Apple doubled its smart speaker market share in 2021 thanks to HomePod mini

AppleInsider

The HomePod mini is helping Apple to gain market share in the competitive smart speaker market, though the company still lags behind its rivals in the space.

HomePod mini packaging

Apple shipped an estimated 4 million smart speaker units in the third quarter of 2021, representing 10.2% of the market, according to new data from Strategy Analytics. That's nearly double Apple's 5.9% share of the market in Q3 2020.

Amazon came in first in the smart speaker market with a 26.4% share, while Google came in third with 20.5%. Baidu and Alibaba ranked third and fourth, with Apple coming in fifth in the global rankings.

The HomePod mini itself was one of the top-selling smart speakers in Q3 2021, however. It ranked second behind the Google Nest Mini but ahead of the fourth-generation Amazon Echo Dot, Strategy Analytics said.

Apple launched the HomePod mini in October 2020 as a cheaper alternative to its then-flagship HomePod. In March, Apple discontinued the full-sized HomePod device. Earlier in 2021, Apple added new colors to the lineup.

Unlike its smart home competitors, Apple only has a single smart speaker product -- and it doesn't have any with a screen. That could change in the future, with some rumors indicating that Apple is working on an Apple TV device that sport a built-in camera and HomePod speaker, as well as a smart speaker with its own touchscreen display.

Read on AppleInsider

ihatescreennames

I might consider a HomePod with a screen on it, depending on what the screen does. If its primary function is to serve ads all day long, like my friend’s Echo Show, then I’ll pass. 

My friend uses her ES in the kitchen mostly as a device to tell her the weather and set timers, something her Echo dot down the hall does just as well. I don’t get the appeal in viewing ads on it 24/7. 

mcdave

Apple Music Voice + HomePod mini was a smart move. It should also help improve Siri. Now they just need an AppleTV sound bar with a pumped up GPU for gaming & some deals to deliver AAA games (OK & maybe Epic too) via Apple Arcade+

MisterKit

The original HomePod was ahead of it’s time and unfortunately it was underappreciated.

mike1

ihatescreennames said:

I might consider a HomePod with a screen on it, depending on what the screen does. If its primary function is to serve ads all day long, like my friend’s Echo Show, then I’ll pass. 

My friend uses her ES in the kitchen mostly as a device to tell her the weather and set timers, something her Echo dot down the hall does just as well. I don’t get the appeal in viewing ads on it 24/7. 

I have two Minis and an original HomePod throughout the house. Never once wished any of them had a screen. There are plenty of screens already. Phones, iPads, computers and TVs are all easily accessible if it was needed. However, they all sound pretty good while giving me Siri access and Home control throughout the house.

eightzero

On something of a lark, I got a homepod mini for a very very low price. I jumped because I am rather curious about it. Initial impression is that it indeed has excellent sound. However, the Siri interface is still very unpredictable, and doesn't seem to understand I have a full library of music in the computer upstairs that she is connected to. Yes, I know this is fixed once I subscribe to Apple Music (and I got a free 6 month subscription to try) but having the functionality of this device tied to a subscription is something I really don't want. And yes, I also know I can go upstairs and Airplay from my library to the homepod, none of which is something I want to do. It should just work, and...well...it doesn't unless I fork over more quid on a regular basis.

I really do wish I could tie this to my Roku smart TV, but that requires I use the AppleTV box as the primary interface, and that's just one more thing to dork with. 

Gene Muenster never did come through with his Apple HDTV prediction. 

StrangeDays

MisterKit said:

The original HomePod was ahead of it’s time and unfortunately it was underappreciated.

Agreed, I'm still rocking dual HPs on my home entertainment system after retiring a much more expensive 7.1 receiver & high-end speaker system. HPs are just easier, and the sound on the full-size model is quite loud. 

But I've also purchased 3 minis for around the house, which we love. Whole-house music is like magic. 

iOS_Guy80

The HomePod mini 🎼 rocks due in large part to the Apple ecosystem.

auxio

eightzero said:

On something of a lark, I got a homepod mini for a very very low price. I jumped because I am rather curious about it. Initial impression is that it indeed has excellent sound. However, the Siri interface is still very unpredictable, and doesn't seem to understand I have a full library of music in the computer upstairs that she is connected to. Yes, I know this is fixed once I subscribe to Apple Music (and I got a free 6 month subscription to try) but having the functionality of this device tied to a subscription is something I really don't want.

You can also just subscribe to iTunes Match, which is much cheaper.

I get that, ideally, the HomePod could connect directly via Wi-Fi to your music library (which shouldn't cost you anything).  But as someone who has actually spent time working on software that tried to do direct connections between devices over LANs, it's unbelievably complicated to deal with all possible network configurations that people have in their homes (I could have spent a lifetime trying to do tech support for poorly configured networks).  Hence why "the cloud" happened.  So you're paying for Apple to have a copy of your music library in the cloud which other devices can access.

AppleZulu

auxio said:

eightzero said:

On something of a lark, I got a homepod mini for a very very low price. I jumped because I am rather curious about it. Initial impression is that it indeed has excellent sound. However, the Siri interface is still very unpredictable, and doesn't seem to understand I have a full library of music in the computer upstairs that she is connected to. Yes, I know this is fixed once I subscribe to Apple Music (and I got a free 6 month subscription to try) but having the functionality of this device tied to a subscription is something I really don't want.

You can also just subscribe to iTunes Match, which is much cheaper.

I get that, ideally, the HomePod could connect directly via Wi-Fi to your music library (which shouldn't cost you anything).  But as someone who has actually spent time working on software that tried to do direct connections between devices over LANs, it's unbelievably complicated to deal with all possible network configurations that people have in their homes (I could have spent a lifetime trying to do tech support for poorly configured networks).  Hence why "the cloud" happened.  So you're paying for Apple to have a copy of your music library in the cloud which other devices can access.

Hadn't thought of this, but it makes a lot of sense. Add on top of that the voice control UI for HomePod, and a HomePod>WiFi>personal music library scenario would be a recipe for frequent failure and constant bad publicity for HomePod. There would be infinite variables outside of Apple's control, causing problems that would universally be blamed on Apple and the HomePod. (This is yet another reason I don't understand why Apple bailed on the WiFi router market. The way to control and limit variables in the network is to control the network.)

AppleZulu

The original HomePod is a brilliant piece of audio gear, but was apparently too expensive to generate the one-in-every-part-of-the-house distribution needed to properly support HomeKit objectives. Perhaps now that the mini is helping with that goal, it could pave the way for a future 'HomePod Pro' or some such thing that could pick up and advance the original HomePod's audio tech. We can hope.

auxio

AppleZulu said:

auxio said:

eightzero said:

On something of a lark, I got a homepod mini for a very very low price. I jumped because I am rather curious about it. Initial impression is that it indeed has excellent sound. However, the Siri interface is still very unpredictable, and doesn't seem to understand I have a full library of music in the computer upstairs that she is connected to. Yes, I know this is fixed once I subscribe to Apple Music (and I got a free 6 month subscription to try) but having the functionality of this device tied to a subscription is something I really don't want.

You can also just subscribe to iTunes Match, which is much cheaper.

I get that, ideally, the HomePod could connect directly via Wi-Fi to your music library (which shouldn't cost you anything).  But as someone who has actually spent time working on software that tried to do direct connections between devices over LANs, it's unbelievably complicated to deal with all possible network configurations that people have in their homes (I could have spent a lifetime trying to do tech support for poorly configured networks).  Hence why "the cloud" happened.  So you're paying for Apple to have a copy of your music library in the cloud which other devices can access.

Hadn't thought of this, but it makes a lot of sense. Add on top of that the voice control UI for HomePod, and a HomePod>WiFi>personal music library scenario would be a recipe for frequent failure and constant bad publicity for HomePod. There would be infinite variables outside of Apple's control, causing problems that would universally be blamed on Apple and the HomePod. (This is yet another reason I don't understand why Apple bailed on the WiFi router market. The way to control and limit variables in the network is to control the network.)

Yeah, that's something which has been Apple's design philosophy from the very beginning: that technology should "just work".  Never expecting that people should know how to do complicated configuration, but instead trying to figure out ways to make it so that such configuration isn't necessary.  This is just another example of that.

StrangeDays

AppleZulu said:

The original HomePod is a brilliant piece of audio gear, but was apparently too expensive to generate the one-in-every-part-of-the-house distribution needed to properly support HomeKit objectives. Perhaps now that the mini is helping with that goal, it could pave the way for a future 'HomePod Pro' or some such thing that could pick up and advance the original HomePod's audio tech. We can hope.

Perhaps they should have done it that way. Using the full HPs in our living room and the minis around the house works well since the bass from the HPs is like a sub for the others. And having the minis around the house is great die HomeKit commands as we use a lot of HK lighting, scenes, etc. 

crowley

My house remains blissfully free of listening machines.  I honestly don't understand why anyone would want of these things, whether they're from Apple, Amazon, Google or Other.

eightzero

auxio said:

eightzero said:

On something of a lark, I got a homepod mini for a very very low price. I jumped because I am rather curious about it. Initial impression is that it indeed has excellent sound. However, the Siri interface is still very unpredictable, and doesn't seem to understand I have a full library of music in the computer upstairs that she is connected to. Yes, I know this is fixed once I subscribe to Apple Music (and I got a free 6 month subscription to try) but having the functionality of this device tied to a subscription is something I really don't want.

You can also just subscribe to iTunes Match, which is much cheaper.

I get that, ideally, the HomePod could connect directly via Wi-Fi to your music library (which shouldn't cost you anything).  But as someone who has actually spent time working on software that tried to do direct connections between devices over LANs, it's unbelievably complicated to deal with all possible network configurations that people have in their homes (I could have spent a lifetime trying to do tech support for poorly configured networks).  Hence why "the cloud" happened.  So you're paying for Apple to have a copy of your music library in the cloud which other devices can access.

I sorta get that, and I suppose it's logical, even if I don't get the complete tech details. But...Apple also got out of the home networking business when they dropped the airport (that I still use) and it seems that having an option for using the Apple branded home networking solution to do this would solve the issue. But that's another product line that generates no appreciable revenue, and their business choice is indeed a business choice. I understand it, even if I don't like it.

Or, Apple could offer a free iTunes Match with the HomePod. Might sell a lotta HomePods with that.

elijahg

MisterKit said:

The original HomePod was ahead of it’s time and unfortunately it was underappreciated.

And overpriced.

Japhey

ihatescreennames said:

I might consider a HomePod with a screen on it, depending on what the screen does. If its primary function is to serve ads all day long, like my friend’s Echo Show, then I’ll pass. 

My friend uses her ES in the kitchen mostly as a device to tell her the weather and set timers, something her Echo dot down the hall does just as well. I don’t get the appeal in viewing ads on it 24/7. 

I never get any ads on my Echo Show. It just rotates all day between the weather, sports scores, stock prices, news, jokes, recipe ideas, and shopping lists. It feels weird to defend Amazon, but your friend needs to dig down into the settings, because you can turn all that crap off. I would have returned mine if you couldn’t, because I hate ads just as much as you. 

auxio

eightzero said:

auxio said:

eightzero said:

On something of a lark, I got a homepod mini for a very very low price. I jumped because I am rather curious about it. Initial impression is that it indeed has excellent sound. However, the Siri interface is still very unpredictable, and doesn't seem to understand I have a full library of music in the computer upstairs that she is connected to. Yes, I know this is fixed once I subscribe to Apple Music (and I got a free 6 month subscription to try) but having the functionality of this device tied to a subscription is something I really don't want.

You can also just subscribe to iTunes Match, which is much cheaper.

I get that, ideally, the HomePod could connect directly via Wi-Fi to your music library (which shouldn't cost you anything).  But as someone who has actually spent time working on software that tried to do direct connections between devices over LANs, it's unbelievably complicated to deal with all possible network configurations that people have in their homes (I could have spent a lifetime trying to do tech support for poorly configured networks).  Hence why "the cloud" happened.  So you're paying for Apple to have a copy of your music library in the cloud which other devices can access.

I sorta get that, and I suppose it's logical, even if I don't get the complete tech details. But...Apple also got out of the home networking business when they dropped the airport (that I still use) and it seems that having an option for using the Apple branded home networking solution to do this would solve the issue. But that's another product line that generates no appreciable revenue, and their business choice is indeed a business choice. I understand it, even if I don't like it.

Can you honestly say that most people would be willing to pay for Apple's WiFi router when they get one for free from their ISP?  That's the reason why Apple got out of the WiFi router business.

dewme

ihatescreennames said:

I might consider a HomePod with a screen on it, depending on what the screen does. If its primary function is to serve ads all day long, like my friend’s Echo Show, then I’ll pass. 

My friend uses her ES in the kitchen mostly as a device to tell her the weather and set timers, something her Echo dot down the hall does just as well. I don’t get the appeal in viewing ads on it 24/7. 

I have several Echo Show devices and none of them show ads. They do show suggestions for accessing additional features using Alexa, but even these non-ads are a small fraction of the total rotating screen content. 

The rotating screen content that’s shown on the Echo Show is highly configurable via its settings. The most frequently shown content on my Echo Shows is my extensive Prime photo library, which is unlimited with Prime. I also see date & time, local weather, local sports team scores, upcoming appointments from my calendar, reminders, and upcoming deliveries. Pretty much any of this can be included or omitted in settings. 

Additionally, I can ask Alexa to show live camera video from any of my Ring cameras on any of my Echo Shows. This works very well. Oh, and when I’m away from home I can access the front facing cameras on any of my Echo Shows to check in on what’s happening inside my house. All of these Echo Shows also participate in the Alexa Guard feature, listening for smoke/fire alarm activation and glass breakage. 

Of course all of the Echo Shows can be used as intercoms, video conferencing, making phone calls, watching Prime Video movies and tv shows, playing Apple Music, streaming internet radio, podcasts, recipes, home automation, etc. 

All this for less than $50 bucks is hard to beat. My only complaint with the Echo Show devices is that they don’t come with the optional stand, which is very nice but overpriced. 

If the Echo Show was even close to what you’ve described it as a 24x7 ad delivery platform I would have ditched it years ago. Same deal with the Echo Spot that I use as an alarm clock. It’s auto dimming analog clock, plethora of alarm options, and support for whisper mode make it a perfect alarm clock for me. The Spot supports almost all the same features as the Show, but unfortunately it’s been discontinued. 

I love the HomePod, see the value of the mini, and have long advocated for a HomePod View, but Apple isn’t even trying to compete against the Amazon devices. Simply putting a clock in the HomePod mini like Amazon does with one of the latest versions of the Echo Dot would open it up to use as an alarm clock, but that’s simply one of many use cases that Amazon goes after but Apple doesn’t care about.

Xed

crowley said:

My house remains blissfully free of listening machines.  I honestly don't understand why anyone would want of these things, whether they're from Apple, Amazon, Google or Other.

Your house is full of a lot more microphones (and other ways in which to be spied upon) than you clearly realize. Differentiating between a device listening for a wake word that could also be surreptitiously recording you and those other device in your home, in your car, and on your person surreptitiously recording you are much closer than you think.

crowley

Xed said:

crowley said:

My house remains blissfully free of listening machines.  I honestly don't understand why anyone would want of these things, whether they're from Apple, Amazon, Google or Other.

Your house is full of a lot more microphones (and other ways in which to be spied upon) than you clearly realize. Differentiating between a device listening for a wake word that could also be surreptitiously recording you and those other device in your home, in your car, and on your person surreptitiously recording you are much closer than you think.

I assure you, there are no devices surreptitiously recording me or listening for wake words in my house or on my person.