Smart speakers quickly find a place in the homes of many and many people, perhaps thanks to cheap offers from products like Amazon (which you can Buy the Echo Dot for € 36.99, for example).
This shows that smart speakers are on the increase, however, considering that currently available devices still have a lot of improvements, as is the case with Apple & # 39; s HomePod.
Siri can be frustrating to use sometimes, the price of a HomePod is more expensive than other smart speakers, and still has some limitations related to playable music, in addition to being incompatible with other devices.
This does not mean that the HomePod is a complete failure. In fact, the HomePod is an excellent speaker and its performance has improved over time due to the updates that have come out software. However, as we have always said, it has not succeeded in being a revolutionary tool within the smart speaker industry.
What should Apple do with its HomePod?
Should I cancel a HomePod project and focus on another type of device?
If you do, the HomePod will last longer than the HiFi iPod (pictured below) which, when introduced in 2006, lasted a year before Apple stopped selling it. It would be a shame to see Apple turn their backs on the emerging economy simply because they took the wrong thing.
Should Apple reduce the price of the HomePod?
Apple has already reduced the price of the HomePod. What HomePod It launched, costing $ 349, but in April 2019 Apple lowered the price, so now it costs $ 299 (or 329 euros). While the competition is priced the same for high quality speakers, they also have very affordable speakers. Talking about this …
Should Apple introduce a cheap MiniPod mini?
Amazon leads the market for smart speaker with the cheapest speaker across its range of speakers, the The Amazon Echo Dot is currently priced at € 36.99.
More and more users will prefer not to spend more than 100 euros on a smart speaker, and Apple has nothing to offer in that situation. For this reason, it would be great if Apple would introduce a cheaper product within the range of smart speakers.
In fact, he would not be the first to do such a thing. The iPod was followed by a cheap iPod mini and finally the iPod rocked. The iPhone 5c was the cheapest version of the iPhone, it was eventually won by the iPhone SE and soon, rumors show, new IPhone 9.
Should Apple compromise audio quality then?
The HomePod was praised for its unique audio quality, but not everyone cares about the sound quality or can tell if the speaker is right or not. Most don't care that the HomePod has a seven-dimensional matrix tittersall tweeter it has its own controller.
They probably don't even know what a woofer 4-inch facing up. As for the icons (which were supposed to be from Apple, trying to impress with the HomePod) many lamented the lack of advanced features (such as EQ) and criticized the fact that since you can't find the actual statement on the speaker, you'd rather buy an Echo Dot and connect it to your high-tech HiF ( instead of buying two HomePods and replacing them as a stereo pair).
Should Apple open the HomePod for other music services?
This is something that the company is looking to do. According to a Bloomberg source, Apple is considering making it easier for customers to stream Spotify and other Apple Music channels. This is a feature that will probably come with iOS 14. If Apple does this, it will expand the options available to its customers.
However, it would be a mistake to say that Apple has not allowed another music service on the HomePod, it has always been possible to play music from any service on the device, you should only do it with the iPhone.
Radio is a great example of how Apple has reacted to this situation: Initially, the only way to play radio services was to use the app on iPhone and AirPlay on the HomePod, but on iOS 13 Apple added support for the TuneIn app. Radio, which means you should now ask HomePod to play the desired radio station without removing it from the iPhone.
Should Apple focus on more than just music?
But smart speakers are not limited to playing music. They can be sold as loudspeakers but are much more than that, and the loudspeaker might work a second time.
Smart speakers deliver smart work systems to our homes that we control through our voice. We can use them to control various household appliances such as a thermostat, we can ask them to tell us stories, give us the weather, let us know what our workflow will be like, order food. In the case of the Amazon Echo Show, you can also ask them to play a video.
Apple focused on the sound when it introduced the HomePod, but nonetheless everyone who thought of buying a smart speaker wanted more than just noise. And, by all means, Apple did not comply.
Should Apple focus on HomeKit?
One aspect of that is the idea that smart speakers can be used to control our smart objects. HomePod is already a vehicle for HomeKit, a framework for software Apple is controlling home devices. If you have HomeKit devices, you can easily control them by going to Siri on your HomePod (or on your iPhone).
The problem is that there aren't many compatible HomeKit devices and most commonly used household appliances such as the Nest thermostat are not particularly compatible with HomeKit.
On the Apple website you can find a variety of products that work with HomeKit, from light bulbs and thermostats, to baby monitors and security cameras, but frankly all of these products are light in color. We believe that one day all of our home gadgets will be connected in this way, but right now there is no good reason to buy under Apple.
The problem is that as more homes buy on Amazon and Google the regulatory framework for these gadgets Apple will be left out if smart home gadgets.
Should Apple focus on improving Siri?
Apple is very nervous about Siri and its inability to respond to all our needs. To be fair, the reviews are not entirely accurate, we have yet to find a really smart intelligent assistant.
We're bored using the Echo Show, for example. It looks like the problem is not the AI translation of our command, but the fact that we don't speak their language, and we can't remember the exact phrases we have to use. The main problem of all smart speakers is that they rely on voice commands.
How can Apple improve this function? Siri continues to improve, but will voice-control limitations ever be the right place for buttons?
What needs to be done by Apple
The main problem with the HomePod is not the price, not the lack of features or lack of compatibility with other devices and other services, or the lack of music or limited audio features. The biggest problem is the same problem that all other smart speakers have – the fact that controlling it is something that affects your voice.
What we would like to see is a HomePod with an iPad, or an iPod touch built-in or higher, with which you can enter apps and make configuration adjustments.
We would love to be able to use such a device to watch YouTube, watch security camera roll-outs, or make FaceTime calls. This can be a useful tool that can integrate the best of HomePod with an iOS speaker. If you needed to talk to him he couldn't, but there would be no limit if we too could contact him to control him.
Being able to access the screen controls directly on the device will simplify the interface and open up many other functions.
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