The HomePod is not doing so well as far as market share is concerned, at least based on new information from the Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.
CIRP has put together its latest report regarding the HomePod and general smart speaker market share, and it turns out that Apple’s first smart speaker is still struggling against the competition. Even though the smart speaker market is vast, and there is plenty of room for products from a range of companies, Apple is definitely a competing presence to Google and Amazon.
Still, Amazon and Google are leading the charge. CIRP analysis indicates that the installed base for smart speakers is 76 million units. That’s up from 70 million units as of March earlier this year. Of that installed base, Amazon’s Echo has 70 percent of the market, while Google Home accounts for 25%.
Apple’s HomePod? Just 5 percent.
While the biggest growth in the market for smart speakers is in the holiday fourth quarter, Amazon Echo and Google Home continues to grow their installed bases in the past couple of quarters,” said Josh Lowitz, Partner and Co-Founder of CIRP. “The market grew by 9% in the second quarter, and more than 50% year over year. Including Apple HomePod, all three major producers have maintained steady shares of the market in the past year. Continued aggressive pricing of the entry-level models seems to continue to encourage new customers to try a smart speaker and existing owners to consider adding more devices to their home.
The market share isn’t a final nail in the HomePod’s coffin by any means, and it’s up to Apple whether or not it continues pushing the smart speaker lineup. Does it launch a new option down the road, maybe? There have been rumors that a cheaper option could be coming down the line, but that hasn’t panned out just yet.
Apple did drop the price of the HomePod from $350 to $300 earlier this year. However, it doesn’t look like that spurred a massive influx of new buyers.
How do you feel about the HomePod? If you bought one, do you use it on a regular basis? If you haven’t, are you waiting for a cheaper option to come down the line?