I don't know why Apple wouldn't bring back Airport. A decent Apple router and/or mesh network (a la Eero before Amazon bought them at least..) would serve as a central hub for anything else they wanted to do in this space.
HomePod could have been a success if they had fixed Siri, made it open (i.e. bluetooth) and priced it right (I bought mine on sale in Best Buy for $199/each and thought they were worth every penny).
I use my AppleTv's (I have one for each TV in my house) every day. They are the best of the set-top boxes by some margin - especially since Roku got into a spat with Google. Again - pricing them at a premium is what is causing the failure. To most people a $50 Amazon fire is "just as good" as an AppleTv.
This space is going to be won by those who commoditize and dominate it. Premium pricing for premium quality is not this market. Apple knows this which is why there is a $199 Apple Watch.
HomePod could have been a success if they had fixed Siri, made it open (i.e. bluetooth) and priced it right (I bought mine on sale in Best Buy for $199/each and thought they were worth every penny).
I use my AppleTv's (I have one for each TV in my house) every day. They are the best of the set-top boxes by some margin - especially since Roku got into a spat with Google. Again - pricing them at a premium is what is causing the failure. To most people a $50 Amazon fire is "just as good" as an AppleTv.
This space is going to be won by those who commoditize and dominate it. Premium pricing for premium quality is not this market. Apple knows this which is why there is a $199 Apple Watch.