The new HomePod works smoothly with your Apple Music subscriptions and it gives you an instant access to over 40 million individual songs. Google sells Home for US$180, promoting the smart speakers with discounts.
The Alexa-HomePod battle suggests that the old ways are still seen as the best ways, that incompatibility marches on and that the connected home remains a pipe-dream. That's not Sonos' territory - it's a shot across the bow at what Amazon and Google are doing with their Echo and Home ecosystems, respectively. "Dot and Echo through Bluetooth and Audio Out can connect to other speakers". In comparison, the HomePod was created to be your primary speaker.
Nevertheless, the HomePod is significantly more expensive than its biggest competitors, Amazon.com, Inc. Amazon's even offering a $100 discount if you order a pair of Echo Show devices, which, if you work the math, comes out to exactly the same price as a single HomePod. The company is simultaneously disrupting the massive home speaker market and the emerging smart speakers space. Dieter Bohn at The Verge says Homepod is "the smartest speaker yet".
Apple is trying to catch-up.
Known as the "HomePod" and priced at $349, the product is a roughly 7-inch cylinder speaker with essentially the same operating system as an iPhone.
In contrast, the reviewers have criticized regarding the sound quality of both, Google and Amazon speakers. It's still very early days for monetizing personal assistants - Amazon has declined to prognosticate on Alexa as a revenue stream for years. Google Home is also slowly improving and playing catch-up.
The unveiling of Apple's brand new smart speaker, the HomePod, has descended into farce after netizens swiftly compared it to a roll of toilet paper - among other things.
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With Amazon's Echo, you have your choice of thousands of them. Companies like Ecobee and Belkin have added or are adding support for Apple HomeKit through the addition of hubs or software updates.
Still, the HomePod will be built with standard home assistant functionality.
Apple still lives and dies by the iPhone. This is a product straddling two categories, and not in a good way.
For smart home users, the three speakers will take a similarly narrow split for compatible devices. Amazon and Alphabet don't have a problem selling near or in some cases below cost. And sales are only expected to climb in the coming years. Just wait for what the marketplace looks like six months from now. You'd think the company would be falling over itself to establish a foothold in as many living rooms as possible, right?
HomePod combined elements of Echo and Sonos smart speakers, known for rich sound quality, according to Reticle Research principal analyst Ross Rubin. At the time, it seemed like that was actually leading to something. Now? Plus, Google has been fighting hard to lock up the No. 2 spot in the market. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon and Apple.
At this rate, you have to wonder if that's exactly where Apple might stay.
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