Why the HomePod is coming to the US, UK and Australia first
by Volker Weber
This is my own speculation, but I think the delay in shipping the HomePod is not a production ramp-up problem.
- First of all, Apple has announced a device they don't intend to ship for another six months. That's very unusual, since they ship the same day if they can. I think Apple is buying itself some time here, against strong competition from Amazon and Google, who both have a head start. Sonos is way too small for an assault from Apple.
- Apple is going into three markets that have a 40% market share for iPhones.With a built-up demand this could make for a strong start for a brand new product.
- All three markets are English speaking. Yes, they have different dialects but they only use one language at a time. Imagine speaking "Spiel mal Sympathy for the Devil von den Rolling Stones im Wohnzimmer". You have to figure out which parts are German and which are English.
I believe Siri just isn't there yet. While Apple compared their HomePod to the Amazon Echo, they only did so for sound quality. Nobody pitted Siri against Alexa.
Comments
All of the commentary I've heard/ read so far (and there has been a great deal) seems to agree, that without a major revamp of Siri this product would be underwhelming: they are giving themselves a bit of time for that.
I hope the Irish will be in the first tranche too though!
If it can do Scottish, it certainly can do Irish. ELEVEN!
Will, that announcement in mind, it ever happen, that you will be able to play music on Sonos directly from the music app?
They should have bought Sonos in the first place,....
I hope Sonos can stay independent and raise capital by other means than selling the company.
Also I love music and good sound from my TV at $700 for stereo (in just one room) I am definately not the kind of person this device is aimed at :-(