Apple has released HomePod smart speaker earlier this year, despite the positive reviews, Apple's smart speaker hasn't made well in the marketplace. A statistical report from Strategy Analytics suggests that the company has sold only 600,000 HomePod units in the first quarter of this year, which is substantially low compared to Amazon and Google's speakers. However, Apple's steep pricing ($349) for a smart speaker might be one of the reasons for such low sales since rivals' speaker start as low as $49 for Echo Dot.
A new report from Loveios states that Apple is in talks with MediaTek chipset maker to make a cheaper HomePod variant but not in the company's own branding instead under Beats name. The price of this cheaper HomePod is also rumoured to be as low as $199, which is pretty low compared to the existing product.
Besides, the cheaper pricing, the HomePod's Siri abilities are very limited, which can also be another reason for the lack of sales of the HomePod. It is a known fact that Amazon and Google assistants are way more intelligent than Siri. Apple needs to push the limitations in the skill set abilities of Siri and HomePod. If the reports are believed to be true, we can expect Apple to reduce the restrictions of Siri along with launching the cheaper HomePod with Beats branding.
Disclaimer: The above report is completely based on online rumours and leaks from the respective sources. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Deccan Chronicle and/or other staff and contributors to this website.
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