Called insufficient because based on Strategy Analytics reports, of the total shipment of smart speakers in the first quarter of 2018 which amounted to 9.2 million units, Apple has only a small contribution. According to reports, Apple shipped only 600,000 HomePod units.
The shipping rate gives Apple a percentage of the market for only 6% from January to March. Compared with Amazon which has a market share of 43.6% and Google at 26.5%.
So what makes Apple so far behind with competitors? There are several deciding factors, such as one of them is the delay of Apple to plunge into the smart speaker market.
In addition, the $ 349 price for a smart speaker device is considered overpriced. Therefore, according to the latest rumors from suppliers in Taiwan, Apple plans to offer a much cheaper smart speaker, which will be priced at $ 199.
Rumors also mention that these smart Apple speakers will be released under the name Beats. Apple will indeed distinguish these cheap speakers from the HomePod name. So, there will likely be a feature in HomePod that is not available.
