Yes that's what happens when you have a "day to day operations manager" in charge of Apple, instead of a true innovator like Steve. Apple is playing catch up all the time now, instead of innovating and being at the "forefront". Imac still have the same front design that Steve created 11 years ago (should have at least no bezels by now), not even to talk about the Apple watch, and the MacBook pro problems, Incremental Ipad updates, Airports discontinued, Iphone line up mess etc, allowed companies like Netflix, Spotify etc. to thrive, etc. etc....
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Sold an Estimated 600,000 HomePod Speakers During the First Quarter of 2018
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Yes that's what happens when you have a "day to day operations manager" in charge of Apple, instead of a true innovator like Steve. Apple is playing catch up all the time now, instead of innovating and being at the "forefront". Imac still have the same front design that Steve created 11 years ago (should have at least no bezels by now), not even to talk about the Apple watch, and the MacBook pro problems, Incremental Ipad updates, Airports discontinued, Iphone line up mess etc, allowed companies like Netflix, Spotify etc. to thrive, etc. etc....
Amazon and Google have created market leading standards for smart speakers. Price over sound quality is the major selling point. If this trend continues, Apple is out of business.
I expect had the release of the HomePod been more global rather than the limited country release they have done this number would be higher. Living here in the EU I would of bought at least 2. I know I could buy them the UK but then would have to cut the plug off or buy an adapter so sit patiently waiting. Yes I am aware of the SIRI feedback but I dont use it on any device never have and dont plan on starting.
Last edited:
"but the higher price tag, a delayed feature set, and the lack of native support for music services like Spotify have likely stymied Apple's sales"
Ssshhh! Don't mention the Siri-shaped elephant in the room
Ssshhh! Don't mention the Siri-shaped elephant in the room
I love the couple I bought. I walk inn every day to work and just say “hey Siri play work playlist” and I have a full day a chillpop vibes resonating some positive, motivating beats in my office. It sounds incredible.
I honestly don’t use it for much more than that though so I can’t soeak to asking it to turn down the lights or something.
I honestly don’t use it for much more than that though so I can’t soeak to asking it to turn down the lights or something.
Oh well! Probably geared towards the Beats market then. Maybe version 2 or a smaller version might be better. For the moment I'll stick to my Denon system.
I love my apple stuff, but my Hive heating and bulbs aren't on apple home so siri cannot control them, so i got an echo, two in fact. If siri was an option i'd use that but alas no. Apple need to re-invent siri and get it up to alexa's and hey google's standards PDQ otherwise they will majorly lose out on this market
Lol what world are you living on? Apple out of business. As If
600k sales isn’t bad at giving the lack of multi room/stereo pair and being available in only 3 countries and with Siri needing work
Siri and my Homepod work fine. I have no desire for my speaker to be a personal assistant so it does all I need (I do live in a multiple user family account household so also understand the complexity of sorting that out).
Hopefully Airplay 2 and stereo options are imminent.
Hopefully Airplay 2 and stereo options are imminent.
You’re changing the complaint from Google selling your personal data (which is wrong) to Google having your data. You’d probably be horrified how many other companies have your personal information and do actually sell it.
You avoided answering how Google showing you ads from vendors is harmful (because it’s not), and you keep bringing up the boogeyman ‘Facebook’, and their sins, trying to prove Google is the same by way of negative association, since you have no examples of Google selling data in the same way.
If you don’t like Google’s business model, more power to you. Just say so. I don’t like Samsung. I don’t have any links supporting why I dislike Samsung. But, I’m also not spreading unsubstantiated BS about them and pretending my gut reactions are fact.
When is stereo coming? And is that APP that says it is stereo something that works?
Apple sold an estimated 600,000 HomePod speakers during the first quarter of 2018, according to new estimates shared this morning by Strategy Analytics. Apple's sales allowed it to capture just 6 percent of the global smart speaker market, coming in well behind Amazon and Google.
Amazon shipped an estimated 4 million Echo smart speakers during the quarter, for a 43.6 percent share of the market, while Google shipped an estimated 2.4 million Google Home speakers for 26.5 percent market share. Alibaba also came in ahead of Apple with 700,000 shipments, while Xiaomi trailed behind with 200,000.
Apple has a long way to go to catch up to Google and Amazon, both of whom have seen an enormous growth in shipments over the course of the past year. Amazon's shipments increased by two million compared to Q1 2017, while Google's increased by 2.1 million.
Amazon's market share has fallen year over year due to strong sales of Google speakers and new entrants to the market like Apple, Alibaba, and Xiaomi, but Amazon continues to be the number one smart speaker vendor in the world by far.
In total, across all vendors, there were an estimated 9.2 million smart speaker units shipped during the first quarter of 2018. Apple is, at the current time, the fourth largest smart speaker brand worldwide with the HomePod, but its meager sales are not yet impacting major players Google and Amazon.
Both Google and Amazon have been in the smart speaker business for a longer period of time and the two companies also offer speakers at a range of price points. A Google Home speaker, for example, can be purchased for as little as $129 (or $49 for the mini version), while an Amazon Echo costs just $99.99. The Echo Dot is even more affordable at $49.
Apple's sole speaker, the HomePod, is priced at $349. Apple focused heavily on audio quality with the hopes that consumers would be willing to pay more for a device that had superior sound, but the higher price tag, a delayed feature set, and the lack of native support for music services like Spotify have likely stymied Apple's sales.
The HomePod is still new and Apple has just entered the smart speaker market, so improvements and changes to future products could drastically change its position and present some real competition for Amazon and Google. Apple is rumored to be considering a lower-priced HomePod that would perhaps sell for $150 to $200.
Article Link: Apple Sold an Estimated 600,000 HomePod Speakers During the First Quarter of 2018
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
That is pure speculation. I guess the majority of the current buyers would also have purchased at a lower entry price point.
For the HomePod to truly be successful, obviously as we all know Apple needs to completely overhaul Siri. It is embarrassing that Siri is so far behind Alexa, Google, and even Cortana! Once they get Siri on par with those voice assistants, HomePod and all other Apple devices with Siri will greatly benefit.
Forget about siri for a few years, but what apple should do:
Release a soundbar with build-in apple tv, allow dolby hd en dts hd, etc formats.(tv pod?, homebar?).
This homebar should have a camera, to allow some kind of xbox connect controlling system for the apple tv interface.
And allow it to connect up to 4 homepods for a nice ht system.
Hdmi input, knowing apple, would be very unlikely though.
Release a soundbar with build-in apple tv, allow dolby hd en dts hd, etc formats.(tv pod?, homebar?).
This homebar should have a camera, to allow some kind of xbox connect controlling system for the apple tv interface.
And allow it to connect up to 4 homepods for a nice ht system.
Hdmi input, knowing apple, would be very unlikely though.
Last edited:
I love the sound of my Homepod but am really disappointed with Siri's lack of integration with Calendar.
I had an Echo which was much more useful but with medium sound quality. Apple Music is my main source of music so I thought this would be better. I'm sticking with it, in the hope that Apple will improve Siri.
I had an Echo which was much more useful but with medium sound quality. Apple Music is my main source of music so I thought this would be better. I'm sticking with it, in the hope that Apple will improve Siri.
Kindle vs iBooks vs B&N - Amazon included the Kindle reader available on all devices.
Siri vs Hey Google vs Alexa - Amazon has created an API to include Alexa on IOT devices
See a pattern? Amazon will win this and deservedly so… Lower cost devices, better quality response, and now they've made a Dot for Kids.
I WANT APPLE TO WIN but they were slow to market, provided only 1 price, didn't make stereo work (still) and Siri still is not up-to-par with the rest of those in this category.
Siri vs Hey Google vs Alexa - Amazon has created an API to include Alexa on IOT devices
See a pattern? Amazon will win this and deservedly so… Lower cost devices, better quality response, and now they've made a Dot for Kids.
I WANT APPLE TO WIN but they were slow to market, provided only 1 price, didn't make stereo work (still) and Siri still is not up-to-par with the rest of those in this category.
My gripe is with this article itself. The headline claims that Apple sold 600,000 units, but refers to the products by Amazon and Google as shipments. I'm not in sales, but I would think that shipments is a better indicator of a product's penetration into a market. If 100,000 homepods are still on shelves, then it really isn't the same as 600,000 shipments. Additionally, the article that the story is based on (check the link) refers to all three product lines as "shipments" - it does not distinguish between sold and shipments so why is one product in the story referred to differently than the others. Otherwise, the Homepod is a great product, but it is late to the show, too expensive, and is essentially an-iOS device. While their are a ton of Apple users out there, a non-iOS user would be an idiot to get this thing (which is not true for the other devices).
For the HomePod to truly be successful, obviously as we all know Apple needs to completely overhaul Siri. It is embarrassing that Siri is so far behind Alexa, Google, and even Cortana! Once they get Siri on par with those voice assistants, HomePod and all other Apple devices with Siri will greatly benefit.
Personally, I don't think it's that far behind. They limited what Siri on the HomePod can do right now, likely to address other software fixes/updates, but simply adding the same Siri functionality that we have on the iPhone would be much better. The issue I always had with Siri was microphones, it wouldn't hear me, it wouldn't understand me, etc. With the HomePod, that has all gone away (due to the array of microphones) and Siri hears me from upstairs in my bedroom at normal volume when the HomePod lives downstairs in the Living Room. Add in existing functionality and open up the Siri API even more so, along with incremental improvements (coming this year) and I think Siri is in a much better spot. I agree that Siri is behind, but not as much as people make it out to be. Alexa failed for me more than Siri does and that's why I have replaced my Echo's. This is just my two cents on the situation.
Apple has only released this HomePod to 3 countries. I live in Canada and it is still not available. I managed to get one on a vacation to the U.S. and I love it. But, find it insulting that they will not release it everywhere. Perhaps this sales figure would be much higher if released to all countries.