Smart Speaker Survey States iPhone Owners 22 Percent More Likely to Buy Speakers, Favor Amazon Over Google

[npmacuser5]

The problem with all these speakers compared to the old days, the wire. In the past there was a wire, add the speaker that best fits your needs. Some areas a ceiling speaker just fine, others like living room, well no limits on the expense. Today, the wire (wireless) system specific and content specific. Nice if the wire was standard, as I might put an inexpensive Echo in one room, A Sonos or other Playbar in the TV room, put a Google Max in another, and maybe just a dot in the shop, as examples. Today, with Apple, Sonos, Amazon, Google very little music hardware and App integration. Music for me is not a one shoe fits all the needs. Especially with Apple, the living room TV will require another completely different system, most likely not integrated. So I would need to also have a HomePod in the living room. Maybe Airplay2.

 

[Schtibbie]

My answer: I have a REAL hi-fi stereo system of decent quality with amp, one PAIR of indoor speakers (in stereo!) and another pair outside, both plugged into same amp and runnable together or apart, plus a turntable, all for about the same cost as four HomePods would've cost, but with higher quality and more powerful sound. Plus i could (if i wanted, which i don't) run bluetooth through it, and i can run vinyl when i feel like it. Or digital from my iMac.

Maybe the HomePod would be a good fit if you didn't have and didn't WANT a traditional old-school stereo system.

 

[ersan191]

I have 5 echo Dot’s, 2 echo Show’s, and 2 first generation echo’s. And now one HomePod.

I have all of these because Amazon was first, I would have preferred to have google devices but the cost of replacing everything goes up and up as time goes on and the benefits of a Home aren’t drastic enough to warrant the change. It’s ecosystem lock-in plain and simple, there is no incentive whatsoever to mix and match them. I have a feeling the people surveyed wanted Amazon devices because they are ubiquitous and Google Home was lesser known at the time.

Replacing all of them with HomePods is the goal but it’s far too expensive at the current price point. Siri being kind of crappy and no multi user support (as well as a few other missing features) is also holding me back. I never intended to have the HomePod compliment my Echo’s, as the article suggests - it simply isn’t viable to replace them just yet.

 

[jonnyb098]

So for all the nerds and nay sayers saying Siri is garbage, this graph proves people use mostly basic voice commmands and play music. Obviously Apple knew this (music is the top daily used feature) and used that to go all in on sound quality. But according to all the talking heads Apple has “no idea” what they’re doing and Siri is stupid . No, Siri is perfectly fine for what most people are doing daily with these speakers even if it’s not perfect.

Just like the watch, soon the HomePod will be the top speaker sold and it still isn’t enough to shut people up. There’s a huge market that isn’t tapped and most likely Apple is gonna dominate it in this category. Apple isn’t marketing to geeks , they are a household mass market product company. Either accept it and move on or switch to another platform if it hurts you that bad. Enjoy.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I look at it as Apple users buy accessories, partly because they must, as it the only thing that will work with iOS devices for 100% of the time, and not break. because of the premium you pay..

But Google has much more choice out there for Android users.

I rarely buy Apple branded accessories. There are loads of MFI vendors making compatible accessories. Apple buyers buy accessories. That does't mean they buy Apple branded ones exclusively. There are a lot of accessories that work with iPhone that Apple doesn't even have a comparable product.

 

[George Bailey]

I buy a new iPhone every year. I've owned well more than a dozen Macs. I have an Apple TV, several iPads, etc. but I'm not buying this until it has a line in. WTF Apple? I have to have a separate system for my TV even though they would be sitting right next to each other??

 

[nsayer]

Was this before or after Alexa started laughing randomly at us?

 

[Gregg Thurman]

"I wished the HomePod was at least $100 cheaper. They would move way more units."

Maybe, but doubtful. If Apple lowered the price by $100 the same people clamoring for the price reduction would clamor for a $179 price (and still not buy).

Better that Apple maintain HomePod's price, and ignore those that most likely aren't going to buy no matter the price.
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Have not setup the HomePod yet but owning Amazon and Google smart speakers, I greatly favor the Google system it just works far better and effectively.

How do you know that if you haven't setup a HomePod
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My answer: I have a REAL hi-fi stereo system of decent quality with amp, one PAIR of indoor speakers (in stereo!) and another pair outside, both plugged into same amp and runnable together or apart, plus a turntable, all for about the same cost as four HomePods would've cost, but with higher quality and more powerful sound. Plus i could (if i wanted, which i don't) run bluetooth through it, and i can run vinyl when i feel like it. Or digital from my iMac.

Maybe the HomePod would be a good fit if you didn't have and didn't WANT a traditional old-school stereo system.

In 1968, (while in the US Navy) I bought a modular stereo system in Japan. I still have it: Sansui 250 Tuner/Amp, Akai 25 watt three way speakers, Sansui turntable, Akai cross field head reel to reel tape and cartridge recorder/player. The amp is the last of Sansui's vacuum tube amps. At the time this was a "state of the art" sound setup. I didn't like the sound of solid state replacements. Except for the belt drive on the turntable, they have worked without failure for 49 years (do not use the turntable any more).

I still fire it up from time to time, but the iPod and iPhone (and the quality of AM/FM radio) has caused me to use that setup less and less. I now have a HomePod, and I can unequivocally state that the HomePod sound is superior to an "old school stereo system". Will be getting another one when they sync with each other.

 

[skinned66]

My only problem with my Google Home Minis is their response time to turn anything on or off is considerably slower than my iOS devices; like 2-3 seconds slower. Still not enough to sell me a HomePod.

 

[citysnaps]

The one thing I like about the HomePod is it separates away just from being a “Smart speaker” catergory for the home audio experience. I have zero interest in purchasing an echo or Google Home for smart speaker capabilities, the Home Pod is about the sound experience primarily, which is all I want from it.

Same here. Absolutely do not want a smart speaker. 99% of the time information I'm seeking is nuanced and not suitable for a quick answer rendered audibly.

With that said, using HomePod as an always-on speaker that can play music without engaging my phone or computer and then launching an app, searching for music, etc. has been awesome for the month I've owned it. Zero complaints and have been using it a few hours a day.

 

[Lab4Us]

I buy a new iPhone every year. I've owned well more than a dozen Macs. I have an Apple TV, several iPads, etc. but I'm not buying this until it has a line in. WTF Apple? I have to have a separate system for my TV even though they would be sitting right next to each other??

Um, I have a Homepod playing my bedroom TV as you read this...

 

[npmacuser5]

Um, I have a Homepod playing my bedroom TV as you read this...

Must be from an Apple TV. What if you had a cable box, wanted to watch the game with sound on your HomePod?

 

[Lab4Us]

Must be from an Apple TV. What if you had a cable box, wanted to watch the game with sound on your HomePod?

Point is, if you want to use Homepod with TV, you can.

 

[tbayrgs]

Vast majority of our household tech gear is from Apple but we won’t be getting a HomePod anytime soon. Google’s ecosystem in this area (Assistant, media) is so much better (performance, flexibility), it’s even remotely close. For less money than the cost of a HomePod, I can have a better sounding setup that will be far more functional and flexible, with a much better assistant (pair of high quality stereo speakers that also have bluetooth, Google Home Mini and Chromecast Audio). I can control a greater number of smart home devices, have multi-user recogition/support, multi-room audio, and the ability to ask for and control video playback (via Android TV or Chromecast).

I get to listen to HomePods almost every day and yes, they sound quite good, especially for their size. But if I had to choose a dedicated smart speaker, it would almost certainly be a Google Home Max, with a Sonos my second choice (considering its upcoming Google Assistant support).

 

[jona2125]

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How do you know that if you haven't setup a HomePod

Well I know that even without setting up the HomePod that the Google equipment is still going to be the better speaker for my use given it's capabilities beyond just a speaker. I'm sure the HomePod sounds good, I have been traveling a lot so I haven't been home to try it out but from what I've heard it is definitely not much of a smart speaker.

 

[npmacuser5]

Seniors vote Alexa.....

https://blog.aboutamazon.com/innova...383-7a70d030e007&pf_rd_r=39Z6X7R624HYX6VEGVEE

 

[EdT]

If I could just play Google Music on the HomePod I might get one ...

You are going to need to amend this statement unless you want people telling you that you can play Google Music on the HomePod. Because you can, with Airplay. What you can't do is tell the HomePod to play Google Music using voice commands. You will need to use an app and not voice commands on either your Apple mobile device or Apple computer-because Airplay isn't officially available on non Apple devices. And HomePod Siri only accesses Apple streaming music feeds, and no other sources. But via Airplay/App HomePod will play both Spotify and Google Music, but you can't talk to it and get it to work.

 

[crsh1976]

I think the HomePod is one of those devices perfect for the living room setting because of the sound it delivers. But the echo Dot being it’s more affordable and smaller, is excellent for bedrooms, in the kitchen and various rooms throughout the house for asking various controls and questions.

I think you're forgetting Apple's own spin/wreck here, the HP is not a smart speaker, it's a high-quality audio speaker with Siri as a side bonus (while the Echo is only a smart speaker).

I fear Apple shot itself in the foot trying to position the HP "as this and not that" for pricing and visibility reasons, but the smart speaker market is but a niche of a niche, and has not had a chance to grow enough before it got flooded.

 

[jdiamond]

I don't understand what these percentages mean. Is each category inclusive of the next? If 85% of the people have at least once tried checking the weather, 69% have checked the weather monthly, and 41% check the weather daily, that total is FAR over 100%.

If it instead means that 41% check the weather daily, (69-41) = 28% check it monthly, and (85-69) = 16% check it seldom, then these charts are not drawn correctly and are giving ridiculously misleading "sums". Comparing the total bars are absolutely meaningless the way they are drawn.

 

[Uofmtiger]

"In fact, Voicebot.ai argued that Apple and Amazon are likely companions in "multi-manufacturer households," where HomePod is purchased as a "luxury item for music listening" and Echo is used for more "utilitarian tasks."

This pretty much explains why I bought a HomePod while also already owning Dots. It simply does music (and listening to your voice controls over music) much better with a small footprint and works with Apple Music (natively) and Airplay.

I still have the Dots around for a couple third party skills, but they retail for ~$40 (I paid less for every one of them) and they do some unique ("utilitarian tasks") things that the HomePod won't do, so no reason to get rid of them. I am pretty much done in this arena at this point unless Apple adds an Airport Express style of device that can take commands and feed my speaker setups.

 

[zarmanto]

They should run a survey of parents with small children... it'll probably return results somewhere along the lines of: 100% less likely to buy the most expensive option, (that is, Apple's speaker) out of fear that it's just going to end up broken inside of the first week of ownership. (I mean, come on... if you have to hide it away from curious-but-clumsy hands, so that it's not sitting out in the open where everyone in the house can enjoy it, what's the point of even buying it in the first place?)

 

[Uofmtiger]

They should run a survey of parents with small children... it'll probably return results somewhere along the lines of: 100% less likely to buy the most expensive option, (that is, Apple's speaker) out of fear that it's just going to end up broken inside of the first week of ownership. (I mean, come on... if you have to hide it away from curious-but-clumsy hands, so that it's not sitting out in the open where everyone in the house can enjoy it, what's the point of even buying it in the first place?)

Yep, it is why people that have children never have anything nice. Most just sell all their belongings and live naked in tents when they find out the woman is pregnant. I am sure the researches simply figured this into their numbers since anything outside of that process would be outliers.

 

[zarmanto]

Yep, it is why people that have children never have anything nice. Most just sell all their belongings and live naked in tents when they find out the woman is pregnant. ...

As a father of seven, (ages 3 to 17) I can attest that nobody has that kind of foresight. However, things do get broken... and they don't always get replaced. Or if something happens to be important enough to need replacing, it sure-as-shootin' ain't going to be replaced with the most expensive option available.

(I made an exception for my iMac, once... and just recently, one of my kids yanked it off of the desk; I found it dangling by the power cord, having thankfully stopped just a few inches short of hitting the floor. It hides behind a locked door, now.)

 

[Uofmtiger]

As a father of seven, (ages 3 to 17) I can attest that nobody has that kind of foresight. However, things do get broken... and they don't always get replaced. Or if something happens to be important enough to need replacing, it sure-as-shootin' ain't going to be replaced with the most expensive option available.

(I made an exception for my iMac, once... and just recently, one of my kids yanked it off of the desk; I found it dangling by the power cord, having thankfully stopped just a few inches short of hitting the floor. It hides behind a locked door, now.)

Yet you own a much more expensive iMac??!!! Those things are many times more expensive than a HomePod!! Also, it is harder to put an iMac out of reach than something with this small of a footprint.

 

[zarmanto]

Yet you own a much more expensive iMac??!!! Those things are many times more expensive than a HomePod!! Also, it is harder to put an iMac out of reach than something with this small of a footprint.

Indeed, I agree on all accounts. In my defense: it's a 2012 model, so I had fewer kids at that point... and even at that, the iMac was initially hiding in my bedroom on a bar-height "standing desk." It has since migrated to a more traditional desk in a "home office" type of environment, in order to satisfy my wife's aesthetic sensibilities... I clearly should have put more effort into resisting that move.

But I stand by my assessment: The HomePod clearly would not be at home, shoved up in the corner on a high shelf. Rather, it's design and aesthetics simply scream out to be placed front-and-center in a living room or the like... which would be right in the middle of the "play area" in my own house.

And I have no doubt that Apple put incredible efforts into optimizing that speaker array... but if I were ever going to consider this type of tech for my own house, my preferred choice would likely be a compact unit with cheap (or no) speakers, with an external output which I could hook up to a more traditional stereo system with wall mounted speakers. Because if I'm going to put the speakers up on the wall anyway, they may as well be speakers which were intended for that kind of placement.