Random Apple Memory

Adam Banks remembers Apple’s only predecessor to the HomePod…

HomePod's predecessor: the iPod Hi-Fi.

Apple’s “Town Hall” event on February 28, 2006 was not auspicious. Just six weeks after his winter keynote, introducing the first ever Mac with an Intel processor and announcing the transition from PowerBook to MacBook Pro, here Steve Jobs was again, on a small makeshift stage, unveiling… what?

Eighteen months earlier, Jobs had disclosed his pancreatic cancer, insisting it had been cured by surgery. But the ill health implied by his gaunt appearance and hoarse voice seemed confirmed when he uncharacteristically missed his big cue, failing to whip the black cloth off the pedestal as he announced the iPod Hi-Fi. The audience didn’t react while he explained its “audiophile” qualities, and the awkward silence continued as he announced its $349 price.

Powered from the wall or six large D-cell batteries, the 17-inch plastic box contained two full-range 80mm drivers and a 130mm woofer with two bass reflex ports. The latter moved enough air, as one YouTuber later showed, to blow out 14 candles, but didn’t impress reviewers, who weren’t buying Jobs’s comparison to home stereo systems costing “over $1,000.” At $50 more than Bose’s existing SoundDock, it offered nothing new, and its minimalist styling — with classic Jonathan Ive touches such as integral corner handles — risked being too plain even for Apple users’ tastes.

Less simple was the set of ten dock adapters to cater for every compatible iPod, with newer models requiring a power step-down from FireWire’s 12 volts to USB’s 5. As for portability, adding two pounds (1kg) of batteries to the 14.5lb (6.5kg) chassis produced limited volume and bass. The iPod Hi-Fi was quietly discontinued the following year.