GhanaStar
  • News
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Music
No Result
View All Result
GhanaStar
  • News
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Music
No Result
View All Result
GhanaStar
No Result
View All Result
Home Headlines

Apple Wants To Rock the Market With HomePod, Faces Challenges

June 6, 2017
in Headlines
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Apple’s new HomePod speaker may be music to the ears of its loyal fans, but how much it can crank up volume in the smart speaker market remains to be heard.

You Might Also Like

Ghanaian Can Travel to South Africa Visa-Free

2019 – the Biggest Year yet for Ghanaian Tourism

Three Britons On Trial In Singapore Accused of Gang-Raping Drunk Woman

Apple unveiled its long-awaited HomePod at its annual developers conference taking place this week in the heart of Silicon Valley, enticing lovers of its products with a high-end offering in a market dominated by lower-priced devices from Amazon and Google .

Analysts are yet to be convinced that HomePod will rock the smart speaker market the way iPhones came to rule the smartphone world and iPods dominated MP3 players.

“If we are comparing this to Apple’s past successes, it doesn’t fit that model,” said analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group.

“This product is much more of a me-too offering.”

There was no overwhelming differentiation in HomePod, according to the analyst. But he saw a big negative — it is more expensive.

HomePod, infused with machine smarts by Siri digital assistant, will be priced at $349 when it begins shipping in December in the United States, Australia and Britain.

HomePod will take on Amazon Echo and Google Home, which have momentum in the arena of voice-controlled speakers capable of controlling smart appliances, fetching content from the internet and more.

Amazon sells Echo devices for $179, and smaller “Dot” versions for $50. Google sells Home for $180, promoting the smart speakers with discounts.

Apple played up the rich speaker quality of HomePod, and synched it with the company’s music service that boasts 27 million subscribers.

Apple vice president Phil Schiller said the company’s Siri team tuned the virtual assistant as a “musicologist” that learns the tastes of listeners and gets songs from the internet cloud.

The speaker has the “power to rock the house,” according to Schiller, and the aim is to make HomePod a voice-commanded assistant for news, messages, weather, traffic, home controls and more.

“Apple’s base should like it, because they are committed to the ecosystem,” Enderle said of HomePod.

“If you are paying the extra money because Apple is requiring you to do so to access your stuff, that is the Apple tax and it is the kind of thing that people don’t like.”

HomePod combined elements of Echo and Sonos smart speakers, known for rich sound quality, according to Reticle Research principal analyst Ross Rubin.

Apple lovers already tend to be “premium product buyers,” and may not flinch at paying more for what they believe is a superior quality product, said Gartner analyst Brian Blau.

Blau suspected Apple only gave a glimpse at its vision for HomePod, noting its potential to be a command center for smart houses and to mesh with iPhones, iPads, online services and more.

“We have to imagine there is going to be more there,” Blau said.

“Is it going to be an Echo killer? A Google Home killer? We are going to have to wait and see.

Apple be saving some insights into HomePod for later this year when it is expected to unveil a tenth-anniversary edition of the iPhone.

Since HomePod will not hit the market until December, it is unlikely to catch much of the year-end holiday shopping wave and post big sales this year, according to Blau.

“I think, over time, they are going to do just fine in this category but it is going to take a while,” the analyst said.

“I don’t think it will be the next iPhone,” Blau said of HomePod, “but, Apple could gain share and be a leader.”

In a blog post Technalysis Research founder Bob O’Donnell depicted Apple’s latest product news as an affirmation that the company has not fallen behind competitors and is working to take advantage of potentially exciting new technologies.

But O’Donnell also expressed skepticism on Apple’s ability to dominate this new segment.

“Yes, some songs may sound pleasing, but for true audiophiles who actually want to hear what the artist and producer intended, Apple’s positioning of the HomePod as super high-quality speaker is going to be a very tough sell,” O’Donnell said in a blog post.

Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.

Tags: AmazonanalystAppleApple Inc.artist and produceraustraliaBob O'DonnellBrian BlauComputer Hardware - NECcomputingdigital assistantEchoEnderle GroupgoogleGPS navigation devicesHedge Fundshigh-quality speakerHome AudioHomePodHomePod speakerInternet & Mail Order Department Storesinternet cloudIOSiPadiPadsiphoneIT Services & Consulting - NECITunesmp3Phil Schillerproducer intendedquality productReticle Research principal analystRob EnderleRoss Rubinsaid analystSearch EnginesSirismartphoneSONOSspeakerSteve JobsTablet computerstechnologyTechnology_InternetUnited KingdomUnited StatesVice Presidentvirtual assistantvoice-commanded assistant

Related News

Ghanaian Can Travel to South Africa Visa-Free

by
July 10, 2019
0

Citizens of Ghana no longer need a visa to travel to South Africa. This is because the South African Government...

2019 – the Biggest Year yet for Ghanaian Tourism

by
January 24, 2019
0

2018 was a good year for tourism in Ghana with more than GH₵5.8 billion spent in the country's travel and...

Three Britons On Trial In Singapore Accused of Gang-Raping Drunk Woman

by
August 1, 2017
0

Three British men have gone on trial in Singapore today accused of gang-raping a 23-year-old woman while visiting the city-state...

Pakistani Taliban Launches Women’s Magazine

by
August 1, 2017
0

The Pakistani Taliban on Tuesday released the first edition of a magazine for women, apparently aiming to convince its target...

Next Post

Government Moves To Check Smuggling With Tracking Devices On Fuel Tankers

Ghana Partners India To Boost Tomato Production

Categories

  • Africa & World
  • African Music Lyrics Directory
  • Business
  • Business Directory
  • celebrities
  • Computing
  • Diaspora
  • Entertainment
  • Events
  • Feature
  • Featured
  • Ghana Elections 2016
  • Headlines
  • Health
  • International
  • Internet
  • Jobs
  • lifestyle
  • Music
  • News
  • Offbeat
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Profiles
  • Religion
  • Security
  • Seth Terkper
  • Smart Home
  • Social Networks
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Top Stories
  • World News

Tags

accra addo africa Association football Banks - NEC business Business_Finance chairman Donald Trump economy education Entertainment_Culture environment Geography of Africa ghana Ghanaian people government Government of Ghana Human Interest John Dramani Mahama john mahama Law_Crime mahama minister MPs elected in the Ghanaian parliamentary election Nana Addo Nana Addo Dankwa Nana Akufo-Addo National Democratic Congress National Democratic Congress (NDC) New Patriotic Party New Patriotic Party (NPP) nigeria politics Politics of Ghana president Social Issues Social Media Social Media & Networking sports United Kingdom United Nations United States Vice President War_Conflict

Recent Posts

  • Government of Ghana Unveils Official Portraits of President John Dramani Mahama and Vice President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang
  • Who Is the Woman (Sheena Gakpe) in Sarkodie’s Latest Hit “No Sir” and Why Everyone Is Talking about It
List of Ghana Holidays for 2020
Ghana Geocoding
Ghana Cedis Exchange API
Ghana Maps Service
Toyota Cars Auto Auction History
  • African Music Lyrics Directory
  • Business Directory
  • Diaspora
  • Top Stories

All rights reserved © 2021 GhanaStar.com

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Music

All rights reserved © 2021 GhanaStar.com