Analyst predicts new Apple Pencil, 'low-end' $200 HomePod this fall
Although early HomePod orders appear to be doing well, Apple could ship a "low-end" model this fall costing between $150 and $200 instead of the current model's $349, an analyst said Friday in an investor memo seen by AppleInsider.
"Loooking at the success of Amazon's Echo products we believe demand could exceed 10 million units this calendar year," wrote Rosenblatt Securities' Jun Zhang. Apple is forecast to ship about 6 million units of the full-size product.
Zhang didn't propose what features a second HomePod model might have, but much of Amazon's success can be attributed to the Echo Dot, which sacrifices built-in sound quality in exchange for a $40-50 pricetag, about half the cost of a full-size Echo. The difference makes it practical to equip multiple rooms with Amazon's Alexa voice assistant.
A cheaper HomePod would offer a similar benefit for Siri, but Apple might not be willing to sacrifice sound. The company has touted the product as a speaker first and AI platform second, focuing its marketing on technologies like beamforming, room correction, and the use of seven tweeters plus a dedicated woofer.
Separately, Zhang supported the idea that Apple's 2018 lineup will include things like a faster iPhone SE and an iPad Pro with a TrueDepth camera. He also suggested the possibility of a (Product)Red iPhone 8 Plus, with estimated shipments around 3 million.
"We do not expect a red iPhone X model since the metal frame is too challenging to paint," Zhang wrote.
Unusually, the analyst predicted a new Apple Pencil, not just for the iPad Pro but for a rumored 6.5-inch "iPhone X Plus." Giving the device a stylus might put it in more direct competition with Samsung's Galaxy Note series.
It is unclear where or how Zhang is sourcing his predictions.
"Loooking at the success of Amazon's Echo products we believe demand could exceed 10 million units this calendar year," wrote Rosenblatt Securities' Jun Zhang. Apple is forecast to ship about 6 million units of the full-size product.
Zhang didn't propose what features a second HomePod model might have, but much of Amazon's success can be attributed to the Echo Dot, which sacrifices built-in sound quality in exchange for a $40-50 pricetag, about half the cost of a full-size Echo. The difference makes it practical to equip multiple rooms with Amazon's Alexa voice assistant.
A cheaper HomePod would offer a similar benefit for Siri, but Apple might not be willing to sacrifice sound. The company has touted the product as a speaker first and AI platform second, focuing its marketing on technologies like beamforming, room correction, and the use of seven tweeters plus a dedicated woofer.
Separately, Zhang supported the idea that Apple's 2018 lineup will include things like a faster iPhone SE and an iPad Pro with a TrueDepth camera. He also suggested the possibility of a (Product)Red iPhone 8 Plus, with estimated shipments around 3 million.
"We do not expect a red iPhone X model since the metal frame is too challenging to paint," Zhang wrote.
Unusually, the analyst predicted a new Apple Pencil, not just for the iPad Pro but for a rumored 6.5-inch "iPhone X Plus." Giving the device a stylus might put it in more direct competition with Samsung's Galaxy Note series.
It is unclear where or how Zhang is sourcing his predictions.
Comments
Let me hazard a guess.
His bottom.
Every paragraph, every last syllable was sourced, without reference or review by his colleagues and peers, from his bottom.
Oh good grief.
I also doubt that a stylus will be made for the iPhone. The stylus makes sense for the iPad Pro because the advanced functionality for writing, notes, drawing, etc. demand a high precision device. You don't need it for pointers and writing on a phone sized screen is not easy or natural.
Just because the market is doing something doesn't mean that Apple is going to follow. There has to be real world functional use cases, not just features in search of a solution.
how much do these guys get paid for spouting this nonsense?
Not to mention the total ecosystem lock-in. I use Apple's iTunes and Music Match for 95% of my stuff but it would be nice to be able to use Spotify, Google Play, etc.
The sound quality seems like a real achievement however.
Well, it just might be, especially if you're an old school journalist or cop. Or at least easily overcome with the right tool.
I've known a few of the former and a great many of the latter and a small notebook in your breast pocket was (for journalists) and is (for cops) part of the daily kit. Now phones have replaced notebooks in some instances, and bigger phones make 'writing' much easier. A plus-size phone and Apple Pencil (and decent handwriting recognition could prove more efficient that tapping a virtual keyboard.
Not that Apple is going to do this, but I see the concept as viable.
2) I'd love for the kitchen, bathrooms, and bedrooms to be able to replace the Amazon Echos and Echo Dots, but that's not going to happen if Siri is still anemic when these products eventually launch. $200 is still a high for an alarm clock, "clock radio," and white noise machine in the bedroom, but it's doable. Even those the HomePod will seem tiny to most at fist glance, it's still huge for a nightstand. In the kitchen, if it can't do more than one timer at a time and you can't name the timers it's not a kitchen option, despite the reviews showing it being used in that environment. I'm hoping that we only have to wait for WWDC 2018 for a proper App Store (PodKit?).
""We do not expect a red iPhone X model since the metal frame is too challenging to paint," Zhang wrote."
The back of the iPhone X, like the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, is coloured glass (space grey or silver), so it should be no problem for Apple to make a red glass back for the iPhone X as easily as they can do it for the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.
Selling two HomePod Mini's for $400, also known as "the stereo bundle", would be an easy sell.
Just read that Sonos responded to the HomePod with an ad; that's not a good call.