The new second-generation HomePod appears to have a significant backlog of pre-orders, delaying shipping dates by up to seven weeks in certain markets for Apple's latest smart speaker.
Last week, Apple announced a new HomePod with a slightly updated design, an S7 chip for faster performance and "more advanced" computational audio, a larger backlit touch surface, and other new features. Pre-orders for the new HomePod have been open for less than a week since its announcement on Tuesday, January 18.
In the United States, the midnight HomePod is estimated to ship in three to four weeks, much later than the HomePod's launch date of Friday, February 3. The white HomePod, however, is listed as having no delay. In the United Kingdom, the midnight HomePod faces a five- to six-week delay in shipping. In other markets, such as Germany, both colors of the new HomePod face more than a month delay.
The updated HomePod comes approximately two years after Apple discontinued the original smart speaker. The original HomePod was not the market success Apple was hoping for due to several factors, including the speaker's $349 price at launch and limited features. Apple's new HomePod is its latest attempt to grow its presence in the smart home market, which Google and Amazon have dominated for several years.
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AirDrop
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iOS 26.2...
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While the report said that Apple is unlikely to name a new CEO before its next earnings report in late January, it went on to ...
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We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
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Starting this Wednesday, November 19, the feature will be available to residents of Illinois.
The announcement confirmed that the...
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iPhone Pocket is available to order on Apple's online store starting today, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. However, it is already completely sold out in the United...
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Most of Apple's Macs are slated to get M5 chips across 2026, and there's a possibility we'll even see the first M6 chips toward the end of the year. Updates are planned for everything from the MacBook Air to the Mac Studio.
MacBook Air (Early 2026)
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Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account.
In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...
Very strong demand for the HomePod, a product that already failed in its previous (and better) reincarnation? Unlikely.
Apple knows what they are doing... You are ignoring other factors.
Sure, the original 'failed' if you want to see it that way - back then it was competing with a plethora of Amazon and Google lower priced more functional devices and of course it was not going to succeed - even the sound quality was not enough. Im not making excuses for them, it was an ill-judged under-utilised, over-priced device at the time.
Apple then tested the waters with the much lower priced mini, and it began to sell in greater numbers - far outpacing that of the main HomePod.... meanwhile slowly (arguably not that successfully) increasing the siri and multi room capabilities. The bigger HomePod was simply not worth making and selling anymore back then.
Now, absence makes the heart grow fonder... and 2 years later having flooded the market with the cheaper mini... many people will have the appetite to 'upgrade' from the mini to the big HomePod. Especially in the living room where a pair of minis, although sounding much better than they deserve to as a stereo pair, are still not suitable for that bigger room....
In its absence, apple have stoked demand... and that seems to be borne out through this current supply 'shortage'
That said.. the 'shortage' might well just be marketing guff and the harder it is to come by... the more people seems to want it (just ask those youtube goons who marketed the soft drink that keeps selling out!).
The first gen was a commercial failure. Don’t see how this one wouldn’t be, seeing as it’s more or less the same product, years later.
I have to say, this Homepod (to me) is one of the strangest product releases Apple have ever done, since I became a follower back in 2004.
its reality not strange.
If you have ever dabbled in whole-house multi-room music it's a real boon. Its great to have music simultaneously playing in multiple rooms.
Amazon have been doing this for years, so have google, so have sonos... so apple getting in on the act isnt strange in the slightest. And the fact there are now devices to choose from is only a good thing.
