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Apple Sold an Estimated 600,000 HomePod Speakers During the First Quarter of 2018
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Did not even crack one million units sold! You know Timmy is already planning its obsolescence!
What data does Amazon sell with respect to someone using the Echo Dot? And to who do they sell it to?
As a user, why would I care if it is profitable? I somewhat care about marketshare because that brings more devs and better apps. I expect because of the large marketshare that some companies have, we will start seeing more home automation and electronics integration with those smart speakers.
They hired away the big AI guy from Google plus bought some companies. I think Apple is finally figuring out Siri is in desperate need of a brain transplant.
A version more in line with a Sonos One which retails for $199. So the sound would not be quite as good, but it would have the same premise.
Definitely not a gimmick to me and clearly millions of others. I have Alexa dots all around my house, they're nice and discreet, cheap yet very effective. They and the Google units control my lights and each radiators evohome thermostat no problem at all. The commands are quick and simple and with the Google units particularly, quite conversational. Definitely quicker than searching for my phone, loading an app and changing the setting. Doubly so when my hands are full.Sorry they are gimmicks. Sure it can set a timer!!!!!!! Or I even connected my Nest thermostats to the full size Echo we have. Asking Alexa to change the temp on the upstairs Nest is slooooooooooow because Alexa/Amazon have to log into the Nest skill with my user/pass (I am sure that is private) then change the temp. I can do it much faster with my phone. Not to mention I have to be near the Alexa to do it.
All of these assistants need to be spoken to in a specific manor for them work right. All of them can be tripped up easily. The need another 5-10 years and mountains of data before you can speak to them like a normal person.
That doesn't even scratch the surface of their abilities, mine even tell me my local news and give me details of how my commute looks each morning, as I'm getting up so I know if I need to leave a bit earlier.
Get a proper setup, use it right and they are quite amazing.
https://github.com/nfarina/homebridge
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Fix your wifi
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Indeed, I bet if they compared profits on the devices Apple would be on top.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Because less competition is always good for consumers??? Think!
I did not mean to imply you were stupid. Just the questions being asked. I misinterpreted your tone. With the overall negative vibe around here it seemed like more of a jab. My apologies.
US, UK, Australia, France, & Germany. That’s where the HomePod is marketed and sold.
First-Gen Echo devices are selling in 89 countries. Second-Gen, in 36.
Similar differences with the other products mentioned.
If the data was broken down on something like a per-capita basis, it would be a better representation of how good/bad the HomePod is doing. For lack of any better data though, and keeping in mind length of time in the market, my thumb-in-the-air estimate is that 600,000 units in 5 countries isn’t bad, when compared to the number of countries in which those other products are sold.
First-Gen Echo devices are selling in 89 countries. Second-Gen, in 36.
Similar differences with the other products mentioned.
If the data was broken down on something like a per-capita basis, it would be a better representation of how good/bad the HomePod is doing. For lack of any better data though, and keeping in mind length of time in the market, my thumb-in-the-air estimate is that 600,000 units in 5 countries isn’t bad, when compared to the number of countries in which those other products are sold.
I have 2 and love the sound quality. They really need to update it so they can pair with each other. I have them flanking my TV and want my AppleTV to automatically output to both HomePods. Right now I can only output to one. When I use "Hey Siri" sometimes the one paired to the TV will disconnect to field the request. Sometimes when one HomePod is playing music I'll say "Hey Siri, play <something else>" and the other HomePod will start playing while the other continues with whatever it was playing. The experience is pretty awful right now if you have more than 1 in the same space.
The sound quality is great, the microphones are very nice and pick up my voice easily. It also has pretty great HomeKit integration. I have no problems controlling my Hue lights or my Ecobee thermostat. Just please Apple, hurry up and ship AirPlay2 and solve all the problems I'm having!
The sound quality is great, the microphones are very nice and pick up my voice easily. It also has pretty great HomeKit integration. I have no problems controlling my Hue lights or my Ecobee thermostat. Just please Apple, hurry up and ship AirPlay2 and solve all the problems I'm having!
The Echo Dot can be connected to any great sound system you want.
The HomePod can only be used for the extremely narrow way Apple insists upon.
I’m pretty sure this is not and has never been Apple’s goal, any more than their goal is to sell the most iPhones or the most home computers, any more than Mercedes-Benz has a goal of selling the most cars.
At $349 HomePod should come with 1 years subscription to Apple Music at least. This would then lock the user into an Apple Music subscription and the hardware for future iterations.
That's Apple's modus operandi. Lock people in, make it too costly and miserable to use anything but Apple devices and services.
I personally love my HomePod. The hardware is great and I’m hopeful Apple can (and will) update the software and Siri over time. At $499 (Australia) yes it’s a luxury speaker first and at the moment a smart speaker second - but I’m really happy with my purchase.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
I get that you are really trying to suggest that it needs to offer more value for the money, but if the HP buyer is not already locked into AM, the bulk of what an HP can do is lost. Remove AM and the whole "smarts" side is barely useful in this product.
For the non-AM speaker shopper, there is a multitude of other options that are not so thoroughly locked down. For example, for much, much less than $349, one can buy just the (arguably superior) smarts and much more open technology from the competition.
Then, they can attach those smarts to ANY quality of speaker(s), including any they might already have on hand. Imagine a HP Dot product that isolates just the Siri smarts of HP into a dot-like product. Could even the koolaid drunkards spin that as a "must have" from Apple? I wonder.
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For $349....
Amazon Echo Plus + Edifier R1700BT would smoke the HomePod in terms of sound quality.
I'm in the process of ordering me a pair of R1700's or Edifier R1850's to pair with the Echo Plus. I prefer the 1850's as it includes a subwoofer output. I already have two Polk PSW505's. A single HomePod would have no chance against an Echo with this setup.
Amazon Echo Plus + Edifier R1700BT would smoke the HomePod in terms of sound quality.
I'm in the process of ordering me a pair of R1700's or Edifier R1850's to pair with the Echo Plus. I prefer the 1850's as it includes a subwoofer output. I already have two Polk PSW505's. A single HomePod would have no chance against an Echo with this setup.
Price is way too high. It’ll never be competitive at that price so long as the echo and google mini are around.
They can't compete, or they haven't chosen to compete?
You're begging the question here. You're saying they can't compete in the smart speaker market, which is not the market they're trying to compete it. They're making, selling, and marketing a device that plays music, also known as a speaker.
As I said before, Sonos is who the HomePod should be compared to (and then you can make valid criticisms, like the HomePods current lack of stereo and whole-house audio).
Nobody complained that the Sonos Play:1, 3, and 5 can't control your lights or play trivia games. That would be stupid, as it's not what the speaker was designed to do. It's nearly as stupid to make that complaint about about HomePod (I say nearly, because while it's not its main feature, HomePod does have Siri, so criticisms about Siri are somewhat warranted even if the people making them are missing the point).
It'd also be stupid to complain that the audio quality of a $50 Echo Dot sucks. Playing music isn't it's purpose. Being a voice assistant is. The HomePod is the opposite.
So criticize the Echo Dot for being a crappy music playing device, and criticize the HomePod for being a crappy voice assistant (I'd disagree, incidentally; it may not be the best voice assistant out there, but it's a much better voice assistant than Echo Dot is at playing music). There's validity to these criticisms, but they also demonstrate a complete lack of understanding of what these devices are supposed to do.
To draw one more comparison: I could criticize a Lotus for being crappy at hauling lumber, and a Ram pickup for being a crappy track car. There's a grain of truth to both criticisms, but they both demonstrate an utter lack of understanding.
Not many. Most people are uncritical listeners and unless it’s really really really bad people will say that the sound is good enough. And at $30 it’s not worth the hassle to return it.
Of course the software will be updated over time. I'm expecting five years of updates for this device, maybe even ten. It is a speaker and speakers are supposed to and will last a long time. Since the CPU in it is massively overpowered for what it does, updates should be no problem as well.