Rumors indicate Apple has a touchscreen-equipped HomePod (likely named ‘HomePod Touch’ or ‘HomePad’) launching early next year. But a recent report on pricing indicates Apple might repeat a mistake it made with the first HomePod.
Apple’s history of pricing missteps with HomePod
When Apple launched its first HomePod in 2018, it came with a whopping $349 price tag.
Due to the success of Amazon’s Echo products, anticipation for Apple’s smart speaker had built for years.
But that $349 HomePod was competing against Echo products that were significantly less expensive.
Full-size Echo speakers cost around $99 at the time. And you could even get the smaller Echo Dots for much less.
Consumers have generally come to expect an ‘Apple premium’ on products. But $349 compared to $99 is just far too great a difference.
Apple sought to position HomePod less as a Siri-centric device and more as a premium speaker, thus differentiating with audio quality.
But HomePod adoption no doubt suffered from that high price tag.
Apple, in a rare move, dropped the price to a slightly more palatable $299 just one year later. But the HomePod remained pretty niche until HomePod mini launched for $99.
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