HomePod Estimated to Have Just 4% Market Share Worldwide Despite 45% Sales Growth Last Quarter

[nsayer]

Hey Siri, it's bedtime. And it does all that.

I shouldn't have to set up a scene just because I want to use a conjunction.

 

[axantas]

It would be an easy thing: If i look at the feature list and compare it with my old Sonos speakers, I would get these "cheap" Sonos again.

Homepod lacks two major things:

- Play MY local music WITHOUT a supplementary 1000$ streaming device (aka iPhone)
- Play more than the Apple-approved 3 radiostations just by itself.

We would be immediately in the game then, but as-is at THAT price. No thanks...

 

[Shanghaichica]

Market share is becoming increasingly relevant now that they are trying to be a services company

It’s a bit more complicated than that. Amazon and google have a higher market share but most of their devices are sold for peanuts or given away for free. How much money are they actually making off of those devices.

 

[MauiPa]

Another misbegotten article by someone who just doesn't get it. The HomePod competes with the Google Home Max ($399) (and some SONOS, BOSE, and others), Amazon only sells crappy speakers, so no comparison there. Maybe the author wants a $349 super sounding speaker to compete with a $25 POS speaker, but no, never going to happen.

Apple, for whatever reason, has not really entered this market, so no wonder it has little market share.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

In my opinion, the HomePod has the best hardware of any other device out there.
But both Amazon’s Echo and Google’s device seem to have more advanced and flexible software.

I have an Echo, Echo Plus, and Echo Dot at home, and I have to say these are not bad at all. And spent less than a single HomePod.
Maybe when the next gen HomePod is realease, I’ll give it a try.

 

[Morgenland]

It would be an easy thing: If i look at the feature list and compare it with my old Sonos speakers, I would get these "cheap" Sonos again.

Homepod lacks two major things:

- Play MY local music WITHOUT a supplementary 1000$ streaming device (aka iPhone)
- Play more than the Apple-approved 3 radiostations just by itself.

We would be immediately in the game then, but as-is at THAT price. No thanks...

Sonos was OK, but not comparable to HomePod. I sold all my beloved six Sonos, never regretted it, and am happy with my 4 HomePods. There are, as you can see, quite different users. Call me old-fashioned. For me speakers are primarily for enjoying music and less for reading the weather forecast. Or as a substitute for a conversation partner.

A market share only shows what people choose, but not why. And usually it reflects just the desire to save money.

 

[Shanghaichica]

In my opinion, the HomePod has the best hardware of any other device out there.
But both Amazon’s Echo and Google’s device seem to have more advanced and flexible software.

The google max is supposed to be comparable to the HomePod but loudness isn’t what I covert n a speaker so it’s not what I’d consider. I prefer a more balanced set up.

However I agree that the echo and the google home have better features and abilities. My £29 google home mini can turn on my TV and start playing any show on Netflix I ask it to or search YouTube. I can get it play shows from some of the catch up services in the UK and if I lived in the US I could get it to play shows from hulu and content purchased from the google play store. My HomePods can’t do any of that.

 

[JustinM80]

This is weird because everyone I know owns a HomePod. Hmm, also people say it’s over priced but they are dead wrong. The sound quality is amazing and truly does fill a whole room. If it was priced at $500 I’d still buy two of them. I really stand stand when broke apple haters just start hating on something they can’t afford.

 

[69Mustang]

Another misbegotten article by someone who just doesn't get it. The HomePod competes with the Google Home Max ($399) (and some SONOS, BOSE, and others), Amazon only sells crappy speakers, so no comparison there. Maybe the author wants a $349 super sounding speaker to compete with a $25 POS speaker, but no, never going to happen.

Apple, for whatever reason, has not really entered this market, so no wonder it has little market share.

It seems more like you didn't understand the purpose of the article. I'm pretty sure the author gets that this is a simple market share comparison. I'd be willing to bet they have more detailed and stratified analysis behind their paywall. Question is, are you eager enough to see it by paying for it? This article has nothing to do with speaker sound. To criticize it on that basis is silly and misses the point entirely.

 

[JustinM80]

I ended up returning the homepod I own and getting more amazon alexa's. My problems with it is several:

1) Sound Quality - I play audiobooks and other media outside of music on the homepod. The homepod puts too much bass into the sound of anything I play into it. I have no controls to make it sound ok.
2) Philips Hue commands - Homepod doesn't recognize the commands in the same way as Alexa does. So when I ask Alexa to turn on the lights it turns on all the lights. When I ask homepod to turn on the lights it turns on one light. I don't have any apparent controls over that.
3) Alarms - Siri doesn't handle alarms very well. I will wake up to an alarm and ask for the alarm to be snoozed and siri gets confused and speaks very loudly about snoozing the alarm. When I use alexa, the snooze functionality works appropriately and is easy to use.

Generally the Homepod is a failure to me. I guess it's the general lack of specific controls over the homepod. The basic settings are not done well (which is not my usual experience with Apple). Maybe I'll revisit the homepod on version 2.

Everything this person just said is an all out lie. It doesn’t add bass to audiobooks. You may need to get your hearing checked. Also the HomePod responds to the same exact Hue commands that Alexa does as I just checked. Last the alarm via Siri and HomePod works flawlessly. My God..this person just wants to complain and lie.
[doublepost=1550599284][/doublepost]

It sounds good, but It's expensive. There are more expensive speakers that *actually* interface with all devices.

If you're going to buy a good speaker, why would you limit yourself to something that only does AirPlay? What about USB, Toslink, and Ethernet or 3.5mm inputs?

I ended up moving my single HomePod in the kitchen, and buying Kef LSX's for the living room.

The HomePod isn’t expensive by any means.

 

[nsayer]

The HomePod isn’t expensive by any means.

I would agree with that and add that it's not that the HomePod is expensive, it's that its competitors are cheap.

 

[PlainviewX]

I own both HomePods and Echo dots and don't have an issue with either one really. What requests are you routinely asking Alexa to perform that Siri cannot? I do think the Echo devices have some advantages, but as far as personal assistants go I find them to be extremely comparable.

Literally anything that comes to mind when I don't have a device in had. I asked Alexa what the budget for There Will Be Blood was, it answered it. I asked Siri and it gave me some links to the the movie. Siri is a generation behind Alexa. The game is over for Apple in this regard. Siri will never be comparable to Alexa, ever.

 

[Shanghaichica]

It seems more like you didn't understand the purpose of the article. I'm pretty sure the author gets that this is a simple market share comparison. I'd be willing to bet they have more detailed and stratified analysis behind their paywall. Question is, are you eager enough to see it by paying for it? This article has nothing to do with speaker sound. To criticize it on that basis is silly and misses the point entirely.

It’s not a fair comparison because most of the speakers Google and Amazon are selling are for £25 or given away for free. The HomePod costs a lot more so it’s not going to move as many units.
[doublepost=1550600082][/doublepost]

I would agree with that and add that it's not that the HomePod is expensive, it's that its competitors are cheap.

I agree. It all comes down how much people want to spend on a speaker. People spent hundreds and thousands of pounds on speaker systems long before smart speakers existed.

 

[paul4339]

1) Sound Quality - I play audiobooks and other media outside of music on the homepod. The homepod puts too much bass into the sound of anything I play into it. I have no controls to make it sound ok.
2) Philips Hue commands - Homepod doesn't recognize the commands in the same way as Alexa does. So when I ask Alexa to turn on the lights it turns on all the lights. When I ask homepod to turn on the lights it turns on one light. I don't have any apparent controls over that.
3) Alarms - Siri doesn't handle alarms very well. I will wake up to an alarm and ask for the alarm to be snoozed and siri gets confused and speaks very loudly about snoozing the alarm. When I use alexa, the snooze functionality works appropriately and is easy to use.
...

???
I don't have this experience at all.
I have no problems with any of the above.
Lights and device control, alarms, and audiobooks sound all work well for me.

 

[69Mustang]

It’s not a fair comparison because most of the speakers Google and Amazon are selling are for £25 or given away for free. The HomePod costs a lot more so it’s not going to move as many units.
[doublepost=1550600082][/doublepost]
I agree. It all comes down how much people want to spend on a speaker. People spent hundreds and thousands of pounds on speaker systems long before smart speakers existed.

Fair to whom? A bunch of randoms on an internet forum. It's a market share report. What do you think is supposed to be fair about a market share report? Not being mean, but seriously? It's dry numbers.

 

[BlargKing]

50$ gets me a Google Home Mini that doesn't sound too bad, and can do all the fun tricks and run home automation just as well as the others. Not to mention Google and Amazon's offerings work with services like IFTTT which makes custom commands and functions a breeze.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Fair to whom? A bunch of randoms on an internet forum. It's a market share report. What do you think is supposed to be fair about a market share report.

Well it’s a soundbite and it’s not giving the whole picture.

 

[jacksmith21006]

Well no Echo speakers have 7 tweeters and 7 mics working in tandem to analyze your surrounding and sounding good while doing it.

Say what you want about Siri on HomePod, it is pale in comparison with Alexa or Google. But HomePod is one of the best sounding speaker for that size. If you look at it as a whole package, nothing compares. The competition is either sounds great but dumb (no built in assistant), or really smart but sucks at playing music.

The only one comes close is Home Max but I don't think it's a popular product. Especially at $399.

Google home max has better sound. But also has the better UI.

Google inference is unmatched. What Apple use to excel at. AI is the new UI.
[doublepost=1550600648][/doublepost]

It’s a bit more complicated than that. Amazon and google have a higher market share but most of their devices are sold for peanuts or given away for free. How much money are they actually making off of those devices.

Apple actually has thinner margins. This was when charging $350 so now even worse

https://9to5mac.com/2018/02/14/homepod-cost-to-build-margins/
HomePod said to cost Apple $216 to make, margin smaller than ...

 

[Heineken]

Sounds like some of the issues lie with the ability of the users.

People just like to complain.

 

[juan99999]

Ok, so this week I returned my HomePod. Why? Not because it's expensive (which it is), but because it's not really a smart speaker.

To me, it's a really really good "bluetooth" (airplay) speaker.

Here are things I could do with Sonos/Amazon Echo that I could no longer do:

- Listen to my local iTunes music (songs can scan my library on my network- why can't HomePod?). Sure, I can get an apple music subscription (which I won't since I already own 14k songs), or use airplay, but the second I go outside or somewhere out of wi-fi range, it starts to skip, or even worse, disconnect and not be able to reconnect again until I reboot the HomePod!

- Listen to Pandora using voice commands. Why not open things up other than Apple Music? I want to start pandora when say I am in the shower...

- Use my existing home automation devices. Apple, why not open things up more and support things like Home Assistant and more (cheap) devices?

- Make Siri better... Alexa is constantly updated... Siri is not and is dumb

- At least open up siri so that Sonos could embed it

APPLE PLEASE! Fix the above, and I'll buy one. Actually 4 and gladly destroy 4 echo devices increasing your market share.

 

[Heineken]

I shouldn't have to set up a scene just because I want to use a conjunction.

More complaining.

 

[MiamiC70]

Sell a pair of HomePods for $399 and I would bite.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Sell a pair of HomePods for $399 and I would bite.

I've wondered about this...

I imagine they don't because they don't want to feed into the resellers splitting them up and selling individually?

 

[dani.meier]

Is Apple really a global company? Smartphone market share in Switzerland: 50% IOS devices... clearly an Apple land. But still no Homepod available here. Why? Siri... No Siri for Switzerland on Apple TV as well, no Homepod and Siri works not very well on the IOS devices. Specially with a mix of languages, it does not work. I can usually not search for songs on Apple Music since it tries to recognize my words as German words... most songs I'm trying to find are English. What a shame for such a company. And of course... also no Apple News here... and no TV App

 

[69Mustang]

Well it’s a soundbite and it’s not giving the whole picture.

Pay for more detailed info if that's what you're wanting. They have it.