Are you looking for a great deal on Apple‘s newest and most advanced smart speaker to date? Unfortunately, you’re unlikely to find one anytime soon on account of the second-gen HomePod‘s novelty, clear and obvious appeal for Cupertino’s hardcore fans, and well, the tech giant’s infamous greed lack of generosity in terms of first-party discounts for current-gen products.
We don’t expect to see the 2023-upgraded HomePod substantially marked down at any major third-party US retailers either by the end of the year, but if you absolutely want to keep your holiday spending to a minimum, there’s actually a way to save a buck (or fifty) right now that you should probably take note of.
As you may have guessed, we’re talking about a refurbished purchase but not the “typical” kind. Instead of fretting over the origin, condition, and warranty of refurbished units sold by e-tailers like Woot or various eBay merchants, you’re going to know exactly where these discounted bad boys come from, how they look, how they work, and for how long they’re covered.
That’s because Apple itself is selling “certified refurbished” second-gen HomePods starting today at $249 apiece, letting you shave 50 bucks off the $299 list price of a brand-new, unused, unopened, and undamaged device. That may not sound like an earth-shattering deal (because it’s not), but your refurbs here are covered by the exact same 1-year warranty policy as all-new units, looking and working flawlessly after clearing a “rigorous refurbishment process.”
Said process includes a “thorough” cleaning and technical inspection guaranteeing “full functionality”, as well as complete repackaging with all “appropriate manuals, cables”, and a new box. In short, you will almost certainly not be able to distinguish your refurbished HomePod 2 from a costlier brand-new unit, both at first glance and after properly testing its functionality.
Now, is a $249 HomePod (2nd Gen) a bargain or an absolutely unmissable deal for a smart speaker enthusiast at the time of this writing? Not with Amazon’s similarly impressive Echo Studio fetching a measly $155 in brand-new, unused, unopened, and undamaged condition, although if you’re a die-hard Siri fan, you’re probably not going to even entertain the notion of buying that Alexa-powered beast right now.
