China Times Echoes Poor HomePod Sales and Rumors About Possible Lower-Priced Version

[avanpelt]

I hope sales have, in fact, been poor for the HomePod. They should've been. Apple waited years to venture into this product category, kept pushing the launch date back after the product was announced, and then finally released the product with two key features (multi-room support and stereo pairing) absent.

To make matters worse, Siri -- which is already lackluster -- is the primary way to interact with the HomePod. Siri's favorite thing to do on my iPhone or iPad when I ask it things it doesn't know (which is a lot of things) is web searches. Well, guess what? Siri can't do web searches from a device that doesn't have an interactive touchscreen on it. Siri on the HomePod is basically Siri with two hands tied behind its back.

When you compare HomePod with Google Home and Amazon Echo devices, sure, the HomePod produces a richer, fuller sound, but it only integrates with one streaming music service and it can't reliably answer more than a small fraction of the questions you ask it. As I've said before, there's no way the HomePod will replace my Sonos Play 1s. They sound great to my ears, stereo pairing and multi-room support have worked flawlessly for years, they support all the music services my family uses (and many more), and they do exactly what I need them to do at a cost that I think is fair.

 

[ipponrg]

Open it up to third party audio options, so that it doesn't seem to be so thoroughly locked down to Apple and only Apple

That would be nice. Probably not in this Apple era, but hopefully in another.

 

[TonyC28]

That is the market you wanted Apple to go after, Apple may not be going for that market, and we have no idea if Apple is hitting their numbers as we don't know their number or how many have been sold...

I'm just going off the two reports on MacRumors in the last 24 hours about "poor sales" of the HomePod. I assume based on them calling sales poor and Apple cutting production (supposedly) that they probably didn't hit their target numbers. And it is not the market that I wanted Apple to go after, it's just the market I think they should have gone after.

 

[spazzcat]

I'm just going off the two reports on MacRumors in the last 24 hours about "poor sales" of the HomePod. I assume based on them calling sales poor and Apple cutting production (supposedly) that they probably didn't hit their target numbers. And it is not the market that I wanted Apple to go after, it's just the market I think they should have gone after.

Which you find this same article for just about everyone product of Apple's...

 

[neuropsychguy]

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.

Just for context - if Apple sells that many (2.4 million) per year, at a 20% net profit margin (Apple's average last year was closer to 21%), that's $168 million in profit per year from the HomePod. I know that's a drop in the bucket of Apple's profits but how many companies would love "poor sales" profiting them $168 million?

Apple could have narrower margins on the HomePod (R&D, start-up costs, etc.) but it's not something they are losing money on. Of course, if it flops then they could lose money on it but so far nothing indicates a flop.

What if the headline, instead of "China Times Echoes Poor HomePod Sales" was "Apple HomePod Estimated Profits Greater than GDP of Some Nations"? That's a little click-baity but ostensibly correct. If my estimate is accurate there are about 3 countries with lower GDPs than HomePod profits.

A side note: if Apple was a country, its revenue would put it ranked about #46 for GDP size. If we focus just on net profits (which isn't fair because many/most countries deficit spend), Apple is ranked about #87 (GDP size comparison) from profits alone.

 

[spazzcat]

Because maybe they want to listen to something other than Apple Music?

Apple will open it up down the road, they always do, I never recommend the HP to someone that isn't fully invested in Apple Music.

 

[9081094]

I hope sales have, in fact, been poor for the HomePod. They should've been. Apple waited years to venture into this product category, kept pushing the launch date back after the product was announced, and then finally released the product with two key features (multi-room support and stereo pairing) absent.

To make matters worse, Siri -- which is already lackluster -- is the primary way to interact with the HomePod. Siri's favorite thing to do on my iPhone or iPad when I ask it things it doesn't know (which is a lot of things) is web searches. Well, guess what? Siri can't do web searches from a device that doesn't have an interactive touchscreen on it. Siri on the HomePod is basically Siri with two hands tied behind its back.

When you compare HomePod with Google Home and Amazon Echo devices, sure, the HomePod produces a richer, fuller sound, but it only integrates with one streaming music service and it can't reliably answer more than a small fraction of the questions you ask it. As I've said before, there's no way the HomePod will replace my Sonos Play 1s. They sound great to my ears, stereo pairing and multi-room support have worked flawlessly for years, they support all the music services my family uses (and many more), and they do exactly what I need them to do at a cost that I think is fair.

You see this wrong... Apple is putting very much effort in all of it's products. The've been working on the new MacPro and MacMini since 2012 and also on the HomePod (which is a rip off from the much cheaper Harmon Kardon Aura with optical input)

 

[mgauss7]

I was interested in getting one but after the last update killed the bass I’m less interested. I’ll still probably pull the trigger here in the next few months.

It needs an equalizer.

 

[simonmet]

One of HomePod’s key selling points — being able to talk to it directly instead of your phone — seems pretty niche to me. iPhones have had hands-free “Hey Siri” for a while.

So for just a tiny bit of convenience you’re paying quite a lot for a speaker that’s locked to iOS and Apple-approved software with (currently) no third-party app support or even any wired inputs.

I think there are better looking speakers out there too. It doesn’t look bad, just... meh.

 

[yesjam]

If it was a legitimately viable alternative to simply using speakers or headphones with a Mac computer (e.g. if I could connect two of them via Bluetooth to my iMac and rout all system sounds through them) then I would be all over it. If Apple introduced a set of straight-up speakers using similar technology but without the "smart" functionality I would be first in line to buy.

 

[dwaltwhit]

This is how the market economy works:

Company releases product at $X
Market bares that $X is too expensive for product
Company adjusts product based on market demand

With this product adjustments will likely be related to siri integration/quality and price. I imagine there will be two homepods in the category: a "pro" (current model) and a more basic model (echo dot).

I am not personally in the market for a homepod pro (trademark pending) as I have plenty of things that play music at quality levels that suit my need (discerning but not audiophilic) but I would definitely be in the market for a homepod "air" or "mini." I think this is the market Apple will attack. The first product is always on the steep end to feel the market out.

This was similarly, though not exactly, the case with the watch. Series 0 came in sport, regular, and edition. This was a litmus test for the market. Apple quickly found the market was niche for the edition line but they learned, presumably, that there was a much larger market for the regular and sport tiers.

TL;DR Homepod pro will lead the way for the category but will not be the most "successful" (read: highest selling) in the category for Apple

 

[Bazooka-joe]

A coup,e of weeks ago 9to5Mac reported that Apple were investing in 160 engineers and developer to increase the capabilities of Siri so perhaps they have finally woken up.

 

[HermanMunster]

I still don’t understand the appeal of smart speakers in general. The smart part is already covered by a phone, which you carry around for most of the day. The speaker part, well for that there are many wireless speakers out there also many airplay capable a/v receivers offering different levels of audio quality.

I know smartphones also bundled together features that were already present in different equipment but what they offered as a new thing was the convenience of not having to carry say, separate camera, phone and laptop.

With smart speakers I don’t see the extra convenience. Sure, they occupy much less space than traditional home theater (or audiophile stereo) setups but the the sound quality is not even comparable.

So, in short: no matter what Apple says about the HP audio quality, it is nowhere near my current setup of Bowers and Wilkins speakers and Denon receiver. If I ever want to dim the lights using my voice, I can talk to my phone.

 

[kildraik]

I kind of enjoyed this report. Apple needs to be the juicy sandwich it used to be. They’ve watered down to grilled cheese as of late.

 

[gaximus]

Most people don't care about good sound, they just want a lot of bass. And most audiophiles already have good sound systems. And Siri isn't enough to sell the product at this price point, even if Siri was amazing and work perfect every time. I have one HomePod, and love it, it sounds amazing and I only use Siri for HomeKit stuff. I want to put one in every room, just can't afford it. Its cheaper to connect a RaspberryPI to an existing sound system and enable airplay on it.

 

[creediddy]

I think much of the smart speaker "phenom" is overrated. I don't want to talk to my home, and I am sure most others don't want to as well.

I disagree. Having functionality of skills built in makes it a much better experience.

I can create fan white noise by asking Alexa, "Ask fan sounds to loop". The sound makes it sound like a real fan for me to sleep. Its better than going on your phone to find a YouTube video that is looped for 11 hrs on your phone or tablet. I believe I will engulf in all of its capabilities once I get my potential Leviton, August, Wemo wifi and door locks going.

HomePod is a weak launch period in comparison to what Alexa can do.

This is coming from an Iphone 7 Plus, 4 iPads, Apple TV's...etc...

 

[McG2k1]

meh. I hate talking to my machines. It’s not that they don’t understand, it’s that it feels so disruptive. If I ask her to shut off a light, just do it. We aren’t dating. You don’t need the final word.

Yeah this bugs me on the echo too. Apparently amazon took those confirmations out for awhile and it backfired because then people didn’t know if Alexa was actually hearing the command and not executing or not hearing it at all. I get that but there should be a way to line item disable confirmations.

 

[Danoc]

-

 

[nebo1ss]

Maybe if they run "Aalexa" they might sell more.

 

[odHbo]

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.

Well said!

 

[nebo1ss]

I still don’t understand the appeal of smart speakers in general. The smart part is already covered by a phone, which you carry around for most of the day. The speaker part, well for that there are many wireless speakers out there also many airplay capable a/v receivers offering different levels of audio quality.

I know smartphones also bundled together features that were already present in different equipment but what they offered as a new thing was the convenience of not having to carry say, separate camera, phone and laptop.

With smart speakers I don’t see the extra convenience. Sure, they occupy much less space than traditional home theater (or audiophile stereo) setups but the the sound quality is not even comparable.

So, in short: no matter what Apple says about the HP audio quality, it is nowhere near my current setup of Bowers and Wilkins speakers and Denon receiver. If I ever want to dim the lights using my voice, I can talk to my phone.

I think there is a market for a cheap smart speaker. I have a couple of the small Amazon echo units that i picked up cheap and i use them to control smart home devices like lights, heating, security and home theatre. I could control all of this with my phone but it is way more convenient telling Alexa to turn off the reading lamp and rolling over in bed without having to fish out my phone or reach out to find the lamp switch.

 

[bigboyz12000]

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.

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 and Rumors About Possible Lower-Priced Version

I am not really understanding why people want to invite "1984" into their homes? Nobody NEEDS this device. Always listening?? No thank you. I mean my phone already does everything that the speaker can do(with Siri on its always listeng too haha!). I don't see the point other than competing with the innovation of competitors.

 

[BruceEBonus]

Same as the Apple Pencil. It’s a very expensive accessory which folks won’t buy on a whim because there’s a thing called competition out there doing stuff cheaper and usually better.

Apple make their real money from those locked into the IOS ecosystem and this is why they concentrate all their efforts on stuff based on it. The HomePod and the Pencil for that matter are all stuff they’ve brought in very late to the game.

Trouble is, the public know that and will shop around for much better value kit which isn’t dependent on the “IOS walled garden” of Big Brother Apple - they can make a choice which they can’t with their iPads and iPhones.

Apple won’t care about poor HomePod sales. To them, it’s a little sideline project if nothing else than to show the press that they’re still (cough) “innovating”. Yes, the HomePod idea will fold and be quietly forgotten in a year or two but don’t think this is the tip of the iceberg - of people realising they could actually pop their head over the wall and go somewhere else for their stuff. Apple are too well established for that. And they know it.

If they didn’t, then they wouldn’t have the nerve to still keep charging huge markups on their hardware. They know their customer base more than anyone and that they’ll loyally buy the next Apple iteration on name alone. You’ve got to admire Apple, their gall and how far they’ve got with what they’ve recently wheeled out as “new”. Few other companies if any, could do that and still have the impressive shares results that Apple always does.

 

[wallysb01]

I just gotta say, I really enjoy many apple products, but I love a good Apple failure as well. They try SOOO hard on a dud sometimes and they just plain miss the easy stuff. Its pure comedy at times. You can't make a mac mini, an updated 4" phone, a touchbar-less 15" MBP, or a Mac Pro, but you try to sell an expensive speaker with Siri with the main selling point that it somehow learns your room? You realize Siri is a running joke for most people right? And that most people aren't going to pay several hundred dollars more for something they can't tell has better sound quality just because it says Apple.

 

[nvmls]

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.

Riight, those "who do" appreciate room acoustics adaptation when playing compressed crap on a $350 locked box. Great appreciation.