On Wednesday it emerged Apple’s HomePod was leaving stains on early-adopters’ wooden furniture. Later that day Apple confirmed the issue, citing a reaction between the silicone base and oils often used to stain the wood.
In its statement, Apple said this was common among speakers with the vibration-dampening silicone material on the base. It hasn’t been a phenomenon we’d noticed in our own tests, but it seems Apple was right. Today is has emerged HomePod isn’t the only culprit.
According to Tom’s Guide reporter Mike Prospero, the Sonos One also leaves white marks, where the speaker’s silicone feet come into contact with the wooden surface.
After discovering stains left by HomePod, Prospero found more on the same table, in a slightly different shape. He writes:
“A closer inspection revealed that the Sonos One speaker, which also has small silicone feet, had made these marks on my cabinet. Looking around the top of the cabinet, I noticed a bunch of little white marks, all left from the Sonos Ones as I moved them around. So, they will damage your wood furniture, too.”
Sonos is yet to comment on the report, but we’ve reached out to the company for clarification.
It’s not unusual…
In its statement on Wednesday Apple moved to assure users the marks left on furniture will fade over time. Should they endure, Apple rather brazenly advised HomePod owners to refinish their furniture.
In a post on its support website Apple says: “It is not unusual for any speaker with a vibration-dampening silicone base to leave mild marks when placed on some wooden surfaces.”
“The marks can be caused by oils diffusing between the silicone base and the table surface, and will often go away after several days when the speaker is removed from the wooden surface.”
Among early HomePod adopters taking to social media to report the damage, one says the markings were left in less than 20 minutes.
#homepod left rings on my wood furniture in less than 20 minutes of use. Thanks #apple I am glad a paid $400 to make perfect etched circles on my more expensive furniture. Guess I can not move it now to cover up the mark. Evil geniuses you are. #applesupport pic.twitter.com/eZng16barS
— Guy San Francisco (@Guyinsf415) February 10, 2018
Whether Apple didn’t discover this issue during its own tests, or simply failed to disclose it prior to launch remains to be seen. Regardless, the company doesn’t seem too fussed. After all, people who paid £319/$349 or a speaker won’t care about refinishing their furniture, right?
Will this stop you buying a HomePod? Does Apple need to do more to prevent a full scale crisis here? Drop us a line @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
