and PBJ -...
Thursday March 26, 2026 9:30 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
On a live Q&A call today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple is planning to release a new full-sized HomePod alongside new HomePod mini and Apple TV models.
Gurman reiterated that updates to all three products are on hold until Apple releases its more personalized version of Siri later this year. The revamped assistant is expected to debut in iOS 27, which will be available in beta starting...
Alongside iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, and macOS Tahoe 26.4, Apple has released new HomePod 26.4 software for the HomePod and the HomePod mini. The update comes a little over a month after Apple released HomePod Software 26.3.
According to Apple's release notes, HomePod Software 26.4 includes performance and stability improvements.
HomePod software is installed...
Apple considered launching a HomePod with a camera and additional sensors years before the upcoming "HomePad" device, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
In a detailed profile of Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus, Gurman revealed that Apple considered adding a camera and a more advanced array of sensors to the original HomePod, which was announced in 2017. Ternus apparently...
R.I.P. I have four of the original HPs and one Mini. The sound quality from the originals is amazing for their size. The Mini pales in comparison (and yes I know it's less expensive). The originals were perfect for an office or bedroom.
I wonder what Apple will come up with (if anything) to replace the HomePod. The Mini is okay, but even inexpensive portable speakers outperform it audio-quality wise. My hope is they discontinued the HomePod and are just waiting until people sorta forget about it before introducing something that's would fit between the original HomePod and the Mini.
