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Apple Cuts HomePod Orders After Sales Prove to Be Lackluster
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Needs stereo, discount on second unit
Apple's HomePod hasn't ended up selling as well as the company was hoping, leading it to cut orders with suppliers, reports Bloomberg.
In late March, nearly two month after the HomePod first became available for purchase, Apple reportedly lowered its sales forecasts and dropped some orders with Inventec, the company responsible for manufacturing the HomePod. HomePod inventory in retail locations is said to be "piling up" with some stores selling "fewer than 10 HomePods a day."
Early analyst estimates based on strong pre-orders and initial sales figures suggested the HomePod would sell well and capture a solid portion of the smart speaker market, but Apple hasn't managed to maintain sales momentum.Apple charges $349 for the HomePod, making the device more expensive than competing smart speakers from Amazon and other companies. Apple put a lot of effort into promoting the HomePod's superior sound quality, but its high price tag and its inability to work natively with music services other than Apple Music have likely hurt its sales.
As Bloomberg points out, the HomePod's February launch was delayed from an initial promised December launch, causing Apple to miss out on key holiday sales.
HomePod also continues to lack promised features like stereo pairing to pair two HomePods together and AirPlay 2 support for controlling the music on multiple HomePods located in different rooms of the house. There are hints of this functionality in iOS 11.4, so these options could be coming soon, but HomePod owners and prospective buyers are likely disappointed with the months-long wait for basic features.
Apple isn't likely planning to give up on the HomePod despite its lackluster sales because it's part of an audio accessory lineup that includes the AirPods and the upcoming rumored high-end over-ear headphones.
Loup Ventures analyst Gene Munster in February said he expects sales to pick up later in the year. He predicts Apple will sell a total of 7 million HomePods in 2018, with that number set to grow to 10.9 million in 2019.
Article Link: Apple Cuts HomePod Orders After Sales Prove to Be Lackluster
Needs to play from all sources
Like I've been saying, Tim Cook isn't very good at Product Planning OR Strategy.
The man is a Master at Manufacturing Operations Efficiency ... the kind of skill one would find in the #3 OR #4 person at such a company as Apple, but NOT the #1 guy !
And when you add into the Mix that NOT a single Board member has any Electrical Engineering OR Software Development experience, and you end-up with what you end-up ... lots of Emojis, dropping of the ALL-important Hardware Home Button, going-cheap with the amount of DRAM, but expecting Devs to bail you out, etc., etc. ... the list actually goes on, & on, Macs with Touch Bars, to this high-priced HomePod.
As long as Suckers like Warren Buffett back Apple, Tim will keep his job ... but if / when Buffett ever gets wise, Tim is Cooked !
Apple is generally Cooked as a company ... most can't yet see it ... AND certainly NOT the so-called Professional Stock Analysts ... I read what they say ... they ALL appear to Sheep, just following each other, AND ALL late to the Game !
As soon as the market finds out that Apple has decided to pay off their $100B+ of debt, the stock will tank to $138/share ... most we're hoping for a MASSIVE Dividend payout ... but, that was just the Stock Pumpers !
The man is a Master at Manufacturing Operations Efficiency ... the kind of skill one would find in the #3 OR #4 person at such a company as Apple, but NOT the #1 guy !
And when you add into the Mix that NOT a single Board member has any Electrical Engineering OR Software Development experience, and you end-up with what you end-up ... lots of Emojis, dropping of the ALL-important Hardware Home Button, going-cheap with the amount of DRAM, but expecting Devs to bail you out, etc., etc. ... the list actually goes on, & on, Macs with Touch Bars, to this high-priced HomePod.
As long as Suckers like Warren Buffett back Apple, Tim will keep his job ... but if / when Buffett ever gets wise, Tim is Cooked !
Apple is generally Cooked as a company ... most can't yet see it ... AND certainly NOT the so-called Professional Stock Analysts ... I read what they say ... they ALL appear to Sheep, just following each other, AND ALL late to the Game !
As soon as the market finds out that Apple has decided to pay off their $100B+ of debt, the stock will tank to $138/share ... most we're hoping for a MASSIVE Dividend payout ... but, that was just the Stock Pumpers !
Being an Apple device, there will be Apple apps for tinkering with the HomePod as well as 3rd party apps for playing with and exploiting the wide array of uses for the HomePod.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208241
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208341
Ever since iOS7, I've found Apple iOS apps to be generally much less intuitive, less unattractive, and just much less fun to play with since you now often have to hunt for functions and/or perform 2 or 3 taps or swipes to do what used to take one obvious tap. As a result, it's soured my enthusiasm for engaging with my iPhone less than before (an iPhone that's still better than Android's awful Material Design UI, for good or worse there...) and investing in more Apple-centric hardware. Maybe too few others feel that way, or else Apple would have woken up by now after 4 years of all the white-out less intuitive UI iOS software, but when Apple returns to an iOS & software that returns the focus onto intuitive interaction instead of unecessarily made-up UI cues based on randomness and minimalist fashion, I'll be much more inclined to break out my wallet more often. I can't be alone in feeling that way. That's all I meant.
I would make it fun by returning to using time-tested intuitive UI cues that look like a real designer put some thought into things, instead of focusing on this imagined need to have the content blend into the background by making everything a white-washed light grey with non-button text for actionable cues so as to not distract the user (gag) but which actually distract the user by often being confusing and slowing down the productive process.
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Steve changed the world.
Steve disrupted and reinvented the desktop. Steve disrupted and reinvented the music industry. Steve disrupted and reinvented mobile.
Tim... Sells higher margin iterations of Steve's ideas while competitors outdo him in every single area.
Tim sits on his laurels selling 4 year old computers at new prices, fielding also-ran products into crowded spaces where others are doing it better.
Steve would never have stood for it, rightly or wrongly.
Good for Apple for getting great margins. I miss the Apple of my youth... An exciting, irreverent Apple that did unbelievable new things.
Now they innovate in the areas of watch straps and dongles and rehashing competitors ideas.
I wouldn't put much into these rumors. These types of rumors have appeared after every iPhone launch. They mean nothing with regards to actual sales.
That being said ultimately didn't feel like HomePod did enough for me to warrant a purchase for the price.
I can't use it with my tv or not really even an appletv which would have been a big plus. It is tied to one person's ios device which didn't seem like it would be a good idea in a family of four. The sound wasn't as good as my 2 bookshelf Polk Audio Speakers and wasn't much cheaper when you factor in a decent receiver to boot. Also speakers are the type of product that last a very long time but the Homepod feels like it could be outdated in 5 years.
That being said ultimately didn't feel like HomePod did enough for me to warrant a purchase for the price.
I can't use it with my tv or not really even an appletv which would have been a big plus. It is tied to one person's ios device which didn't seem like it would be a good idea in a family of four. The sound wasn't as good as my 2 bookshelf Polk Audio Speakers and wasn't much cheaper when you factor in a decent receiver to boot. Also speakers are the type of product that last a very long time but the Homepod feels like it could be outdated in 5 years.
A product with no clear vision. Is it a home speaker? is it an assistant? You can't plug anything into it. What's the point....
To these day, still not convinced smart watch is success. Apple Watch might selling well because the integration to Apple’s ecosystem. However, smart watch market is still not big enough. I have seen few people with Apple Watch, but I have yet seen Apple Watch in scales comparable with iPhone or even iPad. I still believe smart watch market is going to tank and I do not how it can rebunce.
This speaker itself is far and away superior to other smart speakers. The Sound quality is exceptional. Siri lags because of Apples stance on privacy. I remain hopeful it will evolve. It’s not over priced, just under appreciated.
$350 is an outrageous price. Siri is not a selling point at all either.
Lackluster sales could be seen from a mile away.
Lackluster sales could be seen from a mile away.
I guess seeing people with the Apple Watch depends on where you look; same as seeing people with an iPhone. Here on the east coast (nyc and surrounding areas) there appear to be a bigger population of Apple Watchs’ than the competitors smartwatchs. I don’t count Fitbit in this category because it’s singular purpose. Where the sales go in the future is up for grabs by those who wish to opine on this.
I bought one and returned it. HomePod sounds great but the fact that Apple released it without AirPlay 2 or stereo pairing, and Siri in the pathetic state she’s in, is just astonishing. The software is also garbage—why is everything done in the Home app? Why can’t I listen to podcasts with a third-party app? Why can’t Siri identify my voice? WHY CAN’T I SET MORE THAN ONE TIMER?!
I get that. I just don’t see the smart watch in mass as smartphone or tablet. You will bump to people with smart watch, most of them have Apple Watch and some have Android Watch. But I have never seen smart watch in mass.
Basic math isn't hard. He obviously meant 11 and the 6 was just an extra typo. 11 x $30 = $330.
This is exactly right.
Apple didn't invent Mp3 players, smart phones, etc....but they significantly improved the experience around them. Almost everyone agrees Apple didn't improve the smart speaker experience with the Homepod in its current state.
And if this thing was intended for audiophiles (which it wasn't), then it would have really failed - There are so many better options, better sounding speakers with EQ control and more flexibility, around that price point.
HomePod has some of the most advanced speaker tech around and its sound quality for its price backs that up. It’s better than my JBL8 which is widely considered one of the best wireless speakers. I’d say HomePod is by far the best value in wireless speakers today.
As for smarts, there’s a reason why the vast majority of commands/questions people use their smart speakers for are very basic and limited... all “smart” speakers are pretty dumb. Siri is more than capable for what most people use smart speakers for and it processes my requests anonymously which I really appreciate.
Love my HomePod too, probably going to end up getting a second one at some point when you can pair them. They sound fantastic, and being able to tell Siri what to play is effortless. Siri is pretty atrocious in most things but turning on lights, activating scenes and playing specific music is just fantastic
The reason Siri sucks is not because of Apple’s privacy stance, and I’m sick of people positing this as if it’s fact. Siri sucks because Apple completely dropped the ball and decided it wasn’t important. What does Siri’s inability to parse basic English have to do with privacy? Or her inability to play a podcast in a third-party app? Or refusing to set multiple timers?
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And then proceeded to sink back to 4% just 3 weeks later (at that time, what's it now?). The consumer market giveth, the consumer market taketh.
Wow. Denial much, dude? Hell, Apple slashed the orders of iPhone X and still managed to spin it "the number one selling iPhone every week since launch". lmao While providing usual Apple secrecy of no breakdowns (like their "Others" categories for all sales in different cats)... & you'll happily spoon it up. Time will tell if you're correct. Using logic, I don't see it happening.
