Apple adds HomePod, AirPods to the 'vintage products' list
The original HomePod is now a "vintage" item according to Apple, making it the first from the smart speaker range to be given the designation.

A HomePod in use
Apple's support pages has a list of products that Apple deems to be vintage or obsolete, depending on how long they have been on the market. For support purposes, vintage items can still be eligible for servicing by Apple, but obsolete products are not.
Typically, if Apple has stopped distributing the product for more than five years, it's considered vintage. After seven years, it's obsolete.
The latest update to the page, which took place on July 1, has a few new additions. The most significant of which is the first-generation HomePod on the "TV & Home products vintage worldwide" list.
The listing, initially reported by MacRumors only affects the first-gen model of HomePod. The second-gen release and the HomePod mini are not considered vintage at this time, and won't be for a few more years.
Another addition is the iPhone X, Apple's first full-screen smartphone, and a game-changer for the company's design aesthetic. Lastly, the first generation of AirPods have joined the list as the only product in the line classed as vintage.
Just like the HomePod, newer models of AirPods and iPhones are not affected by the vintage and obsolete lists.
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Comments
Not sure what I'll do if one of my pair fail.
https://audioengine.com/speakers/
https://www.edifier.com/us/p/bookshelf-speakers/r1700bts
https://www.krkmusic.com/products/classic-5-powered-studio-monitor
From a HomeKit perspective that might be OK simply because it'll allow a preferred hub without issue. (Not that it wouldn't have been as the hub seems to always select something running the latest update.)
Honestly though, I have no issues with my 3x OG HomePods. OK, sure, Sometimes Siri is a pain in the butt. And on occasion I have to reboot or remove/re-add them to HomeKit (the same can be said for my Mini's.)
All in all though, I cannot see a reason to abandon them at any point in the near future.
I've been completely satisfied with all 3 of them.
Hopefully Apple (based on their track record, they should) will leave them in a state where they continue to function as well as they do right now once they stop providing updates. If they do that, I'll have zero issues recommending (and probably purchasing) the next gen HomePods at some point.
Siri is acting drunk most of the time these days, but still a great product.
Hoping for a HomePod 3 this fall.
They sold the original Homepod until March 2021, so that's just over three years - not even close to "more than five years". And speakers like this should have a much longer lifespan than phones... Sonos even supports gear that's almost twenty years old, on an older, less-but-still-maintained version of their OS (S1).
Always been curious how a second one paired would sound and be worth the investment.
However, both of them stopped working suddenly. I took them to the authorised Apple service centre but they said they do not repair HomePods.
After months of hunting, I finally found a shop that repaired them. One had an issue with the power circuit that @dewme mentioned and the other one had an issue with some internal component.
Both of them are working fine again and I love them. I contemplated buying the newer ones but they are now priced "normally" (US Price + India's 30% import tax) and I think they have one less tweeter, IIRC.