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HomePod Estimated to Have 3 Million Sales and 6% Market Share in United States
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If you have to finance $350, you can’t afford it under any circumstances.
This is very subjective. I've seen plenty of reviews where the audio quality of the Google Home Max beat the HomePod. I've also seen others where the HomePod beat the Google Home Max. My guess is they are very close in audio quality and it's a person's deep emotional feelings about the brand (Apple or Google) that will make one or the other come out on top.
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I only ask because that would be the deciding factor. I can't use Apple Music because it's not supported by my current Echo speakers or my Bose SoundTouch.
Got that price and knowing Apple it will be obsolete in 3 years no thank you. Sonos is the way to go at least those aren’t going to be non functional in 3 years
I want to want a HomePod. I really do. Everything else I have is Apple. But after years of frustration with Siri, Alexa was like a breath of fresh air. It’s going to take some serious changes and great reviews of a revamped Siri before I’ll plunk down $350.
On a side note... how much do you think Apple paid Belkin to add the Wemo Mini to HomeKit, thereby eating into sales of their own hub?
Apple needs to get Siri right, but they also need to get their tentacles into as much home control as possible. There are a lot of WeMo Mijis our there. Getting them into the Applesphere is going to make it easier for a lot of people to get onboard with a HomePod.
On a side note... how much do you think Apple paid Belkin to add the Wemo Mini to HomeKit, thereby eating into sales of their own hub?
Apple needs to get Siri right, but they also need to get their tentacles into as much home control as possible. There are a lot of WeMo Mijis our there. Getting them into the Applesphere is going to make it easier for a lot of people to get onboard with a HomePod.
If your like me and all in on Apple’s ecosystem Spotify is a non issue. You can’t use voice controls on any other speaker to control Apple Music
...and that's really Apple's problem with the HomePod: what is it? Is it competing with Amazon/Google "home assistants" that are a fraction of the price because they are loss-leaders for their role as Amazon cash registers and Google ad targeters, or is it competing with audiophile* speakers, for which you can easily pay from twice as much up to infinity and beyond...?
(*for a given value of "audiophile")
People who claim $349 is "too expensive" have no idea what they're talking about. A Sony boombox with a CD player cost $300 in the late 1980s, which adjusts to over $600 today with inflation...and the sound quality was obviously worse than what the HomePod provides.
I can listen to every song I’ve ever added to my iTunes collection thanks to Apple Music ability to match/upload your library
Spot on. And that's the beauty of HomePod. Always on, and not needing any other device/app to bring up what you want to listen to.
I agree with that, it is very subjective. It really comes down to personal preference and the ecosystem one is more set up for. There are certain areas where each company excels at.
It already does Calander appointments.
However I agree it will only get better with time. Nice to see it’s gaining traction. I think it will be a slow burner like the Apple Watch. In a few years the HomePod will have a much bigger market share.
That would help.
I tested with a favourite track 'Debaser' by the Pixies and it sounded awful. Sure if you like bass then it's perfectly fine. I like to know bass is present, not reinforced to the point of distortion of other sounds. And no I wouldn't get an echo, just a real speaker/amp combination instead. If there was more control over the sound then they'd probably sell more.
Why would you need to plug the HomePod into another set of speakers?
It sounds great on its own.
It's Apple's version of a shelf-system. It's also a potential replacement for wiring your home or apartment for sound and having speakers in the walls or ceilings etc.
Unlike Alexa, HomePod also doesn’t send private Conversations to another person without their permission
I'd certainly like to see the figures vs Sonos, as everyone was saying how the Grim Reaper will be knocking on their door when the HomePod launched.....
My Homepod sounds quite a bit better than my Sonos Play:1, and what can you play on Sonos that I can't on Homepod? Airplay2 brings the feature set almost in parity. Maybe Alexa can source audio content from more places than Siri, but my iPhone can probably send any signal to the Homepod that my Sonos can play, and I have 0 interest in Alexa in my home.
Yes...outstanding sound in a compact package that works exceptionally well. An excellent value if you are into AM.
Playing music very nicely and soon much more.
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In Europe Alexa is not even a thing to begin with.