Matthew Panzarino, writing for TechCrunch:
After 4 years on the market, Apple has discontinued its original HomePod. It says that it will continue to produce and focus on the HomePod mini, introduced last year. The larger HomePod offered a beefier sound space but the mini has been very well received and clearly accomplishes many of the duties that the larger version was tasked with. The sound is super solid (especially for the size) and it offers access to Siri, Apple’s assistant feature.
First the iMac Pro, and now the original HomePod. Is this Apple doing a quick clearout before the upcoming event?
Either way, I hope this is a sign that there will be a new HomePod at that event.
It's probably a weird thing to expect, since it's being discontinued. However, the iMac Pro has been discontinued, and most of us expect an equivalent model to be announced soon, albeit with an M-class chip. Also, wouldn't it be weird to have a HomePod mini as the only model in the lineup? What would it be a mini version of?