Apple Apparently Didn't Like The Idea of A Battery-Powered HomePod
Apple once considered making a portable smart speaker powered by its own battery pack and reportedly even reached the prototype stage a few years ago, but ultimately decided against it and launched the HomePod and its mini version with a wired interface. Apple doesn't sell a battery-powered speaker, but that wasn't always the case. Earlier this month, Apple silently discontinued the Beats Pill Plus, the last battery-fueled speaker in its line-up.
Following its debut in 2015 and discontinuation this year, Apple hasn't released a battery-backed portable speaker under its core brand or the Beats brand that it purchased for a cool $3 billion back in 2014. And in that duration, Apple has even pulled the plugs on its original (and very expensive) HomePod smart speaker. The competition, on the other hand, continues to offer some solid products such as the Sonos Roam that even embraces Apple's own AirPlay 2 tech and the Ultimate Ears' Boom series that rivals the Beats offerings.
Related: Spotify Is Dragging Its Feet With HomePod Support, And It Could Cost Them
But apparently, Apple wasn't always opposed to the idea. In the latest edition of Bloomberg's Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman notes that Apple's team once internally discussed a battery-powered smart speaker and even prototyped one, but the idea didn't progress further. However, Gurman reports that it would be surprising to see Apple launch a battery-powered smart speaker moving ahead. This is because Apple's smart speaker portfolio is relatively thin, with the only option currently on the table being the HomePod mini that recently got a splash of bright colors. The closest Apple ever came to the idea was the iPod Hi-Fi, which was quickly discontinued but has become a
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