I purchased an Apple HomePod three years ago but then a few nights back, it entirely quit working. Not only did it vanish from my home network, it also wouldn't boot up or display anything. Unfortunately, Apple won't fix it or supply me with a new one.Less than three years ago, we decided to hire a contractor to finish our basement which turned it from a storage room to a multimedia room. As part of the upgrading, I was able to move my record collection and turntable out of the living room as my wife didn't feel the need to have them in there. I was also able to listen to music louder and for as long as I wanted. Even though I enjoy listening to music when I'm doing chores and such, I bought an Apple HomePod speaker for $299 in November 2020. I decided to purchase this speaker as our whole family uses Apple products such as iPhones and iPads.
The speaker was able to work with various types of music and produced a good sound quality, but the software and overall user experience was buggy. The speaker was unable to deal with my collection of digital files which included CD rips, vinyl rips, iTunes downloads and Apple Music downloads. I attempted to find workarounds for this but eventually the speaker stopped working entirely. When I brought the HomePod to the Apple Store, the service tech verified that it was dead and I asked if I could get some money back for the exchange. The only offer was for recycling. Thus, my $300 HomePod speaker which was bought less than three years ago was worth nothing more than the rare earth metals it contained and is now being used as a doorstop.
I looked online once again to see if Apple had any alternatives for repair, yet it simply redirected me back to my local Apple Store. So, not much there.
From this particular experience, I don't really have any significant takeaways but it did reaffirm the general lack of ardor I've been feeling for Apple products of late. The iPhone is still a remarkable invention that I personally prefer to any Android phone I've ever used but nowadays, everyone is used to them after more than fifteen years. Yearly improvements seem to be marginal at this point. I buy new iPhones when my old ones break down but more out of routine than any sort of excitement. Apple Stores used to be a delightful place, filled with extraordinary gadgets and people who were so enthusiastic to help you use and fix them if something went wrong. But now it feels more like a car rental service where the main goal is to get you in and out fast with as many additional services as possible.
Apple still is a globally successful company and many of its products still elicit admiration, especially the AirPods (which I gravitate towards more than Beats) and Apple Watch. But the original HomePod always felt strange. It was reminiscent of Apple trying to benefit off of the Amazon Alexa speaker's sudden fame, and now that the craze has died down, it appears that Apple is not as engaged with the product anymore. One should proceed with caution.
An Apple spokesperson did not reply to a request for comment on Apple's repair policy towards HomePods.
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