
Apple delaying HomePod smart speaker launch until next year - BoorishBears
https://9to5mac.com/2017/11/17/homepad-delay/?pushup=1
======
mikestew
I remember the good old days when Apple made an announcement and you could
head to the local Apple store that day and buy one. AirPods were worth the
wait, I hope this thing is.

~~~
IBM
I prefer the Apple that is willing to forgo a holiday shopping season to make
sure the product meets their standard of quality.

~~~
kylec
I agree, but I think Apple should have waited on announcing this product until
it was ready to ship

~~~
IBM
If they have no existing product on the market to Osborne then pre-announcing
the product is fine and probably good if it depresses sales to competitors.

------
melling
Mac vs Windows

iOS vs Android

Google vs Alexa

History teaches us that there’s no room for third place. Furthermore, Google
and Amazon have a $50 entry price.

~~~
vthallam
There is a lot of demand in the higher end market for a great speaker. Also,
don't forget the apple ecosystem which people are already into. If and when
Siri becomes as good as Google Assistant, people will buy into the homepod for
sure.

~~~
bastawhiz
There are already plenty of good sounding smart speakers out there (Sonos, for
one). Most good assistants can connect to external speakers, as well. Banking
on "it's not good at much, but it sounds good" is a very risky approach.

Plus, the Google Home Max will be out soon, which will presumably far outshine
the homepod by being a good sounding speaker _and_ a useful assistant.

~~~
jacksmith21006
Plus the Google Home Max has two 4.5" woofers and the Home pod one 4". Depends
how well done but the Max should have excellent sound and a much smarter
assistant with better voice recognition than Siri.

------
oflannabhra
Two things that I've found curious about the HomePod:

1\. Apple does not seem to be positioning it against Google Home or Alexa,
within the "Voice Assistant" market, but instead against Sonos in the
"Wireless Speaker system" market. It remains to be seen if customers will
evaluate the HomePod in the same way.

2\. I think the success of the HomePod will partially depend on the future of
the "Voice Assistant" marketplace. If the current assistants are relatively
mature, then HomePod is late to market and will probably need to rely on
iPhone-integration cachet to become even a moderate success.

The cause of this delay, however, makes me curious. My guesses are either 1)
software delays, or 2) manufacturing delays.

------
Analemma_
Amazon kneecapped this product before it even came out. Nobody who has used
both Siri and Alexa thinks Siri can compete as a virtual assistant, so all
this thing had going for it was sound quality, and then Amazon announced the
Sonos One. Barring a huge improvement in Siri, I don’t think even Apple die-
hards are going to buy this in large numbers.

~~~
jacksmith21006
Had the Echo since it first came out in 2014 and now several Google Homes. The
Google Home is far ahead of the Echo in ability to understand natural language
and much smarter in answering questions.

~~~
mathewsanders
I pre-ordered the Echo so have been using it for a long time too.
Interestingly for me I’ve found it’s gotten dramatically worse over the last
two or so months for simple commands that I use basically every day (turning
off lights, setting alarm)

------
jacksmith21006
Not surprising. This is going to be a tough product for Apple going up against
Google. The Google Home is just perfectly in Google's wheel house. In many
ways it is an extension to search. Then Google also has YouTube.

------
joezydeco
Meanwhile, Amazon is going to blow through a huge amount of Alexa devices (at
big discounts) next Friday...

~~~
tinus_hn
Disaster looms for Apple! Could this be it? Check back next week!

------
earenndil
> Both and Google have similar products already on the market

Both WHAT and Google? Amazon?

