At Monday's WWDC Keynote Apple, Inc. (AAPL) introduced the world to its new product line, the HomePod. I missed the live keynote on Monday afternoon and heard rumors floating through the air about this new device. Colleagues even came up to me as I am the resident tech guru and Apple aficionado to ask questions. I will preface this by stating I am an Apple fan (not fanboy) because overall I do think Apple puts out a good product, but I research all technology the same and give all products fair review.
Before I had seen the pictures and heard anything about the actual product (actually I was sleeping at my desk) people started to buzz around the building, people were asking me my thoughts. I asked what it was, what is this new product that has everyone buzzing? My colleagues informed me that Apple released a new product which was an in home speaker/assistant. My unbiased opinion was oh no not another home device in which I already own too many.
In my mind, this is another post-Steve Jobs Apple offering, which is too little too late to the game. I mean as a visionary I believe Steve Jobs was the man; a God in his ecosystem. He was the man that revolutionized the Portable Music Player, The Smart Cellular Phone, The Ultra Portable Laptop and The Smart Tablet amongst other software innovations. Steve was able to Materialize his visions and bring them to market first. Here comes the HomePod, Apple is doing a great job of catching up as it has been for the past few years. Steve Job's had an arrogance about himself; I don't think that he would have released such products unless they offered something extremely unique. He was the type of guy who would throw the thing away, or better yet figure out how to add a feature that was so out of the box that the item was a must have.
When I returned home and retired for the evening, I started watching the keynote. The keynote was over 2 hours long, so I sat and watched Apple talk about all their new/updated offerings(much more to say about other items if anyone wants to hear). It was nearing the end of the keynote and still no mention of the "revolutionary" new product. Finally, in an Applesque style and with their grandeur it appears on the screen. At first look, I give it 1 point for style and cleanliness. As the demo continued, I came to realize that the product Apple was unveiling was a refined piece of machinery. The unit has seven directional tweeters, a 4-inch subwoofer, and six microphones. As they went deeper into an explanation, I learned that the device has an integrated processor, these are the same chips Apple uses to power their iPhones. With the power of this processor, it can use sonar-like technology to determine some properties of the room in which the HomePod is configured. It can sense walls and obstructions; it can use walls to bounce the music of off to create a more immersive listening experience.
During the Keynote they boasted that having two units in the same room will give an even greater experience. I am a marketing/tech guy during my daily day to day. I am pretty cynical as I listen to most ads, people, commercials, etc... I like to understand how others often use little cues to help sell products and to build them up with subtle hints. Soon as I saw two units on top of living room cabinet and I heard them speak of the “greater experience” my mind went right to $$$. I awaited the key portion of the presentation, the pricing! Once again in an Applesque way, they explained that Wi-Fi speakers sell for $300-$500 and that smart speakers sell for $100-$200(I guess they forgot the echo dot), in Apple's little way this justified that something which encompasses both attributes should sell for $400-$700 dollars. Here it comes, the price tag, boom they hit us with a number, the number is $350, and this pricing is below what this device "should sell for."
As far as I can tell this device looks to be a very good speaker, for its size. It has Siri integration as expected, and can act as a HomeKit hub. So does my Apple TV, which was less expensive and FYI I can stream music to my existing home entertainment center. As far as I can tell the unit does not do much more than play music and answer some questions. Outfitting the home with these as far as I am concerned is not going to happen at these prices. If I wanted Siri in every room I would... wait; I already do; as do most people. Most people carry their phones with them everywhere they go, so I can already say "Hey Siri" almost all the time.
They aimed this pitch towards audiophiles, but I think the big piece of the picture Apple is missing is that audiophiles have a home entertainment system. At no point during this presentation did they explain that there was a way to connect this super expensive speaker to your stereo. Hey, they want me to buy 2 of them to add to my living room to multiply my listening experience. Well, Apple, my echo dot(s) have a 3.5mm jack in the back of them, they connect right into my super cool home entertainment system, which by the way powers speaker inside and outside of my house. The funny thing is that for $250 I have an echo dot in every room of my house. In my home, I can already say "Hey Siri" most times, but funny thing is, with a great degree of certainty I can call upon Alexa to answer almost all of my questions like "how many teaspoons are in a tablespoon", but even more so with their offering Alexa can order me things from Amazon.com, even make shopping lists and todo lists. That's a Smart Speaker, Apple's speaker may be smart but not that smart, I think they over justified the $100-$200 portion for the smart speaker aspect. I also paid less than $50 for each of my echo dots, so I am ahead of the game, six units for over $100 less than the Home Pod. I have also been using my Echo dot's for months now, ROI is excellent!
I do believe Apple is releasing an excellent product with superior sound quality. It will have the Siri and HomeKit integration, which is a plus. Apple’s HomePod is just too little too late if they were first to market I might have purchased "one" of them. But they are so late that this excellent engineering may not make it out of the gate at first go. This product need wow factor, uniqueness, a proprietary something or other like Amazons integrated ordering. I cannot find any justification to spend good money on this unit as other units do more for far less, but hey if your that guy/gal that has money to burn and needs to have everything Apple go ahead they are counting on you;)