HomePod Turns Two, Lower-Priced Model Might Launch Later This Year

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Today marks two years since Apple released the HomePod, with deliveries to customers and in-store availability having begun February 9, 2018 in the United States, Australia, and United Kingdom.

At launch, the HomePod cost $349, but Apple reduced its price to $299 in April 2019. Apple has never disclosed HomePod sales, instead grouping the speaker under its "Wearables, Home, and Accessories" category, which set a quarterly record of $10 billion in revenue over the final three months of 2019.


However, much of the growth of Apple's wearables business has been attributed to the Apple Watch and AirPods. Many estimates place the HomePod's worldwide market share at around just five percent.

Pricing is the HomePod's biggest obstacle. The speaker's two largest competitors in the Amazon Echo and Google Home have low-priced models that frequently retail for $49 or below, whereas only one HomePod model is available for $299. That may change in the near future, however, as Bloomberg last year reported that a lower-priced HomePod with fewer tweeters may launch as early as this year:

Apple is also working on a cheaper HomePod for as early as next year. The current $300 model hasn’t sold very well. The new model is likely to have two tweeters (a type of loudspeaker), down from seven in the current HomePod.

Apple has marketed the HomePod as a premium speaker that also has Siri, as opposed to a personal assistant that also plays music. Early reviews agreed that the sound quality is excellent, but found Siri to be lackluster.


Over the last few years, Apple has been steadily making the HomePod more useful by adding features such as Handoff support, multi-user voice detection, ambient sounds, and multi-room audio. Beyond a potential lower-cost model, however, it remains to be seen when Apple will release a second-generation HomePod. With the current model set to launch in India soon, we may still be some time away.

Related Roundup: HomePod

Buyer's Guide: HomePod (Neutral)

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Upcoming Low-Cost iPhone Again Rumored to Be Priced at $399

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Apple is planning to price its rumored low-cost iPhone at $399, according to a new report out this week from Fast Company.

The site was told by an unspecified source that the ‌iPhone‌ will "likely" sell for $399, backing up a previous report from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who said in October that the ‌iPhone‌ would be available at that price point.

‌iPhone‌ SE and iPhone 8
At $399, the new low-cost ‌iPhone‌ will have the same starting price as the 2016 ‌iPhone‌ SE, which is why some people have referred to it as an "iPhone SE 2." Others have been calling it the "iPhone 9," but we don't yet know what Apple will name it.

We do know quite a bit about its specs, though, thanks to numerous leaks. The upcoming low-cost ‌iPhone‌ will be similar in design to the ‌iPhone 8‌, with thicker top and bottom bezels and a Touch ID Home button.

It will be equipped with the same A13 chip that's available in the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro, and it is said to have 3GB RAM. To keep costs low, it will use a single-lens rear camera, though it's not known if the camera will be the same as the wide-angle camera in the ‌iPhone 11‌. It could be available in 64 and 128GB size options, and colors are expected include Space Gray, Silver, and Red.

Render of low-cost ‌iPhone‌ SE from Onleaks
Production on the new low-cost ‌iPhone‌ was supposed to begin in February, but Apple's supplier factories are shut down at the current time due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in China. It's not clear if this will affect production plans and if the launch date of the ‌iPhone‌ will be delayed.

Prior rumors suggested we could see the new low-cost ‌iPhone‌ in the first half of 2020, perhaps in March. Apple often holds its first event of the year in March, and if there is indeed a March event in the works this year, we should be hearing about it soon.

The new low-cost ‌iPhone‌ is expected to be a popular ‌iPhone‌ upgrade option for those who are coming from an ‌iPhone‌ 6s or ‌iPhone‌ 7, as the design will be similar. It should also appeal to those who want an affordable ‌iPhone‌ option, those who like ‌Touch ID‌, and those who prefer smaller form factors, even though it won't be as small as the ‌iPhone‌ SE, Apple's original low-cost ‌iPhone‌.

Related Roundup: iPhone SE 2

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Foxconn's Plans to Restart Apple Device Production on Monday Were Called Off By Chinese Health Authorities

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Foxconn was originally planning to reopen its factories on Monday to begin production on Apple devices after the Lunar New Year holiday, but the company's plans were denied by Chinese Authorities due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, reports Nikkei.

Public health experts told Foxconn that its Shenzhen factories face "high risks of coronavirus infection" after on-site inspections were conducted, with the information relayed to Nikkei through multiple sources. Health officials were concerned about the poor airflow in restaurants and dormitories, and the use of central air conditioning.

"Violation of epidemic prevention and control could potentially face the death penalty," the internal meeting memo seen by the Nikkei Asian Review said.

Foxconn's Zhengzhou complex, which is its biggest iPhone factory, has also cancelled plans to resume work on Monday. Local governments are concerned the virus will spread quickly in a labor-intensive working environment, and "no one wants to bear the responsibility of restarting work at this critical moment," one of the sources said.

Foxconn on Friday cancelled flight bookings for Taiwanese employees to go back to China, and the company already told employees in Shenzhen not to return to work.

The Zhengzhou complex will remain closed until it has until it has been evaluated and approved by the local government. Innolux, Foxconn's display arm, will also remain closed for the time being, and iPad supplier Compal Electronics also has plans to stay closed until February 17.

Apple has also extended the shutdown of its own retail stores in China. Stores were supposed to open on Monday, but Apple has decided to wait until February 15.

There have already been multiple reports suggesting these factory closures will have an impact on Apple's device production plans, and we could see dwindling device supplies and lengthening shipping times in the near future. AirPods and AirPods Pro could be impacted as a product already in short supply, and these delays may also affect the upcoming low-cost iPhone that Apple has in development.

Production on the new low-cost ‌iPhone‌, which has been referred to the "iPhone SE 2" or the "iPhone 9" was supposed to begin in February, but it's not clear if Apple will be able to remain on schedule.

Foxconn told Nikkei that its operation schedules for facilities in China follow local government recommendations, and that it has not "received requests from [its] customers on the need to resume production earlier," but it did slash its 2020 revenue outlook earlier this month.

The coronavirus has infected more than 31,000 people and caused 722 deaths, mainly in China.


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