[iMore.com]

The new HomePod is a full $50 cheaper than the first model, but it's still by far and away the most expensive smart speaker you can buy. Full story from the iMore Blog...

[Up_And_Away]

I don’t disagree that 299 is still high. I expected the HomePod 2 to be released but was hoping price would come in at 249.
With that said the writer makes a few errors.
-More or less tweeters does not mean better or worse sound. That’s glib spec watching.
-put the mortgage payment down as a sure bet, the HomePod will have substantially better sound than the Echo Studio.
-far too dismissive of the privacy issue. Does anyone know why they make money on your data? Hint, the ability to see what you do day in and day out to predict what you can be enticed to buy…i.e. spend more money.
-Alexa is the best imho at internet search provided answers. Ask even strange questions and it’ll find good strange answers. Yet Amazon themselves have admitted this is very infrequent user use cases. Otoh Siri working with your other Apple devices and HomeKit. It’s Siri.

[Just_Me_D]

I agree the new HomePod should be price no higher than $249.99.

[Ed7789]

399$ (CAD) per HomePod… it's a very hard nope for me. The HomePod mini is 129$. There's no way to justify a 270$ difference.

I would argue at that price that Sonos devices are a way better deal, at 269$ (Sonos One).

[ksassy]

No thank you Apple I won’t bite! I’ll continue to enjoy my OG HomePods until they’re EOL or crap out whichever comes first.

[Up_And_Away]

I agree the new HomePod should be price no higher than $249.99.

Yep, I think Apple erred not getting that one penny under 250 sweet spot. I’m guessing the cost to produce and warranty is around 220 to 230 per unit. generally Apple always maintains a healthy gross profit on what they sell or they don’t sell it (Apple the name and company remains healthier than most this way). But on this one, I think they should take lower margin for bigger sales. The difference in that margin will be negligible given the premium smart speaker market is relatively small.

[Up_And_Away]

399$ (CAD) per HomePod… it's a very hard nope for me. The HomePod mini is 129$. There's no way to justify a 270$ difference.

I would argue at that price that Sonos devices are a way better deal, at 269$ (Sonos One).

To be fair we haven’t heard or seen the HP 2 operation yet. Apple the audio studio has been VERY good the last 6 months. The 14 Pro Max speaker is the unmentioned king, it easily bests other flagships. The AirPods Pro 2 are excellent audio, the latest IPad Pro is said to take tablet audio to its very best ever.

I totally understand that may be too pricey for you. For me I’ll be buying two of them but my expectation is audio to be best. But given the 300 starting price, I’ll also be waiting for a sale or for them to hopefully go on sale at the Apple Refurb store. My mini pair with my ATV still works .

[Annie_M]

If I were interested in purchasing anything, I'd still go with the mini.