A few thought on Apple HomePod, based on the latest report from Bloomberg....bloomberg.com/news/articles/… via @technology
1/ the reported estimate of four million shipments in 2018 may not *seem* like a lot, but that all depends on which WiFi speaker report you believe. Some say 14mm units total sold in 2016, with Amazon approx 75% of market. Others say Amazon has sold whopping 17-18 mm on its own.
2/If the total market is less than 20 million units sold per year, then Apple coming in, years later and at a higher price point, with projection of 4 million to ship in 2018, is actually fairly aggressive.
3/ To say it won't do what Echo (or Google Home) does at launch is probably very accurate. Due to the nature of how "open" Apple is relative to other platforms. But...and this is my biggest point....
4/ 97% of what I use my Echos for is timers. No joke. 1% music, 1% news updates, 1% "tell me a joke." Personally, I have not found the many different "skills" of Echo to be all that useful. But it's incredibly useful as a voice-controlled utility.
5/ So to say that HomePod won't deliver pizza at the start (or possibly ever) I think could end up mattering less than a) basic utility b) music streaming and c).......oh right, privacy.
6/This is not meant to be a "review" of HomePod, nor a critique of it, before I've even used it in a meaningful way. And yes, Apple is still....really late. But rather than go down a feature or spec list I'm thinking critically about how I really use my WiFi speakers.
7/ (pause for turbulence on plane, gripping arm rest, this is fine)
8/And the reason why I use Echo rarely for music is b/c...Sonos! So there's that quality argument again. If Apple can manage to support the streaming music services people actually want (big if) and the sound quality is good....then it's a different value prop than an Echo puck.
9/The end. On HomePod. For now.
