Anyone else surprised that the shipping date for the HomePod still hasn't slipped? They said they had a pretty tight constrain on supply too...
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HomePod Shipping Dates Have Not Slipped
- Thread starter JCoe13
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None of us have enough information on supply, demand, production capacity, constraints, etc. to come to any conclusions. Maybe the speakers were all manufactured three months ago and were waiting for software. We have no way to know.
Not at all Surprised. It's a brand new product from Apple, but I think many want to demo or experience the audio for themselves before they actually purchase it for a $350.00 price point. The individuals that you read on a tech forum are usually more apt to Purchasing Apple products being avid followers versus the real world consumers maybe want to see/test the product in store first. I still think smart speakers are incredibly niche product that are growing, but Apples price point tends to be out of reach for some. I do look forward to hearing mine when After ordering it.
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I am not surprised, in the least. I love Apple products and get suckered into buying the newest iPhone every year. Surely, they don't expect this thing to sell like hotcakes. I am not pre-ordering for several reasons:
1) The price-point. Lots of great products on the market for much less.
2) Siri is terrible. I don't want to hear "Do you want me to search the web for that?".
3) It's untested. No reviews. You have to take Timmy's word for it.
1) The price-point. Lots of great products on the market for much less.
2) Siri is terrible. I don't want to hear "Do you want me to search the web for that?".
3) It's untested. No reviews. You have to take Timmy's word for it.
I'm not surprised that the shipping dates continue to show the 9th. I think this is a much more niche product than most other Apple devices, and a bit expensive as well. Plus there aren't many real reviews available yet to help judge how good the sound quality is.
I'm surprised, seems like there isn't much demand compared to other Apple products. AirPods didn't last very long before shipping dates moved to weeks.
I was not going to buy but now have two on order. My brother will get my Sonos system for his Birthday in March. I ordered one but after reading a bit more about them, I decided to make it two for the living room.
I don't think Siri is terrible. I use Siri every single day for all sorts of tasks on my iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPod controls, etc. And granted it has its issues at times because it server-based, not iOS based. But as far as dictation and deciphering is considered, I have very little issues with Siri with searching or producing results with commands and queries.
I do think the HomePod and Siri integration is crucial for the success, but I'm confident Siri will be capable enough to meet the expectations for most coupled with the audio that is imperative for the success of the HomePod.
I have not been attracted to the Amazon Echo and am not necessarily expecting to make great use of the Siri capabilities of HomePod, but it could be that when I receive the speakers and begin to use them, I'll come around.
Australia is only now getting the Amazon Echo and Alexa from 1 February so I think some users are waiting for that.
I don’t imagine sales for this thing will be through the roof by any stretch of the imagination. The HomePod is really for people looking for a great sounding smart speaker. Probably not exactly a huge market. If you’re just looking for great speakers, you can do a lot better for the $700 it would cost to get a stereo pair of HomePods. Similarly, if you’re just looking for a smart speaker, but don’t care too much about sound quality, then there are much cheaper options out there.
If Somebody just Wanted a smart speaker, that could easily be the Google home, Amazon echo or dot. But if somebody wanted more quality sound and a smart speaker, then you start looking at price point of the Sonos and HomePod. I think some are conflating that they believe the HomePod will produce results similarly to the Amazon echo or Google home, when it's going to be way above that in terms of sound. But obviously there are those who Are reserving judgment until they hear it or read more reviews first.
I think the HomePod will do well, but I think it's going to be a niche market given how the price point will be offputting for some. It depends what somebody's expectations are and how important is sound to them.
One fact is that it's just very late to the home speaker game. Most would be interested buyers already have a home speaker, whether it be the Home, Echo, Sonos, etc. Sound quality, if it's as good as it's supposed to be, is the number one selling point but I think at the asking price the average buyer, not those just looking for a great speaker, will want more functionality. To preface this point, I don't think it's a Google Home competitor because of it's top-tier pricing and reported robust sound quality, but I'll take the Home because of the added functionality and 1/3 price-point. Sure, sound quality is not as good, but it's a more productive product and is plenty good enough for casual listening. Headphones in the same
Let's not forget it's also a premium product crippled on release. That certainly won't help.
Let's not forget it's also a premium product crippled on release. That certainly won't help.
Convinced myself on pre-ordering two HomePods (cinema room and kitchen) with the view of putting airplay 2 compatible speakers around the house and garden and replacing my av receiver if it doesn't get an update for airplay 2 (time will tell).
Smart speaker features beyond adding a calendar entry and home automation seem gimmicky at best to me once you've gone beyond the honeymoon period on the echo, google home. Looking forward to Apple finally taking HomeKit seriously and AirPlay 2 launching.
HomePod is a niche product now but a niche product within such a huge user-base is equal if not more than the amount of smart speakers currently in consumers homes. Lets hope for success and hope that apple's product line within this space can diversify and add to it's popularity.
Pre-orders havent slipped because it's January... not a good time for retail as a whole. Also limited launch and limited feature set and no reviews/videos or reintroduction to the product since June.
Smart speaker features beyond adding a calendar entry and home automation seem gimmicky at best to me once you've gone beyond the honeymoon period on the echo, google home. Looking forward to Apple finally taking HomeKit seriously and AirPlay 2 launching.
HomePod is a niche product now but a niche product within such a huge user-base is equal if not more than the amount of smart speakers currently in consumers homes. Lets hope for success and hope that apple's product line within this space can diversify and add to it's popularity.
Pre-orders havent slipped because it's January... not a good time for retail as a whole. Also limited launch and limited feature set and no reviews/videos or reintroduction to the product since June.
And it's only 9 hours into release.
The launch delay, which was more due to software rather than hardware, has given them plenty of time to ramp up production.
1 million already in the warehouse, and potentially another million per week in production in the 2 weeks before it ships, hardly surprising the stock is not going to sell out.
Also, it's a new, unfamiliar product... It took a year for Apple to sell 4 million of the first iPhone!
The launch delay, which was more due to software rather than hardware, has given them plenty of time to ramp up production.
1 million already in the warehouse, and potentially another million per week in production in the 2 weeks before it ships, hardly surprising the stock is not going to sell out.
Also, it's a new, unfamiliar product... It took a year for Apple to sell 4 million of the first iPhone!
Excellent post. And I agree that production was never the issue, it was likely software or language improvements of some sort. I think others believe if the HomePod didn't sell out in the first two hours, it must be a failure. The reality is, this is a brand new era for Apple and it will take time, but the long run success for the HomePod has a promising future. I do wish it was ready before the holidays, but it would not have swayed Jose who were intended on purchasing the HomePod in the first place.
So 14 hours in and stock is still available first day, At what point do we say this isn’t a successful product compared to other Apple product releases?
You don't, because you are unreasonably comparing it to other established product lines.
New product lines from Apple generally sell out quickly as well.
MR article from original iPad launch day:
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/03/1...-for-launch-day-in-store-pickup-reservations/
Apple Watch S0 launch:
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/04/10/apple-watch-shipping-estimates-slipping/
While you are correct, something does seem a little different about this launch. The iPod was laughed at at first just as the HomePod is, I think it will just take some time before this really takes off. I didn’t mean any spite from my comment, I was just saying this is going to be something different. I bought mine this morning, and I’m excited to see what it’s all about!
And without proper reviews, it is a punt at the moment.
Several on this forum have already commented they’re interested but waiting to either listen to one personally or see thorough reviews.
However, I do find it amusing that some are saying it is too expensive, when a couple of months ago they dropped a grand on a phone..!!! ;-)))
Several on this forum have already commented they’re interested but waiting to either listen to one personally or see thorough reviews.
However, I do find it amusing that some are saying it is too expensive, when a couple of months ago they dropped a grand on a phone..!!! ;-)))