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HomePod Estimated to Have Just 4% Market Share Worldwide Despite 45% Sales Growth Last Quarter
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It’s not that I don’t speak clearly I have a regional accent like many others especially in the UK. I don’t believe any of the tech companies really have an answer for this.
Can the homepod control TV or the Apple TV? I read that it cannot. I would get a homepod if it at least controls tv. Google home controls TV, even the door bell. You can tell Google to play certain shows on living room tv or turn the tv on and off with voice.
Except that it can. Those tools are there for a reason. Instead of saying blah blah blah blah blah you can just say blah once.
People keep forgetting the business model of each company.
In a near-ideal world, Google and Amazon, would give their Assistant away for free, to collect as much info on you as they can. They monetize on the info collected about you by matching buyer and seller.
- The goal is therefore to create a device that is excellent at answering questions (sound quality is secondary). They will get a permanent revenue stream as long as they keep collecting info on you.
In a near-idea world for Apple, they would profit from the selling the hardware (so they need to mark up the price, in a near-ideal world). To collect permanent revenues, they need to sell services on top of the device, services that are available or optimized for that device or ecosystem. So far Apple music is the only substantial service that uses HomePod.
- The goal is there for to create a devices that is excellent at playing music (good at answer questions is secondary). They will get permanent revenues if they convince you to use Homepod for Apple music.
Other sources can possibly be getting you to buy audio books, or somehow getting revenue from Podcasts.
They can also possible get future revenue by creating a strong ecosystem, and charging Spotify or Pandora to be on HomePod. Finally, they can always find away to 'sell' or charge services (like Google) to access Homepod, like they do with Safari on iOS. Or perhaps get a cut of purchases you make over Homepod from Amazon.
TLDR, Apple needs to make money on hardware or ecosystem. Others use the Gillette model - give the razor away for free, and charge for the blades. Different business models.
In a near-ideal world, Google and Amazon, would give their Assistant away for free, to collect as much info on you as they can. They monetize on the info collected about you by matching buyer and seller.
- The goal is therefore to create a device that is excellent at answering questions (sound quality is secondary). They will get a permanent revenue stream as long as they keep collecting info on you.
In a near-idea world for Apple, they would profit from the selling the hardware (so they need to mark up the price, in a near-ideal world). To collect permanent revenues, they need to sell services on top of the device, services that are available or optimized for that device or ecosystem. So far Apple music is the only substantial service that uses HomePod.
- The goal is there for to create a devices that is excellent at playing music (good at answer questions is secondary). They will get permanent revenues if they convince you to use Homepod for Apple music.
Other sources can possibly be getting you to buy audio books, or somehow getting revenue from Podcasts.
They can also possible get future revenue by creating a strong ecosystem, and charging Spotify or Pandora to be on HomePod. Finally, they can always find away to 'sell' or charge services (like Google) to access Homepod, like they do with Safari on iOS. Or perhaps get a cut of purchases you make over Homepod from Amazon.
TLDR, Apple needs to make money on hardware or ecosystem. Others use the Gillette model - give the razor away for free, and charge for the blades. Different business models.
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Glad someone brought this up since I've thought about it also. Traditionally speakers have been sold in pairs, pair with sub or more. Apple has changed the minds of consumers into paying $350 for not so smart mono speaker with a good mic minus inputs that doesn't sound better than most existing home multi-speaker setups.
Great point! I have yet to hear a single mention of something useful that either competitor does that Siri can’t. I also had never seen an ad for these until I decided to search YouTube for them. They can’t be pushing them and even then, they aren’t selling the features of it at all in the ones I found.
I feel especially on the iPhone there are more uses for Siri in controlling the device than the others can do. Unless something has changed.
It's a speaker. "Sounds great" is _exactly_ what you want in a speaker. Having to tell a speaker what album or song to play is stupid anyway - I have a few thousand albums, how the **** would I remember the name of one that I want to listen to? I scroll through the list in iTunes, and one album catches my eye that I haven't listened to in.a while, then I play it.
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It's not a mono speaker, and you know exactly that it is not a mono speaker. So why are you saying this?
If depends... If I were to use Google Home, I would use Assistant and/or IFTTT to have more control over devices.
On iOS i would use scenes/homekit combined with Apple's new Shortcuts app (previously Workflow app).
I use both, but I find if you stay with HomeKit devices, everything works fine.
I own four HomePods and couldn't be happier. HomePod Siri is a success when it comes to music and its integration with Apple's music library and with Airplay2. I will be adding more HomePods in the future.
Yes, Siri sucks when it comes to non-music interactions but I have no interest in Siri controlling lighting, door locks, thermostats, temp of my refrigerator, announcing Powerball numbers, etc.
Yes, Siri sucks when it comes to non-music interactions but I have no interest in Siri controlling lighting, door locks, thermostats, temp of my refrigerator, announcing Powerball numbers, etc.
If you set the audio of the Apple TV to the HomePod it can pause a show you’re watching, rewind and go forward and resume playback and that’s it.
I have the google home mini and I can get it to play shows even if my tv is off it will switch it on.
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How about playing TV shows for you or switching your tv on and off. Or ordering things from amazon.
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You can pick up 2 echos and a sub woofer for £270 and sometimes as low as £220 when on sale.
I find Siri really good for controlling lights, etc... and i don't have to shout at it.
This thing doesn't know what it is.
Are you a high end speaker? Then what is the frequency range Apple? Why don't you tell? What is the maximum dB SPL? What speakers are inside? 3"? 2"? Any LF and HF speakers? How many W? What class? No details to compare to other high end speakers? Well then get the hell outa here!
So then you must be a smart speaker residing in the living room so the whole family can ask you questions? Ok, how do you understand who is asking for his latest mails, me or my wife? Or the kids? You can't tell? Well which mails are you gonna read then? And how do I set the EQ? Oh you don't understand me asking in german for an american singer? Say what, you don't understand anything I say? Get outa here and take your dumb friend Siri with you!
Are you a high end speaker? Then what is the frequency range Apple? Why don't you tell? What is the maximum dB SPL? What speakers are inside? 3"? 2"? Any LF and HF speakers? How many W? What class? No details to compare to other high end speakers? Well then get the hell outa here!
So then you must be a smart speaker residing in the living room so the whole family can ask you questions? Ok, how do you understand who is asking for his latest mails, me or my wife? Or the kids? You can't tell? Well which mails are you gonna read then? And how do I set the EQ? Oh you don't understand me asking in german for an american singer? Say what, you don't understand anything I say? Get outa here and take your dumb friend Siri with you!
That seems like an extremely specific question, but kudos to Alexa for being able to answer it. I guess those are the kinds of things I have never even thought to ask. As a smart home assistant I find Siri to be much quicker and the Home App much easier to use, organize, and setup.
I find it funny that originally Apple and certain people on this forum were pushing the HomePod as a speaker and not as a smart speaker. Fast forward to today, it seems it's a smart speaker and not a "speaker with smart capabilities". I've heard more sales pitches around home automation and Siri capabilities for this speaker than the speaker itself.
Very few people think of replacing their delicately purchased speakers with the HomePod(s). Those that do probably never had the ears for their speakers in the first place.
Very few people think of replacing their delicately purchased speakers with the HomePod(s). Those that do probably never had the ears for their speakers in the first place.
As an Apple diehard all through the Steve Jobs' era, this begs the question: Were things really as rosy as we think they were? Or have our eyes simply been opened to what we couldn't – or didn't want to – see before?
