Apple jumped on the smart speaker bandwagon not too long ago with the HomePod. It costs $350 and is quite a bit expensive than the other smart speakers but the company has sought to align the product with the Sonos’ of the world and not the Amazon Echos, in that it’s charging a premium for a better audio experience. However, if a new report is to be believed, the company reportedly wants to cater to customers who don’t want to spend as much on a speaker by launching a cheaper, Beats-branded HomePod speaker.
Amazon and Google have already established strong positions for themselves in the global smart speaker market. Apple is yet to confirm its sales figures for the HomePod but a recent report suggested that the company has shipped 600,000 units of the device in the first quarter of this year. The figure doesn’t reflect sales to end customers.
Word on the street is that Apple is considering the possibility of launching a cheaper HomePod speaker which may be priced at $199. The speaker may be Beats-branded as the brand itself is quite popular. Moreover, selling it as a Beats product would allow Apple to differentiate the two products in the market.
A cheaper version means that it wouldn’t have all of the features that the $350 HomePod does. It’s unclear at this point in time which features might be on the chopping block if Apple decides to go ahead with this product.
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