It’s a good day to take home the HomePod. Right now Amazon’s Woot service is selling certified refurbished models of Apple’s smart speaker for a mere $234.99Remove non-product link, down $114 from the normal price of $349. It’s one of the best prices I’ve seen it listed for date. The HomePod’s high price has always been one of the biggest strikes against it, and a deal like this makes it far easier to appreciate everything it offers. If you have an Amazon Prime account, you won’t even have to pay shipping.
And it’s definitely a good speaker. The HomePod pumps out beautiful sound that sounds the same regardless of where you’re standing in a room (although the bass is a bit too strong from my apartment-dwelling tastes). Amazingly, the microphone can pick up my voice even when the music is blasting.
None of this technical audio prowess was ever really in question. The problem is that Apple seemingly designed the HomePod as a direct competitor to far more popular smart speakers from Amazon and Google, and Siri just isn’t good enough to complete in that area.
It was worse at launch, when all you could really ask Siri to do was simple tasks like playing songs from your Apple Music account or giving you a rundown of the recent news. Things have improved now, though, and you can use the HomePod to start calls or add items to your calendar (among other things). You can check out our review for more information.
If you change your mind, Woot covers the HomePod with a 90-day warranty.
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