Apple HomePod

Most buyers should wait — at least if buying brand new. The current HomePod mini still works well for music, timers, Intercom, and Apple Home control. It can also form a stereo pair, though the existing and next-generation models may not pair with each other. But $129 is a substantial price for hardware introduced almost six years ago. With a replacement reportedly nearly ready, buying today means potentially missing the faster chip, new Siri experience, improved sound, and upgraded connectivity. A discounted current model could still make sense for expanding an existing setup. At Apple’s full

Price is now one of the biggest unanswered questions. Apple recently increased the price of the existing Apple TV 4K from $129 to $199 for the 64GB model. The 128GB model with Ethernet jumped from $149 to $249. Those increases make it harder to imagine the new generation returning to the old starting price, especially after Apple cited higher memory and storage costs for its broader hardware increases. The current model is considerably less expensive through Apple’s refurbished store. At publication time, Apple listed the refurbished 64GB model for $169 and the 128GB Ethernet model for $209. B

Apple Music is a music-streaming service available in dozens of countries, on both iOS and Android, as well as being the default service for the Siri voice assistant. There are a number of “beats” a streaming service like Music needs to hit if it’s going to compete in 2026:  Over 100 million songs Cost around $11 a month (Apple Music is $12) Apps for MacOS, Windows, iOS and Android (at least)  Given these criteria, all of the major services would appear the same, and while some tried mixing things up with “exclusive” albums, this trend was short-lived. Instead, services have found other ways

With its emphasis on music — no podcasts or audiobooks — Apple Music doesn’t need a complicated interface. That said, the way the app works hasn’t changed much since the service first appeared in 2015, whether it’s for desktop or for mobile devices. Call it consistency, perhaps. Starting at the bottom of the mobile app, you’ll find it broken into separate sections: Home, New (playlists and discover content), Radio, Library and Search. While Spotify has gone almost completely algorithm-based for its “For You” section, Apple still has a good number of old-fashioned radio stations, including Beat