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HomePod Supplies Limited at Launch, but Foxconn Coming on Board in 2018 to Increase Production

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Inventec Appliances has been a rumored supplier for Apple's HomePod smart speaker since before the device was announced at WWDC in June, and now the manufacturer has indicated that supplies for HomePod might be limited at launch, in line with most Apple product launches (via Nikkei).

The news came from Inventec Appliances president David Ho during a press conference today. Although his comments never specifically mentioned "HomePod," the estimated time frame given for the release of the product -- late in 2017 -- and its description as a high-profile "smart home device," suggest it to be Apple's upcoming speaker. At WWDC, Apple confirmed that the HomePod would launch sometime in December.

HomePod-on-shelf-800x451.jpg

Now, Ho has stated that the HomePod's contribution to the company's revenue for this year will be "fairly limited" -- which is expected given the device is launching so late in the year -- with optimistic improvements to profit gained from HomePod sales predicted for early 2018. One analyst speculated that the number of HomePod units shipped in December 2017 will be around 500,000.
"We will finally ship the smart home device this year, but its contribution will be fairly limited and hopefully that will improve next year," Inventec Appliances President David Ho told analysts and reporters during an earnings conference.

"Inventec Appliances will likely only ship some 500,000 units of HomePod this year, and the device's contribution to the group's revenue will be less than 1%," said Arthur Liao, an analyst at Taipei-based Fubon Securities.
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In 2018, Apple will look to open up HomePod manufacturing to more than just Inventec Appliances, according to one of Nikkei's sources, who stated that Apple is planning to add Foxconn into the HomePod supply chain next year. This will result in Inventec Appliances and Foxconn receiving a "split" of HomePod orders and boosting production for the smart home speaker, following the limited initial launch.

Inventec Appliance's total smart home and connected devices shipments are expected to grow to between 70 and 75 million units by the end of 2017, but company officials didn't specifically break down the numbers related to the Apple products it makes.

In addition to HomePod, Inventec Appliances also manufactures Apple's AirPods, which have been particularly difficult for many users to purchase since the wireless earphones launched last December. Earlier in August, the estimated shipping date for AirPods finally lowered to four weeks from six weeks, which had been the shipping estimate for the previous eight months.

Article Link: HomePod Supplies Limited at Launch, but Foxconn Coming on Board in 2018 to Increase Production
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/08/14/homepod-supplies-limited/
Why do Apple suck so bad at supply? Like...I don't get it. They're running out of excuses with the cash pile they're sitting on. Other companies seem to manage just fine with supply.
 
lol I'm stunned! Haven't been this shocked since last week with the announcement of iPhone 8 shortages too.. good grief everyone knows this stuff already. It's like clock work.. new apple product.. sorry it's limited to start with... we'll ramp up and a couple months later boom it's out in the world.. meanwhile.. I predict soon after Homepod is released.. rumors of Homepod 2 will start up.. ohhh stunner there as well!..

But in all seriousness.. homepod looks cool, probably won't get one as I don't really see a point when I already have an appletv hooked up to surround sound.
 
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Remember back when everything was labeled Limited Edition but never really was?
I like that model better than the inverse one that Apple seems to have introduced.
 
tkukoc said:
But in all seriousness.. homepod looks cool, probably won't get one as I don't really see a point when I already have an appletv hooked up to surround sound.
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I've been thinking about this for a while. My surround system is very old... like 20+ year old speakers and 10 - 15 year old receiver.

If I can use two of these and get at least 80% as good sound from them as what I have now, as well as other connectivity and Homekit benefits, then $700 for two of them may be a bargain compared to the wholesale update I would need to do to have a "good" home theater system again.

Or even $1000 for the next ATV and two of these... I'm thinking that could be a nice upgrade to my apartment and then be a nice den or living room system when I move to a house and have a proper home theater room again.
 
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jonnysods said:
I will bow out of purchasing one of these. Can't imagine the price in Canada!
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It certainly won't be cheap, but I expect the Potential of this device to be superb, offering premium sound quality. And I have no doubt that it will meet all of Those expectations.
 
Michaelgtrusa said:
Apple should know that they need more suppliers.
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I think they're testing the business strategy outlined by Eric Cartman in the SP episode Cartmanland, where he inherited a million dollars, bought an amusement park to use only for himself and bought airtime for anti-commercials for the park, using the slogan "You can't come". This was misinterpreted by business experts as a brilliant marketing technique.
 
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500k does not sound limited for the Homepod. As a huge Apple fan, I'm still deliberating if I'll even get this.

I hope they send some to their stores a few weeks prior to launch, like they did with Apple Watch.
 
Bigsk8r said:
I've been thinking about this for a while. My surround system is very old... like 20+ year old speakers and 10 - 15 year old receiver.

If I can use two of these and get at least 80% as good sound from them as what I have now, as well as other connectivity and Homekit benefits, then $700 for two of them may be a bargain compared to the wholesale update I would need to do to have a "good" home theater system again.

Or even $1000 for the next ATV and two of these... I'm thinking that could be a nice upgrade to my apartment and then be a nice den or living room system when I move to a house and have a proper home theater room again.
Click to expand...
Totally agree! It depends on what you have in terms of age and what you are looking for. I'm not knocking homepod, I'd love to get one but for my needs its one thing I can live without. I have a really hard time saying that with Apple products.. I can see me buying one a year later or so.. depends on regular home user reviews.
 
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JarScott said:
Why do Apple suck so bad at supply? Like...I don't get it. They're running out of excuses with the cash pile they're sitting on. Other companies seem to manage just fine with supply.
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iPhone supply could be excused since I don't know of any other company able to ship 70m-80m of anything but there is simply no excuse for missing the holiday season with earpods and homepads - this is the time people would be buying without questioning the price
 
The ignorance of internet armchair CEOs is astounding.

When establishing a supply chain, you have to optimize around what the expected average consumption will be for the foreseeable future.

Do you guys really think that there are dozens of companies that could tool up to produce a product for Apple for a short time?

And if it was you, how would you feel about this request? "Hey we need you to setup a factory to produce this product, but just for the first three weeks, then we won't need you anymore. You don't mind investing in equipment and training for just a couple of weeks worth of production do you?"

Apple figures out what they think the on-going rate will be and then builds up an initial supply to try to meet the giant wave that happens at launch. They could meet that demand by delaying the launch for several months while they store up units in warehouses.

I bet you guys would prefer that they delay the launch a couple of months so you could get yours on launch day. Oh wait, isn't that the same as launching when they have at least some supply and then filling as quick as they can? Plus they don't have all that money tied up in inventory sitting in boxes doing nothing.

Apple is not bad at supply chain, they are excellent. Macrumors posters are bad at understanding operations management principles.
 
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