I see you left out audio quality. That's where HomePod excels.
Some people value audio quality when listening to music, and don't mind paying more.
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China Times Echoes Poor HomePod Sales and Rumors About Possible Lower-Priced Version
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I see you left out audio quality. That's where HomePod excels.
Some people value audio quality when listening to music, and don't mind paying more.
You guys realize that 200,000 per month, means 2.4 million per year, right? Doesn't sound too bad to me, considering what it is.
No one that values audio quality would subscribe to Apple Music or use iTunes (with its noted lack of FLAC support. ALAC conversions are a waste of time.)
This comment may make me unpopular here, but frankly I'm glad the HomePod is failing. It is a lackluster product, and Apple needs to stop relying on their logo and name to sell even crappy products.
If this had proper Bluetooth support, and a proper line-in, it would be an absolutely phenomenal speaker. I would have bought one on release day. However, the fact that my friends with Android devices of Windows PCs cannot connect to the HomePod to play music from their devices pretty much kills it for me.
I have a JBL speaker that supports AirPlay, Bluetooth, DLNA, TOSlink, and analog line in. It sounds great, and cost about the same as the HomePod when I got it a couple years ago. Apple should have at least lived up to something like that.
If this had proper Bluetooth support, and a proper line-in, it would be an absolutely phenomenal speaker. I would have bought one on release day. However, the fact that my friends with Android devices of Windows PCs cannot connect to the HomePod to play music from their devices pretty much kills it for me.
I have a JBL speaker that supports AirPlay, Bluetooth, DLNA, TOSlink, and analog line in. It sounds great, and cost about the same as the HomePod when I got it a couple years ago. Apple should have at least lived up to something like that.
LOL, sounds as if you actually believed that yourself? Damn Apple marketing is that good!
It may be overrated, but as geeks my fiancé and I love it. Asking Alexa to control lighting, HVAC... even my sprinkler system, is fun. As is levering Alexa to quickly and easily get web-based data. We're looking forward to geeking out on this.
That said, it really is - for now - still a toy, but like most technologies is also somewhat insidious. It will weave itself into our individual and collective consciousness until we perceive it as a requirement.
I really like mine. Maybe I can pick up a used one on the cheap. 
Sure, Siri isn't perfect, but she works for most things. I'm confident that software updates are going to make it even better.
Sure, Siri isn't perfect, but she works for most things. I'm confident that software updates are going to make it even better.
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A new supply chain report out of Taiwan echoes a recent Bloomberg News story suggesting that HomePod sales have been lackluster, but as with most channel checks, it can be difficult to draw accurate conclusions.
![homepodhandson-800x450.jpg]()
Namely, the China Times claims that Apple has reduced its HomePod shipment forecast to 200,000 units or less per month in the second quarter, down from around 500,000 units per month in the first quarter, due to lower-than-expected sales. Apple is also said to revise down its shipment forecast for all of 2018.
HomePod sales may very well be lackluster, as a relatively niche product with an expensive $349 price tag, and given a handful of early reviews that criticized Siri's capabilities, but Apple CEO Tim Cook has previously warned against trying to interpret single data points from the supply chain.
Cook on Apple's first quarter earnings call in 2013:For example, the China Times report only mentions Inventec and a few smaller suppliers affected by the cuts, despite reports that Foxconn would begin assembling HomePods alongside Inventec at some point in 2018. It's possible that Inventec has simply lost a portion of its orders as Apple diversifies its production.
A few months have passed since the HomePod launched, too, so early adopters who were eagerly waiting to purchase the speaker have likely already done so. Just like an iPhone, sales can be expected to be strongest within the first few weeks of availability, followed by a gradual decline over time. Production cuts are to be expected.
Moreover, the HomePod has yet to even launch outside of the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, so sales remain limited geographically. Apple said the speaker will launch in France and Germany later this spring.
If sales are in fact poor, one way that Apple could boost interest is by offering a more affordable HomePod, and today's report echoes rumors about a possible lower-priced version. However, the report predicts that Apple wouldn't launch a revised or cheaper HomePod until at least the fourth quarter of this year.
We'll likely never know exactly how well the HomePod is selling, as Apple said it will group the speaker under its "Other Products" category in its quarterly earnings reports, alongside the Apple Watch, Apple TV, AirPods, Beats, iPod, and more. But we'll be listening to the May 1 earnings call for any potential hints.
Article Link: China Times Echoes Poor HomePod Sales, Says Apple Has Reduced Orders to 200,000 Per Month
I've been waiting for a smart speaker from Apple, and even I didn't buy. I'm not an audiophile, and for me the point of a smart speaker is that the "assistant" work really well. I would pay the price if Siri worked better.
It’s only sold in a handful of countries. These figures are not bad, at all, for a Gen 1 product with so little availability.
Better than the Apple Watch.
Better than the Apple Watch.
I fully disagree with that as a happy audiohile with a HomePod. The sound is an engineering marvel and all its waiting for a software update.
The hardware is key in the HomePod’s future.
Yup... Some have no idea how it works or what the benefits are. And complain about price or Siri.
Other's who do, and value audio quality from an always-on compact device that automatically assesses a room's acoustics and dynamically adapts to compensate in order to produce excellent sound, will value HomePod.
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Still doesn’t support stereo. Still doesn’t support synchronized play. Actually makes Siri WORSE by intercepting every “hey Siri” in it’s vicinity despite being able to handle far fewer queries than your phone. Sound quality may or may not be better than Sonos One which costs half the price. Doesn’t integrate with
AV equipment or have any sort of line-in.
Still not sure who the intended customer is other than kids of VCs who just started their sophomore year in the dorms at Stanford.
AV equipment or have any sort of line-in.
Still not sure who the intended customer is other than kids of VCs who just started their sophomore year in the dorms at Stanford.
Agree, but by most reports, it is still a very good wireless, powered speaker for $350. However, the market for higher-end audio is undoubtedly much smaller than that for a $25 "personal assistant" speaker. It's too bad, really, because Apple has created an impressive piece of hi-fi equipment at a reasonable price, while Amazon and Google have produced a cheap speaker subsidized by mining the data from everything you say.
The HomePod was designed mostly for people in the Apple ecosystem. I think Siri should have a music domain so services like Spotify can play natively on the device. As far as I/O this is Apple we’re talking about. I’m not surprised there’s no I/O and I’m guessing there are sound quality issues with Bluetooth. Anyway Apple didn’t design HomePod around supporting Android phones and Windows PCs. You might think they should have but I’m not surprised they didn’t.
Echoes poor homepod sales? I see what they did there.
Once it supports stereo sound, I think you will be hard pressed to assemble a full system for music listening that outperforms 2 HomePods for $700, and certainly not one as compact and beautiful as Apple's offering. As someone who moves frequently and lives in a small apartment, I will be very tempted to sell my bulky, costly stereo gear in favor of a two small, powered, wireless speakers. Any Siri ability is only a bonus in my mind (although I understand others' gripes).
I fully admit this product may not please most, and may not be a public success, but as a semi-audiophile, I am really happy to see a company like Apple point it's R&D dollars and engineering expertise in this direction. I hope they do for audio reproduction what they have done for digital photography and image processing.
Superb speaker that's completely over engineered. It's like owning a mansion in a neighborhood of ranch houses.
And despite that they are selling 200k units a month!
Wonder if the Google Max is selling that much.
I am not disagreeing with you. I am just saying that the losses will have to be bigger for Apple if they are to change course. I have been hoping and wishing for that since 2012 and every year they beat revenue estimates. This is Apple
I never thought I would buy one but I did. I love the convenience and the sound is very good although I am somewhat disappointed in the output volume.
I know Siri's feature set is limited compared to Google/Alexa but that's a Siri feature problem. There some annoying things that will corrected eventually (like having HomePod access your calendar for making appointments). I will be install some home automation (thermostat, lights) within the next month or so and that will make HomePod even more beneficial for me.
As for the Siri deficits, the voice assistant still does about 90% of what I want it to do.
I know Siri's feature set is limited compared to Google/Alexa but that's a Siri feature problem. There some annoying things that will corrected eventually (like having HomePod access your calendar for making appointments). I will be install some home automation (thermostat, lights) within the next month or so and that will make HomePod even more beneficial for me.
As for the Siri deficits, the voice assistant still does about 90% of what I want it to do.
I think you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference in sound between four Sonos ones and two airpods for the same price. Of course it’s speculation because right now only one of those systems supports stereo and simultaneous output.
And, of course, true audiophiles would prefer systems that support analog.
But I agree, for a few people this makes sense. It just doesn’t make sense for true audiophiles, people on a budget, people not on a budget who really can’t hear any difference between AirPod and it’s higher end but much cheaper competitors, people who already have speakers, people who want speakers for tv, people who want surround sound, people who want multi-room audio, people who regularly use their iPhone for “hey Siri,” families with different musical tastes who don’t want their apple music suggestions and playlists all screwed up, families who want smart speakers and the ability to maintain separate iCloud accounts, people not in the Apple ecosystem, ...