Apple's HomePod Estimated to Have Just 5% of Smart Speaker Market Share in U.S.

[honglong1976]

do your ears work? "great sounding". no one rates those speakers as being great sounding. the google home max, yes, but not the lower priced ones. I'm sure google home max is overpriced too, by your definition, why do companies do this?

Have you actually heard one? The Google Home mini sounds clear but has no bass. The Google Home, however, sounds decent. Is it as good as a system costing thousands, of course not. But, as a smart speaker that's tiny, I am surprised how good it sounds (as long as you don't go past vol 8). Does it have bass? Considering the driver size and lack of subwoofer, it does.

I used to own Kef speakers, REL subwoofer, THX speakers, so I am used to decent sound. The Google Home in the context of what it is, the price, and it's size, is pretty good!

 

[MauiPa]

I don't know if Apple is even trying to compete with $25 smart speakers that die just outside of their 90 day warranty-- basically garbage. (Yeah I know that's probably not the most common scenario, but that's the experience I had with an echo and was just amazed that Amazon had no interest in making that right).

Just like Apple's target customers are not the same ones who buy cheap Android phones and don't spend money on apps.

Apple's problem is that -- while the Homepod is an awesome speaker, it doesn't quite hit that iPhone level of doing enough things great. Siri really does hold it back. (I also wish it had an analog input, but I'm sure that doesn't interest Apple).

Enough things great - great accurate sound, easy to set up and use, self-calibrates. Thats all I need it for. Siri is awesome for me - does everything I need it for, but then I am not one to talk to my appliances other than on, off, louder softer, play this, set alarm, set reminder. Analog? that is like really old school. Airplay 2 (Bluetooth might be nice, but it is nowhere near as robust)

And you say they have a problem. My guess would be that they are hitting their target market just fine. They seem like they specifically did not enter the toy market.

 

[erinsarah]

If Apple wants to compete in this market it needs to be a loss leader. You sell this at near cost then encourage HomeKit accessories and rake in the license profits. Apple is trying to profit from HomeKit licensing and the speaker itself. In this market the core device needs to be in as many households as possible.

Totally agreed. I wish Apple would stop dipping a toe in the water and just go whole hog into home automation. They are so very close, what with handoff from device to computer, airplay from device/computer to ATV, and Homekit on ATV. But the speaker is too pricey to be something to experiment with. Create a cheaper HomePod for the masses, and not only will people discover the utility of it, but the pressure will be on (as it is with Amazon) to increase the utility quickly.

 

[Smith288]

Yeah, great product. SUPER expensive. I have a bit of expendable income and I refuse to pay that price for it.

 

[rumz]

Enough things great - great accurate sound, easy to set up and use, self-calibrates. Thats all I need it for. Siri is awesome for me - does everything I need it for, but then I am not one to talk to my appliances other than on, off, louder softer, play this, set alarm, set reminder. Analog? that is like really old school. Airplay 2 (Bluetooth might be nice, but it is nowhere near as robust)

And you say they have a problem. My guess would be that they are hitting their target market just fine. They seem like they specifically did not enter the toy market.

Don't misunderstand me-- I love the Homepods. I have several. I want them in every room. They're not lacking enough for me to not want them. It *would* be nice if I could use them with certain devices that are outside of Apple's ecosystem-- like my Nintendo Switch. For that you'd need an analog connection just because of the latency involved in wireless audio. Apple can solve the latency for anything originating from their devices because they can control the video output as well. For anything else-- not useful.

My only criticism is the usual Siri one-- if Siri was the leading smart assistant, people would only be complaining about price. I personally am not big into the smart assistant thing, so it's a perk rather than a missed target for me.

 

[DotCom2]

I am an Apple fanatic and this is one product I had no interest in. Did get a houseful of Sonos tho.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

This is what happens when the CEO has zero interest or involvement in product development.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Apple forgot that 1) we already have Siri in our pocket, and 2) $300 speakers are not mainstream products.

 

[PickUrPoison]

I guess that's good for them. Maybe. I think. I'm not sure. I find it extremely hard to believe that there wasn't a group of people sitting in a board room at Apple and the topic of market share was never discussed. I always thought their entry into this market was a little odd but that's just me. If they're good with the result then I suppose that's all that matters for them.

Oh I’m sure market share was discussed, it’s just that no one at that table thought they should make a tinny-sounding, $25 smart mic to compete with Amazon and Google’s products.

In any case, the relevant market segment is the one for $300-400 smart speakers like Sonos or Google Home Max. Lumping it in with the $25 smart mics makes as much sense as grouping $20 fitness bands in with the Apple Watch.

 

[Bazooka-joe]

Improve Siri, improve home automation and drop the price to £150 per speaker or £250 for two....simples

 

[Khedron]

HomePod is #1 in market share for private smart speakers that don't commoditize 100% of your interactions with their devices.

#1 for sending 1% of your conversations to third party contractors to listen to with no opt-out too

 

[Smith288]

#1 for sending 1% of your conversations to third party contractors to listen to with no opt-out too

Side topic that's related but I updated my dev build yesterday and it turned on my Hey Siri without my permission. So that's awesome.

 

[nburwell]

As others mentioned, it's overpriced and does not provide enough value for the money.

I spent $22 on our Amazon Echo dot and it's way more helpful than the HomePod is -- especially since my wife and I are always ordering/re-ordering stuff for the house/dog from Amazon (Spotify and SiriusXM help too).

 

[Khedron]

There lies the problem with today's Apple. Apple puts its interests before the customer's. Apple doesn't want you using an alternative to Apple Music, so it does everything possible not to accommodate your individuality.

My first experience of wireless music was using the original AirPort Express, just a headphone jack integrated into a Wifi router but made something that was previously impossible easy

Nowadays Tim is so desperate for control Apple makes what's already easy convoluted

 

[ani4ani]

HomePod is just another example of the modern lazy Apple, thinking that all they need to do is produce anything [mediocre at best], charge as much as they like and the masses will lap it up. The reality is very much different, folks have become far more savvy. They will no longer buy half-baked, half-finished, featureless products even with the Apple name spread all over it, and they are no longer [in general] prepared to pay premium prices for non-premium products. This is not an exclusive issue to Apple - others should take note.

Make good products, e.g. watch, iPad [they are probably still the best] and folks will buy them and are prepared to pay a [small?] premium

No one truly interested [and truly understanding] sound quality, rather than interpreting "lots of bass / goes loud" as sound quality would choose two homepods if they knew that they could get so much better sound quality from "real" speakers....and no one seriously wanting "smart" would pick a HomePod...and that is evidenced by the sales numbers.

 

[paradox00]

Make a sound bar with this and Apple TV built in. That would sell.

 

[citysnaps]

Alexa does far more and I can get one for $25.

THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS?!? lol

Sure...if you’re not fussy or care about sound quality, a $25 speaker makes sense.

 

[Wide opeN]

HomePod is just another example of the modern lazy Apple, thinking that all they need to do is produce anything [mediocre at best], charge as much as they like and the masses will lap it up. The reality is very much different, folks have become far more savvy. They will no longer buy half-baked, half-finished, featureless products even with the Apple name spread all over it, and they are no longer [in general] prepared to pay premium prices for non-premium products. This is not an exclusive issue to Apple - others should take note.

Make good products, e.g. watch, iPad [they are probably still the best] and folks will buy them and are prepared to pay a [small?] premium

No one truly interested [and truly understanding] sound quality, rather than interpreting "lots of bass / goes loud" as sound quality would choose two homepods if they knew that they could get so much better sound quality from "real" speakers....and no one seriously wanting "smart" would pick a HomePod...and that is evidenced by the sales numbers.

Spot on!!!

Plain and simple Apple missed the boat on this. What they do next, if anything will tell the real story.

Never even considered buying, and I'm diehard Apple fan. They'll have my attention in the speaker department when they come to their senses, if not... Oh well no sale.

Easy...

 

[DevNull0]

What’s its share among smart speakers priced similarly, like Bose and Sonos?

BOSE and Sonos sell speakers that will play audio from any source. Homepod is a crippled, limited use smart speaker. that can only do a few things within the apple ecosystem Not remotely the same market. When homepod plays audio from my game console and TV, not appleTV, let's talk.

 

[trip1ex]

i was using mine last night. I watched a show on HBO Go via AppleTV and had the soundtrack coming out of the 2 HOmepods. Worked great. I like that feature.

I wish my tv could output sound to the HOmepod via Airplay2.

 

[yadmonkey]

I can't believe people are comparing HomePod to a $25 product that sounds like utter ***** and is subsidized by data rape. Choosing Alexa is inviting a metaphoric vampire into your home.

The HomePod sounds way better than I expected and has supernatural ability to pick up your voice when playing loudly or when you are far from it. I don't care that Siri is behind compared to companies that see their customers as data cows. It's foolish to bring those things into the house.

And HomePod is not overpriced by much, if at all. At least not if you give a rats ass about sound quality.

 

[Art Mark]

The 'Smart Speaker' market is an odd one for me to figure out. I know there are people wiring their whole home up through a 'smart' speaker. But using Amazon and Google I have to wonder about the security and of course, the omnipresent Google and Amazon listening and reading everything so they check-off lines in your datasheet to resell. We have an amazon one that my daughter uses on occasion to play music, the sound is pretty weak. I have a HomePod in my office that I use often. Not sure what this market turns into.

 

[cube]

It is not smart to buy a "smart" speaker.

 

[ZMacintosh]

Its a weird product for sure....is it high end audio or a personal assistant?

Audio is terrific, have yet to try stereo mode...it would be nice to not need internet services for it. I shut off Siri functionality due to random interruptions and mostly to AirPlay.

If it could function "offline" as well, that would make the price more appealing and being able to connect other audio equipment

 

[Shanghaichica]

The 'Smart Speaker' market is an odd one for me to figure out. I know there are people wiring their whole home up through a 'smart' speaker. But using Amazon and Google I have to wonder about the security and of course, the omnipresent Google and Amazon listening and reading everything so they check-off lines in your datasheet to resell. We have an amazon one that my daughter uses on occasion to play music, the sound is pretty weak. I have a HomePod in my office that I use often. Not sure what this market turns into.

Apple and their contractors also listen to what users are saying to their HomePods.