Not everything that Apple throws out to the public becomes a huge hit. The Newton PDA is one example that comes to mind as does the Apple HomePod. The latter is a smart speaker that tried to cash in on the new smart speaker category that was created by Amazon in 2014 with its Echo line of speakers. Apple was late to the party and when it arrived, it asked for too much money.
Apple made the OG HomePod too premium for those who wanted a simple smart speaker
And while Apple gussied up the quality of the HomePod speaker, there was still Siri to deal with. Those of you who have used Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa will know what we mean. Siri is arguably the worst of the three with Google Assistant on top. And after 10 weeks of availability, the HomePod captured only 10% of the market, well behind the 73% slice of the smart speaker pie owned by Amazon at that time.
Last year, the Bloomberg scribe said that Apple was working on a combination HomePod, Apple TV, and a camera for video calls that works through a television set. If Gurman is right, a similar product is indeed being developed along with a new HomePod mini
Apple will have to take on Amazon, Facebook, Google, and others
The device Gurman describes could take on Meta’s Facebook Portal, Amazon’s Echo Pro, and the Google Nest Hub Max. But once again, Apple is going to have to deal with the Siri-ous problem it has with its digital assistant not hearing correctly, failing to deliver the correct answer (even if it is a question about an Apple device), and more.
Remember, the pricing of the HomePod was one of the reasons why it failed to pick up market share. If it is priced to sell, the new multi-talented HomePod could be Apple’s device designed to get its foot inside your house.
Gurman didn’t mention when he believes that Apple will introduce such a device. Could we see Apple make a surprise announcement in June during the WWDC 2022 Developer Conference? Anything is possible.