Apple sold about 600,000 HomePods in the first quarter
Apple may have shipped just 600,000 HomePods during the March quarter, according to an estimate published on Thursday, giving it 6 percent of the fledgling smart speaker market.
The figure puts Apple well behind Amazon in sales volume, with the online retailer believed to have shipped 4 million Echo speakers, Strategy Analytics said. Amazon's take of the segment grew 102 percent year-over-year.
In second place was Google, estimated to have jumped ahead 709 percent to 2.4 million Home devices. Apple came in fourth behind China's Alibaba, which managed about 700,000 units and a 7.6 percent share.
There are caveats to the data -- Amazon and Google achieved their performance despite their speakers not being available in the Chinese market. The HomePod wasn't available for the whole quarter, having only debuted on Feb. 9. Also, the data says nothing about average selling price, which in every case is well below that of Apple's $349 for the HomePod, a relevant consideration given that the Echo Dot retails for $50.
Analysts have suggested however that sales aren't as strong as the company was expecting/ former KGI staffer Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted that Apple will sell between 2 million and 2.5 million units by the end of the year. If accurate, that still makes HomePod business alone worth more than $700 million dollars.
Multiple reports have hinted that Apple is working on a cheaper version of the speaker that will increase its appeal. The current HomePod costs $349, making it more expensive than most Echo and Home options, and even Sonos' Alexa-equipped One speaker.
If it exists, a lower-cost HomePod is rumored to ship later in 2018.
The figure puts Apple well behind Amazon in sales volume, with the online retailer believed to have shipped 4 million Echo speakers, Strategy Analytics said. Amazon's take of the segment grew 102 percent year-over-year.
In second place was Google, estimated to have jumped ahead 709 percent to 2.4 million Home devices. Apple came in fourth behind China's Alibaba, which managed about 700,000 units and a 7.6 percent share.
There are caveats to the data -- Amazon and Google achieved their performance despite their speakers not being available in the Chinese market. The HomePod wasn't available for the whole quarter, having only debuted on Feb. 9. Also, the data says nothing about average selling price, which in every case is well below that of Apple's $349 for the HomePod, a relevant consideration given that the Echo Dot retails for $50.
Analysts have suggested however that sales aren't as strong as the company was expecting/ former KGI staffer Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted that Apple will sell between 2 million and 2.5 million units by the end of the year. If accurate, that still makes HomePod business alone worth more than $700 million dollars.
Multiple reports have hinted that Apple is working on a cheaper version of the speaker that will increase its appeal. The current HomePod costs $349, making it more expensive than most Echo and Home options, and even Sonos' Alexa-equipped One speaker.
If it exists, a lower-cost HomePod is rumored to ship later in 2018.
Comments
So Amazon will sell 7 echo dot in comparison to 1 homepod sale??
Anyway I always used my homepod as real speakers for TV and streaming and used my phones for any assistance which I carry all the time.
Maybe I’m on the minority...;-))
"Listening booths" on the store floor would be incredibly dorky. Nope. The demo unit is good enough to get a taste, but more than that is kinda unnecessary since your own space will be different. If on the fence just get one, try it out, and if need be bring it back. Much better plan than installing "listening booths".
Looking at revenues (as an investor I'm far more interested in revenue than I am units sold) I find that Amazon's Echo generated about $196 Million with gross margins of approximately 14%. ($27.4 million) in a THREE month period.
If the 600,000 units sold reported by Strategy Analytics is accurate, then HomePod generated $209.4 million in revenue with gross margins of about 44% ($92.1 million) in a TWO month period.
IOW, on 15% of Echo unit volume, HomePod generated 3.3X gross margin dollars.
It's obvious that Amazon's intent with the Echo is not to make a profit, rather Amazon wants a device (no matter how cheaply made) to drive more Amazon online sales. I don't see it. When I buy something online I want to see what it is that I'm buying and maybe do some comparison shopping.
Will Apple ever sell as many HomePods as do Amazon or Google? No. The focus of the former is low-cost volume with profits driven from other aspects of their respective businesses. Apple focus is producing the best quality products that appeal to a more affluent and discerning geographic. Criticisms of SIRI are overblown in my opinion. True, SIRI can't respond with as much info as does Alexa and Google Home, but I think it is important to understand that Alexa and Google Home rely on cloud ML to improve, while SIRI's ML is device limited. Over time SIRI's response to the user will become more and more accurate without giving up privacy.
I use Siri and an Echo Dot and I don’t see the so-called embarrassment you claim about Siri.