Apple HomePod? We'll just see if we actually buy it or Echo

According to AppleInsider, a survey released on Wednesday showed that about one-third of Americans are interested in Apple's HomePod smart speaker with Siri voice assistant, but when it comes to actually buying it, they are more likely to buy Amazon Echo.

Market research firm Morning Consult said that of the 2,200 adults surveyed, 33% said they were interested in HomePod, a percentage that dropped to 30% when they compared HomePod to Echo and Google Home.

Among users who already own other Apple products, the proportion was 45% before comparison and dropped to 40% after comparison.

AppleInsider said that among all respondents, 17% said they were most likely to buy Echo, and 11% were most likely to buy the lower-priced Echo Dot. Only 9% said they would buy HomePod, lower than the 11% for Home.

HomePod is more popular among Apple product users, with 17% saying they would buy it, but that's still lower than the Echo's 18%.

Price seems to be the main factor that users care about, as 57% of people think that price is "very important" for smart speakers. HomePod costs $349 (about RMB 2,368), compared with $139.99 (about RMB 950) for Echo and only $39.99 (about RMB 271) for Echo Dot. Echo Dot needs to be connected to a sound system.

AppleInsider said that 51% of respondents said that sound quality is very important, which may be beneficial to Apple. Apple attaches great importance to sound quality in marketing and design - HomePod integrates a woofer, seven tweeters, and uses beamforming, automatic balancing and other technologies.

There are still many unknowns about HomePod, such as compatibility with third-party streaming music services. So far, it seems to only support Apple Music - not the Echo and Home, which support multiple streaming music services such as Spotify, Pandora and TuneIn.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.