Apple Cuts HomePod Orders After Sales Prove to Be Lackluster

Cutting orders on iPhone X, cutting orders on HomePod... These products from Tim's "pipeline" sure are turning out to be a great success.
 
Constable Odo said:
The same thing was said about AppleWatch when it was first introduced but now the AppleWatch is the top-selling wearable. With patience, the HomePod could become a top-seller in the high-end smart speaker category. Apple just needs to add more speaker features and make Siri smarter. I think Apple is working to improve both. Only time will tell. I'm still willing to bet that it's not only Apple having to cut orders. Amazon's Echo is probably flooding the entire market with those cheaper smart speaker models like the Echo Dot. I have to admit that buying two HomePods for stereo use is a rather expensive investment compared to other smart speakers. Too steep a price for my pockets.
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You have no factual evidence to back up the claim that the Apple Watch is the best selling wearable.
It may well be so, but you’ve got sucked right in by the Apple spin machine here because Apple have NEVER released sales figures and I believe earnings for just the Apple Watch.
 
apolloa said:
You have no factual evidence to back up the claim that the Apple Watch is the best selling wearable.
It may well be so, but you’ve got sucked right in by the Apple spin machine here because Apple have NEVER released sales figures and I believe earnings for just the Apple Watch.
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Does Fortune count as “factual evidence”? Every reputable business journal has attested to the amazing success of Apple Watch. http://fortune.com/2018/02/20/apple-watch-sales-smartwatch/
 
My old speakers stopped working. I want something new, something that plays nice with Apple TV and iMac and such.
So, I want one, but cannot get one with an official euro plug. I guess localization needs more work, otherwise they would be selling them in more places, like in the shape on the map my house happens to be in.

I'm completely uninterested in the voice interface ( except that I worry it might get in the way on the HomePod ), talking to get things done is not how my brain works. And don't need localization, all my devices are set to English.

Waiting for Apple to fix stuff I don't need makes me sad.

I don't want a Sonos.
Their app, that you need to use, is meh, and cannot play my smart playlists.
 
Price was never a problem for me. Quality, privacy, features, aesthetics are. I have better speakers and amplifier to listen to my hi-res music and the only convenience HomePod would have over my existing setup would sacrifice my privacy. I am a (wired) ethernet guy anyway and, if given the chance, I prefer doing things offline rather than online.
 
apolloa said:
You have no factual evidence to back up the claim that the Apple Watch is the best selling wearable.
It may well be so, but you’ve got sucked right in by the Apple spin machine here because Apple have NEVER released sales figures and I believe earnings for just the Apple Watch.
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Since when was the IDC (International Data Corporation) part of Apple's 'Spin machine? They were the one's who've been estimating the sales.

Listen, we get that you seem to some sort of beef with the figures, but please, at least try to understand where these figures was sourced from (hint, not Apple).
 
Blakjack said:
And lets not forget you can get two Sonos Ones for 250 bucks with Alexa and Google assistant in the near future....
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Just what I want, two machines listening to everything I do and sending the information to a creepy AI system doing god only knows what with the information collected. No thanks.
 
voyager77 said:
If they have that many in stock, why not send some to Europe?

And no, the UK isn't the largest market in Europe, they even don't want to be in Europe anymore.

I might consider getting one, if the sound quality is really as good as they claim.
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I suspect the reason it's only on sale in those countries is due to language support issues with the HomePod's version of Siri.
 
BWhaler said:
Apple’s crappy software is really starting to catch-up with them.

Wonder when Tim will wake up..This is his greatest failing as CEO.
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Is this an example of that?
scaramoosh said:
Cause it sucks, why would you buy a smart speaker that is so limited? Also when Apple decides to stop support for it, you’ll have a paperweight.

Give it Bluetooth and a 3.5mm jack.
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There are old third party Airplay 1 speakers almost a decade old that still work, so I doubt Apple will somehow drop support any time soon for a HomePod.
 
OllyW said:
I suspect the reason it's only on sale in those countries is due to language support issues with the HomePod's version of Siri.
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I suspect so too. Just like how the apple tv's Siri remote only supports Siri in a number of countries.
 
Apple has to stop pricing things so high.

How many $199 leather MacBook cases are they selling?
Or $149 leather iPad +pencil cases?
Or $99 iPhone leather covers?
Or $99 Apple Pencils?
Or $149 AirPods
Or $1000 iPhone X?


If that things were priced something like
$99 macbook case,
$69 iPad + pencil case,
$49 iPhone leather cover
$69 Apple Pencil,
$99 AirPods
$699 iPhone X
they’d sell all of them and still earn a lot of money!

Their accessories/secondary product pricing is

Not to talk about the overpriced MacBook Pros that should cost $200 to $300 less at least!
 
Siri is the worst Apple branded thing ever. I would charge Apple to put an Home Pod here, and they would have to pay my Apple Music subscription too since I won't switch from Tidal as its superior in terms of sound quality. Back to work Apple.
 
I want to buy one, I really do, it just doesn't sound good, or rather it definitely does not sound like a $350 speaker. My $79 Echo sounds better relatively speaking to dollar for dollar value. The acoustics in the Apple store are not ideal, I get that most speakers aren't going to sound good in the middle of an apple store on a table, but jeesh Apple, it has to sound better than it does in that environment or you are not going to get people like me to walk in, ready to buy, and walk out.

$200 maybe I would.
 
BWhaler said:
Apple’s crappy software is really starting to catch-up with them.

Wonder when Tim will wake up..This is his greatest failing as CEO.
Click to expand...

He's a supply chain guy... he's been milking and enhancing, but there's a need for a new wave of innovation that sets the tone for the entire portfolio for the next 5 years and that's been lacking. Didn't we all sort of see this coming from the moment Tim was appointed?

Instead Apple has been spreading themselves thin across too many markets, and introducing quality and performance issues as the teams have more to support.

For the first time in a long time I'm hesitant to buy Apple products, because the features are starting to feel common place and the devices more unreliable (e.g., my Apple TV 4k and Macbook pro have both gone in for repair/service 2 times each in the last 3 months since purchasing in December) o_O
 
if apple really aimed for the mass marked then this is a fail. most people don't need the highest audio quality (i certainly don't) and won't be willing to pay $350 for a bluetooth speaker when they can get a speaker thats good enough from amzon for half the price.

If apple was only aiming for a high end niche market then the 10% of sales are an impressive win.
 
I have both HomePod and Echo. If you want to talk to a speaker then get Echo. If you want amazing sound and voice connectivity to your homekit smart home then get HomePod. Yes, its a bit over priced, but once you have it you won't regret it.
 
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