Get a refurbished Apple HomePod for $194
That's the lowest price to date on a refurbished Apple smart speaker.
As a general rule, Apple products and "Cheapskate" don't belong in the same sentence. But obviously zillions of people love Apple gear, price be damned.
Read more: Will HomeKit and HomePod get any attention at WWDC?
I like Apple gear, too, but damned if I'm going to pay full retail for it. That's why I always advise people to choose refurbished Apple hardware whenever possible. It's usually good as new or darn close to it.
Case in point: For a limited time, and while supplies last, Overstock has the refurbished Apple HomePod smart speaker for $194.39 shipped (plus tax). That's the lowest price I can recall seeing; the HomePod sells new for $299 (and was originally $349).
Yes, even at $194, the HomePod is on the expensive side for what it is: a Siri-powered answer to the Amazon Echo , though the latter rarely scores accolades for its sound quality. The HomePod, on the other hand, offers "excellent bass and consistently superior sound quality across a wide variety of music genres."
That's according to CNET's HomePod review, which praised not only the sound quality but also the across-the-room Siri recognition. However, this smart speaker is definitely less smart than competing models from Amazon and Google, and of course it's limited to iOS.
The only $.02 I can add (because I haven't used one) is that I consider the HomePod one of the uglier products Apple has designed. Did this really come from the same company that gave us the iPhone and MacBook Air ?
None of that matters. Some folks just want the Apple HomePod because it's the Apple HomePod, and that's OK. But there's no need to pay $299 when a perfectly good refurb is $194. Take note, however, that the warranty is just 90 days, not the full year you'd get from an Apple-certified refurb.
Your thoughts?
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