Citing lackluster sales, Apple discontinued the original HomePod — the big one — in March 2021. Cupertino chose to focus on the HomePod mini. But now the original version is appreciating in value in online marketplaces, showing surprising resilience.
Most of the time, discontinued gadgets end up in the bargain bin — if they’re sold at all.
Discontinued HomePod steadily appreciates in value
When it came out, the original HomePod cost $349. Then, a little more than a year later, Apple reduced the smart speaker’s price to $299. When sales failed to pick up, Apple discontinued the full-sized HomePod and said it would focus, going forward, on the $99 HomePod mini.
But as an active Apple product, the big HomePod continued to receive software updates.
Ever since then, the discontinued HomePod has gradually appreciated in value, according to eBay data cited in TheVerge. Over the past year, 6,610 HomePods sold on eBay. Their selling price averaged $347.61. That’s more than 15 percent above Apple’s retail price prior to discontinuation. And 2,082 new or sealed HomePods sold over that period averaged a selling price of $432.27.
And recently, a steady climb in value is even more evident. In the past week, used or refurbished HomePods sold for an average price of $336.03. New HomePods sold for an average price of $638.76.
That suggests the HomePod’s average appreciation has been around 25 percent above Apple’s $299 retail price, TheVerge said. Used HomePods without a box tend to sell for prices starting at around $220. And new, factory-sealed HomePods can go for more than $500.
The number of HomePods listed for sale on eBay over time seems to have declined, possibly out of scarcity, which may contribute to the product’s rising value. But demand for Apple’s large smart speaker persists, even though the device is almost five years old and uses the A8 chip from the iPhone 6.
The full-sized HomePod does have a good reputation for sound quality, however — more so than the much lower-priced and obviously smaller HomePod mini.
Rumors suggest Apple is working on a successor to the HomePod that combines a smart speaker, Apple TV functions and a FaceTime camera.
