Apple has quietly lowered the price of the HomePod smart speaker on its online store, and it looks like it could be permanent. As spotted by 9to5Mac, the company is now selling the device for $299 in the United States, instead of the regular price of $349.
There's no indication that it's a temporary discount, and adding to that is the fact that the discount isn't region-exclusive. In the UK, the smart speaker now sells for £279 instead of £319, so it would appear that the price cut is permanent.
The HomePod wasn't terribly well-received by some users, with buzz quickly spreading about the white ring it was leaving behind if you put it on a wooden surface. Soon after it went on sale, reports suggested that the company had cut back on orders for the smart speaker due to disappointing demand.
Apple has tried to make the HomePod more capable over time, by adding AirPlay 2 support, the ability to make and receive calls through an iPhone, support for new languages, and more. The price cut, however, combined with the fact that there hasn't been anything to indicate that a successor might be in the works, could suggest that those attempts haven't helped make the smart speaker more successful.
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