{"id":342922,"date":"2017-06-07T05:59:32","date_gmt":"2017-06-06T21:59:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1500033"},"modified":"2017-06-07T05:59:32","modified_gmt":"2017-06-06T21:59:32","slug":"why-apples-homepod-wont-just-collect-dust-on-your-shelf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/why-apples-homepod-wont-just-collect-dust-on-your-shelf\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Apple\u2019s HomePod won\u2019t just collect dust on your shelf"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Next Story<\/p>\n

Apple\u2019s HomePod is a cautious approach to the connected\u00a0home<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Apple brought its smart speaker into the world with a shoddy name and an unconventional pitch, but anyone brash enough to cast the device to the side so easily will surely pay the price. Apple, unlike Amazon and Google, understands that selling glorified intelligence-in-a-box as a method of human computer interaction lacks foresight \u2014 people want a product, not a technology.<\/p>\n

Launching the HomePod<\/a> is the most startup-y move Apple has made in years. The company is simultaneously disrupting the massive home speaker market and the emerging smart speakers space. By treating hardware as an opportunity rather than a means to an end, Apple might actually be able to deliver a product that ends up as more than a gimmicky metal tube bound to eventually collect dust on a shelf.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be clear, Siri is behind. It was behind before WWDC 2017 and it is still behind after WWDC 2017. The company is racing to get its intelligent assistant up to spec, it\u2019s bringing on machine learning engineers<\/a> and making large acquisitions<\/a> to jump the tech readiness line<\/a>. \u00a0No doubt pitching the HomePod as an audio solution rather than the hardware manifestation of an AI is convenient. But at the end of the day, it doesn\u2019t really matter.<\/p>\n

Apple is going product first and platform second for a reason. It\u2019s still very early days for monetizing personal assistants\u00a0\u2014 Amazon has declined to prognosticate on Alexa as a revenue stream for years. The home speaker market on the other hand is well defined. I hate market size estimates as much as the next guy, but wireless audio is estimated to be worth north of $50 billion.<\/a><\/p>\n