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HomePod Holds Estimated 70% Share of Growing $200+ Smart Speaker Market

kis said:
Among the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Fact is: hardly anyone buys 300+ Dollar speakers. The comparison with Sonos is odd too - as the only one supporting Alexa is the Sonos One and that's not one of their premium speakers. The new smart speaker enabled offerings of Sonos haven't been released yet.

The statistics will look dramatically different in 2-3 months as Amazon is about the enter the premium segment (see leaked subwoofer etc.).

I like my HomePods - they sound fine, but Siri is still as dumb as ever, it's really embarrassing. Plus Apple is far behind the competitors when it comes to essential features (like multi-user support, device support etc.)
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it's slightly better than the Echos, but only minimally so. The only time I notice is when I'm in the Sauna and shout to skip to the next song. This never worked with my Echo but it does with the HomePod (mind you, I still have to shout very loudly to get that to work). In normal use scenarios, I never have to shout or raise my voice at either one.
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I don’t think Alexa is actually any smarter than Siri in terms of answering questions. Alexa is better because it has skills.

Sound quality the HomePod is better. However. I started off with a dot. Which is garbage although it’s better when connected to a Bluetooth speaker. A few weeks ago amazon had a sale on all their devices so I picked up a regular echo to put in my dinning room as the second HomePod I bought I ended up pairing it to the first in my living room. The regular echo doesn’t sound bad at all. Obviously the HomePod is better but the regular echo is just fine.

Google assistant is much better than both of them. Some of the things it’s been able to answer, like side effects of medication, obscure questions like how many devices can you simultaneously stream Spotify on. It does it without breaking a sweat.
 
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Shanghaichica said:
I don’t think Alexa is actually any smarter than Siri in terms of answering questions. Alexa is better because it has skills.

Sound quality the HomePod is better. However. I started off with a dot. Which is garbage although it’s better when connected to a Bluetooth speaker. A few weeks ago amazon had a sale on all their devices so I picked up a regular echo to put in my dinning room as the second HomePod I bought I ended up pairing it to the first in my living room. The regular echo doesn’t sound bad at all. Obviously the HomePod is better but the regular echo is just fine.

Google assistant is much better than both of them. Some of the things it’s been able to answer, like side effects of medication, obscure questions like how many devices can you simultaneously stream Spotify on. It does it without breaking a sweat.
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I agree with all of that. In terms of "smartness" I'd rank any Google enabled speaker first, followed by Alexa (which can at least be extended using the skill system), followed by the HomePod. There's almost nothing Siri can answer, except for HomeKit-related questions like "is my garage door open".

Google has pulled ahead when it comes to the "smart" in smart speaker, but it's lacking in terms of home automation. The new bilingual mode is absolutely crazy amazing though - I live in a household where German and English are both spoken and in that respect it's fantastic. It's also the only one that can actually answer questions about local businesses (opening hours etc.), which is both absent here in Switzerland for the other two speaker systems.
 
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And in other news, I hold 100% of the speaker sales made by me.

Lets take a stat such as Apple having less than 1% of the smart speaker market and see how we can spin it in to a larger number.
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PickUrPoison said:
There are many manufacturers of voice-assistant enabled speakers priced above $200, right?
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Yes, lets spin this.
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waquzy said:
That's because you haven't tried the HomePod. It kills all the other speakers period
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No, it is well known that Apples speaker is not in the same league as non smart speakers.
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Shanghaichica said:
I don’t think Alexa is actually any smarter than Siri in terms of answering questions. Alexa is better because it has skills.
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Yes lets spin this just like this article. Alexa is smarter than Siri period. Its a well known fact.
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Baymowe335 said:
No, they just own 90% of the smartphone profits as they will in the smart speaker market.

Strategy being executed brilliantly.
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Do you have a source for that?
 
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Abazigal said:
I guess the HomePod haters had better get in their criticisms while they still can, if the HomePod cycle plays out anything like the Apple Watch market. Look who’s laughing at the Apple Watch now. Nobody.
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Why are you are a hater if you don't like the HomePod?

It might be ideal for some people but a product range consisting of one single item is not going to appeal to every single person.
 
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dilbert99 said:
And in other news, I hold 100% of the speaker sales made by me.

Lets take a stat such as Apple having less than 1% of the smart speaker market and see how we can spin it in to a larger number.
[doublepost=1537436258][/doublepost]
Yes, lets spin this.
[doublepost=1537436328][/doublepost]
No, it is well known that Apples speaker is not in the same league as non smart speakers.
[doublepost=1537436406][/doublepost]

Yes lets spin this just like this article. Alexa is smarter than Siri period. Its a well known fact.
[doublepost=1537436504][/doublepost]
Do you have a source for that?
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I own both and this is based on my observations. If you ask both Siri and Alexa a question they can answer it correctly about the same.

Alexa has skills which makes it smarter than Siri and can do things like order a Uber, a pizza or order things from amazon. I didn’t say Siri was better.

The google assistant is so far ahead both of them. In my country we can use the google assistant to order something from a store called Argos. I tried it this morning and it’s very conversational beyond what Alexa can do to order things on the echo. We all saw what google assistant can do at google io this year.
 
PickUrPoison said:
Google Max is $399 and there are lots above $200, including Sonos.

Apple doesn’t attempt to compete with the smart microphone products like the $50 google and amazon products, just like they don’t play in the cheap phone market—they’re perfectly happy for Android to own 100% of that.

HomePod is a great sounding speaker, and even though it has low margins Apple’s fine with that, since it sells $100/year Apple Music subscriptions.
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Great sounding speaker with the dumbest assistant ever
 
Shanghaichica said:
I own both and this is based on my observations. If you ask both Siri and Alexa a question they can answer it correctly about the same.
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I have Alexa, Google, Cotrana and Siri.
and in my experience, Alexa is way better than Siri.
Alexa has skills which makes it smarter than Siri and can do things like order a Uber, a pizza or order things from amazon. I didn’t say Siri was better.
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You said I don't think Alexa is any smarter than Siri, it implies you think Siri is better. It is a known fact that Siri is the worst of the digital assistants.
The google assistant is so far ahead both of them.
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Not from being used in our family. My daughter also finds Alexa to be the best. She has a lot of trouble with Google.
In my country we can use the google assistant to order something from a store called Argos. I tried it this morning and it’s very conversational beyond what Alexa can do to order things on the echo. We all saw what google assistant can do at google io this year.
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I haven't tried to order things via digital assistants so can't comment. Are you in the UK? I miss Argos after moving to Australia.

As for Google IO, we were only shown what Google wanted us to see, while impressive, it did not show all the failures. A stopped clock shows the correct time twice a day.
 
Homepod is not as good as non "smart" speakers of the same price. This is a given.
Homepod assistant is not as good as other "smart" speaker assistants. This is a given.
The vast majority of Homepod buyers will no doubt not have a clue when it comes to sound quality, only that it "is loud, and sounds good". Which is perfectly fine, but you can't use the sound quality argument when the vast majority of people couldn't tell you what was best in a blind test.
 
" Google Home Max " ...interesting. I was not aware of this product for some reason. Many are talking about how stupid the new iPhone naming scheme is, maybe Apple looked at the Home Max and was like "hey, they did it, why can't we"
 
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Shanghaichica said:
Alexa has skills which makes it smarter than Siri and can do things like order a Uber, a pizza or order things from amazon.
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Guess Apple tries to imitate that with Siri shortcuts. Not sure if it is comparable, though.

Shanghaichica said:
The google assistant is so far ahead both of them.
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May be. But I loathe the admission fee, i.e. forfeiting my privacy. May be unjustified, but I do trust Apple more than Google there.

BlandUsername said:
If you want real good av sound, go Bose
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That's arguable. What I have heard of BOSE so far were imprecise basses, lack of highs and so-so middles. Unless they changed their signature sound, BOSE is not for me.
 
dilbert99 said:
And in other news, I hold 100% of the speaker sales made by me.

Lets take a stat such as Apple having less than 1% of the smart speaker market and see how we can spin it in to a larger number.
[doublepost=1537436258][/doublepost]
Yes, lets spin this.
[doublepost=1537436328][/doublepost]
No, it is well known that Apples speaker is not in the same league as non smart speakers.
[doublepost=1537436406][/doublepost]

Yes lets spin this just like this article. Alexa is smarter than Siri period. Its a well known fact.
[doublepost=1537436504][/doublepost]
Do you have a source for that?
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A source for what? Apple owning 90% of the smartphone profit?

One of the many quarters. It's been closer to 100%...it's been a little lower too. It varies, but Apple dominates this space.

https://www.investors.com/news/tech...tphone-profits-but-small-slice-of-unit-sales/
 
dilbert99 said:
Apple owning 90% of the smart speaker market profits
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I said it will happen. I didn't say it's the case now, but Apple tends to wreck industries in which they decide to participate. Give them time.

You think Amazon is making much on those $29 Echos? They just want your data because you are the product.
 
Neodym said:
That's arguable. What I have heard of BOSE so far were imprecise basses, lack of highs and so-so middles. Unless they changed their signature sound, BOSE is not for me.
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Agreed.

BOSE stands for Buy Other Stereo Equipment. When you hear BOSE vs other brands that don't bet their product on marketing, you start to realize how synthetic and muddy it sounds. Whenever a person indirectly/directly says BOSE sounds great, I disregard their opinion. Although sound is very subjective, I feel a simple A/B test will show you how bad something sounds
 
doomfront said:
The Play:5 is probably the most used piece of tech in my house other than phones, such an incredible speaker. Always wonder why people would compare the Homepod to devices like the Amazon echo when Sonos is a much better speaker to compare it too.
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Because the Homepod is a limited tie-in to a smart assistant and a small eco system. It is not a speaker. The Sonos products will let me play whatever I want. iPhone content, TV, music from various sources, etc. The Homepod is a cheesy accessory for your iPhone. The fact that it sounds better is irrelevant when you can't play much on it. It is most comparable to an echo or google home because those are also limited tie-ins rather than being meant as an actual speaker.
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waquzy said:
That's because you haven't tried the HomePod. It kills all the other speakers period
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Okay, let me give it a try. How do I connect it to my TV (no not Apple TV)? Not so great a sound. Well, how about my gaming consoles?

Yep, just as I thought, the Homepod as a speaker doesn't sound any better than a clay brick sitting on my shelf. A 49 cent speaker from Aliexpress beats the homepod as a speaker.
 
None of the assistants alone are good enough to warrant a stand alone device. For me, the speaker must be great for music if I am to buy it. The home pod is actually great for music. And while Siri is not yet amazing, its perfectly good at controlling music selection and playback.
 
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