Federal Judge Blocks Virginia Social Media Age Verification Law Over First Amendment Concerns 
The Pentagon strongarmed AI firms before Iran strikes – in dark news for the future of ‘ethical AI’ 
Synopsys Q2 Revenue Forecast Misses Expectations Amid China Export Curbs and AI Shift 
OpenAI Pentagon AI Contract Adds Safeguards Amid Anthropic Dispute 
Nvidia Earnings Beat Expectations as AI Demand Surges, Stock Rises on Strong Revenue Outlook 
Anthropic Refuses Pentagon Request to Remove AI Safeguards Amid Defense Contract Dispute 
Australia Targets AI Platforms With Strict Age Verification Rules 
Trump Pushes Tech Giants to Build Power Plants to Offset AI Data Center Energy Costs 
Meta Encryption Plan Sparks Child Safety Concerns Amid New Mexico Lawsuit 
Samsung and SK Hynix Shares Hit Record Highs as Nvidia Earnings Boost AI Chip Demand 
Apple to Begin Mac Mini Production in Texas Amid $600 Billion U.S. Investment Plan 
Amazon’s $50B OpenAI Investment Tied to AGI Milestone and IPO Plans 
Coupang Reports Q4 Loss After Data Breach, Revenue Misses Estimates 
Nvidia Earnings Preview: AI Chip Demand, Data Center Growth and Blackwell Shipments in Focus 
U.S. Deploys Tomahawks, B-2 Bombers, F-35 Jets and AI Tools in Operation Epic Fury Against Iran 
The production of Apple’s first full-size smart speaker, officially known as HomePod, will stop after four years. The company confirms its discontinuation while its mini version will remain in stores.
Is the first HomePod still available?
The first HomePod marked its fourth year in stores last month, but it should soon become unavailable as Apple confirmed its discontinuation over the weekend. But that does not mean Apple is out of the smart speaker market as it will continue selling the HomePod mini.
“We are discontinuing the original HomePod,” Apple confirmed in a statement to TechCrunch. “It will continue to be available while supplies last through the Apple Online Store, Apple Retail Stores, and Apple Authorized Resellers.”
As of this writing, the Space Gray variant of HomePod is already sold in its official online store for customers in the United States. But customers can still buy the smart speaker in its White color for $299, which is $50 less than the speaker’s introductory price.
The HomePod was Apple’s first full-size smart speaker with dimensions 6.8-inch high and 5.6-inch wide. The device weighs 5.5 pounds and sports seven horn-loaded tweeters, six microphones that are promised to catch far-field Siri voice commands, and support for AirPlay 2. Despite the discontinuation, Apple promised that it will still support the first HomePod with software updates and Apple Care services for eligible owners.
In the same statement, Apple reported that the HomePod mini has been a success since it launched last fall and that it will become the company’s focus in smart speaker production moving forward. The speaker, as the name suggests, comes in a much smaller build in the shape of a 4-inch sphere. It comes at a much lower price of $99 with four microphones, as well as Siri and AirPlay 2 support.
HomePod 2 rumors: Will there be a new full-size Apple speaker?
Around the same time the HomePod mini was announced last year, reports started to circulate about a rumored HomePod 2. Sources of Bloomberg claimed at the time that Apple was considering the release of its second smart speaker.
Reported early plans suggest the speaker, widely dubbed HomePod 2, will fill the gap between the first speaker and the mini. Thus, in a sense, the unannounced product was not viewed as a direct follow-up to the full-sized speaker and could be billed as a mid-range offering. The same report also made it seem that plans for the next HomePod were not final yet, and a launch in 2021 is still not clear.
Featured photo by Korie Cull on Unsplash
