HomePod sales may be even lower than early estimates expected

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homepod
HomePod hasn't exactly taken over the market yet.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s HomePod speaker sales might be weaker than previously estimated by analysts. The latest quarterly research report from Strategy Analytics claims that HomePod sales numbers only totaled 700,000 units.

If Strategy Analytics’ numbers are right, then Apple has only sold 1.3 million HomePod units in 2018. The speaker is currently only on sale in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Earlier this month, Consumer Intelligent Research Partners reported that HomePod sales have hit 3 million units for the year. Both CIRP and Strategy Analytics agree that Apple has captured 6% of the market share though.

Apple doesn’t release sales figures for the HomePod so it’s hard to tell which of the two analytics firms is right.

smart speaker sales chart
Apple is struggling to take over the smart speaker market.
Photo: Strategy Analytics

Google was the biggest riser in Q2. The search engine giant saw its share increase from 16% in Q2 last year to 28% in Q2 2018. Amazon’s share fell from 44% in Q1 2018 to 41% in Q2 2018. Google and Amazon command an astonishing 69% of the smart speaker market. Alibaba is in third with Apple in fourth.

Considering HomePod hasn’t been on the market for a full year, it’s not a huge surprise that Apple is pretty low in the rankings. However, HomePod’s $350 price tag makes it a harder buy for many customers when the Amazon Echo and Google Home both cost under $130.

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