[blind-philly-comp] Re: Get your wallet ready because Apple's HomePod is almost here

  • From: David Goldfield <david.goldfield@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "blind-philly-comp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <blind-philly-comp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2018 00:28:53 +0000

While I posted the article for informational purposes, I have to agree with 
everyone else who has commented on this. My Amazon Echo units are more than 
capable in providing the sound and entertainment that I need. Not only can't I 
justify spending over $300 on a HomePod but I find that Siri is the most 
problematic of all of the voice assistants and is behind all of the others in 
what it can do and in its overall responsiveness. Apple would have to offer 
major improvements to Siri, a lower price tag and unique functionality that I 
don't already have in order to even tempt me to consider moving to a Home Pod. 
Of course, they're not even trying to offer a lower priced version as we see 
with Amazon and Google. This is just, sadly, one more instance of how Apple is, 
in my opinion, losing its way and is failing to innovate.

David Goldfield, Assistive Technology Specialist 
WWW.David-Goldfield.Com<http://WWW.David-Goldfield.Com>
On 1/21/2018 7:23 PM, Kimberly Starrett wrote:
I got my Echo Dots for 29 dollars last Xmas, so I really can't see how any 
speaker that sells for 350 dollars can beat that.

Sent from Kimber's iPhone

The happy ending still beckons, and it is in the hope of grasping it that we go 
on.—Annie Proulx

On Jan 21, 2018, at 5:23 PM, David Goldfield 
<david.goldfield@xxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:david.goldfield@xxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:


Amazon echo - Google News - Saturday, January 20, 2018 at 3:37 PM

Get your wallet ready because Apple's HomePod is almost here
Apple's HomePod missed its 2017 launch.
Image: mashable
By Raymond 
Wong<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2Fauthor%2Fraymond-wong%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7C9f9c963518544776eb3308d5612e5699%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636521773998145478&sdata=dy6t8aB6imyvwp5S1IDxJ1BFv0gtPebltOsuTwvdNs8%3D&reserved=0>2018-01-20
 20:32:16 UTC

Apple's answer to the Amazon 
Echo<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2F2015%2F02%2F10%2Famazon-echo-review%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7C9f9c963518544776eb3308d5612e5699%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636521773998145478&sdata=%2FV2xf2n1HvD9CcDTQHCysbVhSwBSR%2FULnA0asPzeBaM%3D&reserved=0>
 and Google 
Home<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2F2016%2F11%2F03%2Fgoogle-home-review%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7C9f9c963518544776eb3308d5612e5699%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636521773998145478&sdata=%2Bo678yP6ekMBFbl0Fy9ogjhzl9DT4oUMzg%2FE%2B06peRs%3D&reserved=0>
 smart speakers, the 
HomePod<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2F2017%2F06%2F05%2Fapple-homepod-hands-on-sound%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7C9f9c963518544776eb3308d5612e5699%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636521773998145478&sdata=0w6jj3dT66neV5svg4lMo7%2BPhYYe5YwMdd7QuRzn6iU%3D&reserved=0>,
 is almost ready for launch.

After missing its release last year, the $350 smart speaker has now been 
approved<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffccid.io%2Fdocument.php%3Fid%3D3719077&data=02%7C01%7C%7C9f9c963518544776eb3308d5612e5699%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636521773998145478&sdata=xLa6huRLP6AS0UxSZDyfFw1WQXJaEq50mPYoGRgRnOw%3D&reserved=0>
 for sale by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which means Apple 
will probably start selling it very soon.

Following its delayed launch, Apple said it "needed a little more time" to get 
HomePod ready for customers.

Apple said HomePod would start shipping the U.S., UK, and Australia "in early 
2018". Well, it's early 2018, and everyone's still waiting for the Siri-powered 
speaker to show up.

While the FCC approval doesn't reveal anything new about HomePod, we know we're 
in the home stretch before release. Inventec, one of the two suppliers 
assembling the smart speaker, says it's already made 1 million of them, 
according<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.taipeitimes.com%2FNews%2Fbiz%2Farchives%2F2018%2F01%2F16%2F2003685829&data=02%7C01%7C%7C9f9c963518544776eb3308d5612e5699%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636521773998145478&sdata=0Sfi36jFyU2upr6Hbc%2Bet1w8UoHOjytgbjFU05ZNIBg%3D&reserved=0>
 to the Taipei Times.

Inventec and Foxconn, the other HomePod manufacturer, are expecting to ship 
10-12 million speakers in total  by the end of the year.

[embedded content]

When HomePod finally does launch, it'll face stiff competition from Amazon and 
Google. Apple's entering a new space that Amazon's been leading for years. 
Amazon says it 
sold<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fphx.corporate-ir.net%2Fphoenix.zhtml%3Fc%3D176060%26p%3DRssLanding%26cat%3Dnews%26id%3D2318860&data=02%7C01%7C%7C9f9c963518544776eb3308d5612e5699%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636521773998145478&sdata=nfJHbi5amW3emHh5%2B1KGAAeYyT5gmyRIY86%2B%2FcFEEL4%3D&reserved=0>
 "tens of millions" of Alexa-powered devices this past holiday season.

Google's also moved a good amount of Assistant-powered Home speakers. The 
company says it 
sold<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blog.google%2Fproducts%2Fassistant%2Fhow-google-home-and-google-assistant-helped-you-get-more-done-in-2017%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7C9f9c963518544776eb3308d5612e5699%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636521773998145478&sdata=PWatirLwdn2X2YJDVBzFNh2p1AkWtNd7Qzw86vrPM0w%3D&reserved=0>
 "more than one Google Home device every second since Google Home Mini started 
shipping in October," which works out to more than 6 million devices. And 
that's not even counting all of the Home speakers sold since the original 
launched in 2016.

At first glance, it may seem like Apple has no chance of catching up — it's 
already well behind Amazon and Google, but this is still anyone's game. As we 
saw at CES 
2018<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2F2018%2F01%2F08%2Fgoogle-amazon-artificial-intelligence-ces-2018%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7C9f9c963518544776eb3308d5612e5699%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636521773998145478&sdata=7y289ifF5jgzCiOi5jw2hgE1JbMcVX3t1Oz67zOIEnY%3D&reserved=0>,
 third-party device makers are just starting to incorporate Alexa and Google 
Assistant into their devices, so we've still got a ways to go before anyone's 
declared a winner.

And while there weren't as many new products with HomeKit compatibility as 
there were with Alexa and Assistant at CES, vendors are warming up to Apple's 
smart home platform. Belkin's even made a cool bridge 
adapter<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.belkin.com%2Fus%2Fp%2FP-F7C074%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7C9f9c963518544776eb3308d5612e5699%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636521773998145478&sdata=nwWFs9HE%2FowoPyQrDzfP%2F1NrKYUmgeqCqJkfoWtordk%3D&reserved=0>
 that automatically makes all WeMo smart home devices compatible with HomeKit.

Ultimately, HomePod's success will depend on a number of factors:

  *   Price: At $350, HomePod costs way more than a $50 Echo Dot or Google Home 
Mini, and still more than a $100 Echo, or $150 Echo Plus, or $130 Google Home.

  *   Siri: Apple's digital assistant is nowhere near as robust as Alexa or the 
Assistant. How well Siri handles questions, controls, and more will be 
important.

  *   Sound quality: HomePod looks to have the best sound quality out of all 
the speakers (although we'll have to see how it compares to the very loud and 
very good-sounding Google Home Max), but again, will people be willing to pay 
for it? An Echo or Home provides good-enough sound.

If you've been waiting for HomePod, just know this: It's almost here. Be 
patient. We're so close.

http://mashable.com/2018/01/20/apple-homepod-coming-soon-fcc-approval/<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2F2018%2F01%2F20%2Fapple-homepod-coming-soon-fcc-approval%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7C9f9c963518544776eb3308d5612e5699%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636521773998145478&sdata=BZEbIRXwYV2MGlG7MH0hda%2Fxrni988q2xJ0taLon5jw%3D&reserved=0>


     David Goldfield
Assistive Technology Specialist

Feel free to visit my Web site
WWW.DavidGoldfield.info<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2FWWW.DavidGoldfield.info&data=02%7C01%7C%7C9f9c963518544776eb3308d5612e5699%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636521773998145478&sdata=nwer89A4Hqi7qj7IVizi73xnh1BbPFXg%2Fn%2By9PS9m%2F8%3D&reserved=0>

Other related posts: