Stephen Silver
A report out of China citing supply chain sources claims that Apple is already reducing its sales forecast for the HomePod, and is cutting orders for the next few months.
A report in The China Times claims that Apple began cutting HomePod orders in March, with its shipment forecast for the second quarter dropping from 500,000 units to 200,000 units. The China Times story cites Inventec Assembly Factory, upper lid module foundry Ruiyi, cable supplier Liangwei and soft board supplier Taichi as suppliers affected by the move.
The China Times story is in line with a Bloomberg report Wednesday, which specifically cited the cut to Inventec, also in March. Questions, however, have been raised about the accuracy of those channel checks.
It isn't clear if the China Times and Bloomberg used the same sources for the reports on the matter, nor is it clear if the reports are based on part orders or assembly orders. The China Times has a poor track record on predicting Apple's product plans including sales volumes, but reports generated on the supply chain by the publication are generally accurate.
Apple will not break out sales of the speaker itself, in much the same way that it doesn't disclose Apple Watch sales.
The reports continue several months of varying news for the HomePod, which launched in February after a months-long delay. While the speaker has been praised for the quality of its sound, including in AppleInsider's review, the HomePod has been criticized for the lack of accuracy of the speaker's Siri functionality. There have also been complaints from HomePod owners who say a recent firmware update affected the speaker's sound quality.
Apple is ">reportedly working on a cheaper model of the HomePod for release later this year.
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98 Comments
The HomePod is a case study in how NOT to launch a product. They pre-announced early for an awkward shipping month (December). This date was missed and a few months later they deliver missing a bunch of features (Airplay 2, stereo pairing, HomeKit access)
The HomePod should have been kept on ice until all the features were ready and all the Airplay 2 partners were within 2 weeks of firmware updates for Airplay 2. This way the HomePod could have been marketed as a stand alone product or the "must have" accessory for your Airplay 2 compatible AVR or system .
For a company that has delivered scale in iOS device distribution it's perplexing that they've made so many gaffes outside of the iPhone/iPad ecosystem.
Still loving my HomePods! That it is the best sounding smart speaker goes without saying and my HomeKit and Apple Music experience with the platform has been top-notch. I'm hoping this product stays around for a long time and I'm inclined to believe that rumored Siri improvements (hopefully announced at WWDC) which have been indicated by reports of Apple beefing up the personal assistant's team should go along way to ensure that. Fingers crossed!
It a good product. Best out there IMO and yes a few features are needed but once we have that... you guys do know that Amazon and Google don't make any profits selling there cheap smart speakers. Apple will slowly roll over them and win the market like they always do... same old song and dance. If this was not an Apple product people would be saying how great it is!
I did my part to support them. I have an Alexa and a HomePod. The HomePod and Alexa speakers aren’t even comparable. HomePod blows Alexa away. My next speaker with be Apple as well.