HomePod is Apple's imitation of Amazon's Echo launched home voice Internet device. It was released at the apple global development conference last year, but Apple was postponed until February of this year.
Poor sales
Blayne Curtis, an analyst at Barclays Bank, recently traveled to Asia to investigate the supply chain of apple, according to AppleInsider, an American science and technology news website. The analyst quoted the supply chain news that the performance of the apple smart box was "depressed".
The analyst did not disclose the relevant sales data, but he mentioned that the first batch of production targets for Apple's original intelligent sound box were 6 million to 7 million.
It needs to be pointed out that Apple has sold for only a month, so there is no authoritative investigation report, and apple has not announced any sales information.
A rough poll by a Vc firm in the US found that Apple's voice box may have gained a small share of 3% in the smart box Market in the US.
For Apple speakers, media evaluation is consistent, namely the speaker with good sound quality, is also in line with the Apple Corp mainly music playing function for product release, but the speaker integrated voice assistant Siri showed the IQ is still low, obviously lags behind Google and Amazon Alexa assistant. In addition, the apple sound box is a closed ecological product, with poor compatibility for external services and equipment.
Good headphones
In addition to the apple box, the Bluetooth headset, AirPods, is another apple's own audio product, and the analyst gave it an optimistic report.
Analysts say Apple may continue to increase the output of Bluetooth headset. Although the product has been on the market for more than a year, consumers will have to wait for a few weeks before they can get the goods.
Product upgrade
Media reports, such as the Bloomberg News Agency, have reported that apple is expected to upgrade this year, whether it is the apple speaker or the Bluetooth headset.
In terms of headphones, Apple will launch the second generation of products, which has better waterproof design and the new generation of internal processors. It will be able to manipulate voice commands through Siri.
In the case of the apple sound box, the apple will launch a lower price product this year, which may be smaller than the previous sales.
In the smart box market, apple belongs to the latecomer that imitates Amazon. Before the apple, the Google Corporation also carried out "crazy imitation" and launched a full line of smart sound box products with different prices and different designs.
Previous institutional research has pointed out that Amazon and Google have monopolized the market of smart speakers in the US, of which Google's share has climbed to 40%, and Amazon has controlled 60%. The other two companies carried out the smart box price war, even at the point of selling at a loss.
An important goal of the price war between Amazon and Google is to snipe the late apples.
At present, the price of the smart sound box on the market is about tens of dollars and $more than 100, and the price is very good. In contrast, the $350 sale price of the apple box has affected sales.
Like mobile phones, tablets and computers, Apple has taken the high-end and high price positioning for smart speakers, and has adopted more advanced audio components. Although it has obtained better sound quality, Apple has also risen in price.
It is worth paying attention to how apples can be priced at a lower price and $more than 100 to compete with Amazon Google.
