I bought a HomePod because I’m an Apple fan boy. It sounds great but I don’t have Apple Music so it’s a pretty pointless piece of kit at the moment. It just sits there not being used.
Yes, it is a hardware race to the bottom. As we know, Apple will not go there.
And that is why Google is the champion of the people, reflected in majority market share and Apple is the champion of letting only this inside who have cash to spend to increase their stockpile.
‘Champion of the people’... lol. Letting google surveillance your conversations in exchange for cheap hardware. I forgot Google made no money! This cant be a serious comment.
Not at all surprising. The Google Home is much easier to use than Alexa or Siri. Then it is also just a lot smarter. More than anything the smart speaker is an extension to search so doubt we will see Amazon or Apple able to be competitive.
Pointless data unless you can break it down to show the "premium sound" category. Apple will never sell a $50 Homepod. So if they have 7% of the total market that WILL translate to a much higher % of against their real competition of Sonos and the high-end Google device.
How big is the market for a premium sound smart speaker? I wish Apple would make a smart soundbar that I could connect to my TV.
Still waiting for Sonos One to add Assistant so I can get one for my home office. I'm stuck in limbo not wanting a dumb speaker but wanting something better than my Home Mini.
You’re not stuck. Get an Audio Chromecast (~$35), configure it to respond to your Google Home Mini and connect the Chromecast Audio to a decent office receiver connected to decent speakers. It’s cheap, not hard to set up, and if your office system is good it’ll sound better quality than any smart speaker. I set up my office system just that way. I share a family Spotify account and I’ve reconnected to Google’s YouTube Red to see if I like that while I watch Karate Kid: The Legend Continues, I mean “Cobra Kai.”
i still prefer having an Audio System based on Apple Music, Airplay and Airport Express connected to a receiver and good speakers.
Apple may lose me if they get too greedy and lazy and remove connectivity to real audio systems.
Yes, it is a hardware race to the bottom. As we know, Apple will not go there.
And that is why Google is the champion of the people, reflected in majority market share and Apple is the champion of letting only this inside who have cash to spend to increase their stockpile.
Google is the champion of the people... I have now officially heard it all. Hahaha ...wow.
Pointless data unless you can break it down to show the "premium sound" category. Apple will never sell a $50 Homepod. So if they have 7% of the total market that WILL translate to a much higher % of against their real competition of Sonos and the high-end Google device.
So, it's only meaningful if you move the goalposts to fit your goal?
Like all those Android idiots who compare market share of gazillions of $50 throwaway phones to the iPhone and claim the iPhone is losing?
Not at all surprising. The Google Home is much easier to use than Alexa or Siri. Then it is also just a lot smarter. More than anything the smart speaker is an extension to search so doubt we will see Amazon or Apple able to be competitive.
Who uses a smart speaker to search? When I want to look for something I'll use my browser. Very rarely can I get enough information in a sound bite from a speaker. Which is why I won't use one. I want to see actual documents or pics of things I'm looking for. Or comparisons (when shopping, which I admit I do a LOT of online).
I have no desire to play Jeopardy or Trivial Pursuit with a "smart" speaker.
Not at all surprising. The Google Home is much easier to use than Alexa or Siri. Then it is also just a lot smarter. More than anything the smart speaker is an extension to search so doubt we will see Amazon or Apple able to be competitive.
Who uses a smart speaker to search? When I want to look for something I'll use my browser. Very rarely can I get enough information in a sound bite from a speaker. Which is why I won't use one. I want to see actual documents or pics of things I'm looking for. Or comparisons (when shopping, which I admit I do a LOT of online).
I have no desire to play Jeopardy or Trivial Pursuit with a "smart" speaker.
I use it to search quite often, e.g. for a short cocktail recipe, or when my next flight lands, or a snippet of information if I'm lying on the couch watching TV - Hey Google, when did XYZ happen, who is XYZ, what was XYZ.
Still waiting for Sonos One to add Assistant so I can get one for my home office. I'm stuck in limbo not wanting a dumb speaker but wanting something better than my Home Mini.
You’re not stuck. Get an Audio Chromecast (~$35), configure it to respond to your Google Home Mini and connect the Chromecast Audio to a decent office receiver connected to decent speakers. It’s cheap, not hard to set up, and if your office system is good it’ll sound better quality than any smart speaker. I set up my office system just that way. I share a family Spotify account and I’ve reconnected to Google’s YouTube Red to see if I like that while I watch Karate Kid: The Legend Continues, I mean “Cobra Kai.”
i still prefer having an Audio System based on Apple Music, Airplay and Airport Express connected to a receiver and good speakers.
Apple may lose me if they get too greedy and lazy and remove connectivity to real audio systems.
I was on the verge of that exact set up - that's already what I have in my living room - but in my office I'm leaning towards something smaller, simpler and I don't need a lot of volume. Polk Assist comes out in June so I'll see how that sounds, otherwise if Sonos doesn't hurry up, I may end up with just a pair of powered speakers and Chromecast Audio. It does mean three appliances and lots of cables in an already overloaded socket though.
I just don't believe google is no1 here, it's gotta be amazon on numbers sold - they practically give the things away.
These are global figures and Google has a much stronger global reach than Amazon. There are too many countries where Amazon has a very weak presence or no presence at all.
Pointless data unless you can break it down to show the "premium sound" category. Apple will never sell a $50 Homepod. So if they have 7% of the total market that WILL translate to a much higher % of against their real competition of Sonos and the high-end Google device.
So, it's only meaningful if you move the goalposts to fit your goal?
You mean position the goal posts where they should be, right? Or perhaps your a person who compares Coach bag sales volumes to the number of women’s handbags sold under the blue light specials at your local KMart, as though that would be a meaningful comparison. If so, I’ll recommend you stay out of the investing realm, at least. And any other realm in which analysis is required for success.
It is absolutely meaningful if the goal is getting your software and services in as many homes and businesses as possible to hopefully enable future growth. If it's simply immediate cash gratification, what you did today, then your claim "it's all about the profits" is spot-on.
FALSE!!!! “Google has ousted Amazon as the top manufacturer in the world”. Excuse me, they simply had ONE good quarter. That DOES NOT make them the top manufacturer in the world! They have a lot of catching up to do to sell as many devices as Amazon, the clear market leader. AI try to be more accurate in your analysis and reporting.
Further, you failed to make any comment or analysis comparing sales and profitability of the high end of this emerging market as most of the units sold by both Amazon and google are cheap, low quality products. What we are most likely to find is Apple’s HomePod being a leader in unit sales, quality and profitability with high end / more expensive offerings from the competitors. Just like in the smartphone category. Or at least Apple trending toward being the de facto leader at the high end, especially as it launches in more countries and its software is updated.
Lastly, your headline is shameful clickbat! We expect more from you.
FALSE!!!! “Google has ousted Amazon as the top manufacturer in the world”. Excuse me, they simply had ONE good quarter. That DOES NOT make them the top manufacturer in the world! They have a lot of catching up to do to sell as many devices as Amazon, the clear market leader. AI try to be more accurate in your analysis and reporting.
Further, you failed to make any comment or analysis comparing sales and profitability of the high end of this emerging market as most of the units sold by both Amazon and google are cheap, low quality products. What we are most likely to find is Apple’s HomePod being a leader in unit sales, quality and profitability with high end / more expensive offerings from the competitors. Just like in the smartphone category. Or at least Apple trending toward being the de facto leader at the high end, especially as it launches in more countries and its software is updated.
Lastly, your headline is shameful clickbat! We expect more from you.
Usually "market" refers to sales/shipments not installed base.
Comments
i still prefer having an Audio System based on Apple Music, Airplay and Airport Express connected to a receiver and good speakers.
Apple may lose me if they get too greedy and lazy and remove connectivity to real audio systems.
Your website: https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/05/17/apple-sold-about-600000-homepods-in-the-first-quarter
Like all those Android idiots who compare market share of gazillions of $50 throwaway phones to the iPhone and claim the iPhone is losing?
Who uses a smart speaker to search? When I want to look for something I'll use my browser. Very rarely can I get enough information in a sound bite from a speaker. Which is why I won't use one. I want to see actual documents or pics of things I'm looking for. Or comparisons (when shopping, which I admit I do a LOT of online).
I have no desire to play Jeopardy or Trivial Pursuit with a "smart" speaker.
Siri could have single-handedly put Goog out of business....
I was on the verge of that exact set up - that's already what I have in my living room - but in my office I'm leaning towards something smaller, simpler and I don't need a lot of volume. Polk Assist comes out in June so I'll see how that sounds, otherwise if Sonos doesn't hurry up, I may end up with just a pair of powered speakers and Chromecast Audio. It does mean three appliances and lots of cables in an already overloaded socket though.
Further, you failed to make any comment or analysis comparing sales and profitability of the high end of this emerging market as most of the units sold by both Amazon and google are cheap, low quality products. What we are most likely to find is Apple’s HomePod being a leader in unit sales, quality and profitability with high end / more expensive offerings from the competitors. Just like in the smartphone category. Or at least Apple trending toward being the de facto leader at the high end, especially as it launches in more countries and its software is updated.
Lastly, your headline is shameful clickbat! We expect more from you.