In the rapidly growing market of smart speakers, Apple’s HomePod is a bit late to the game, although Apple is touting that its sound quality will help set it apart from the competition. However is sound quality alone enough to make the HomePods appealing to users? Unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be the picture that’s being painted at the moment.
According to an observation by 9to5Mac, it appears that Apple could have overestimated the demand for the HomePod. This is based on how the online listing of the HomePod is still showing a delivery date for the 9th of February, which is unusual for new Apple products which tend to sell out pretty fast, resulting in shipping times slipping.
However with the HomePod, despite it going up for pre-order last week, it still seems that Apple has plenty of stock left. 9to5Mac’s observation spans three launch countries, all of which seem to be telling the same story. This by no means indicates that the HomePod is a flop, but it could be that customers are simply waiting to see and read reviews first before making their purchase.
Or maybe some are waiting to test it out themselves in an Apple Store before deciding, especially since speakers are something you definitely want to hear for yourself before purchasing. Either way it’s too early to tell if the HomePod will be a success or a flop, but for now it seems that customers aren’t that eager just yet.