“Last week, Raymond James analysts conducted a survey of 500 consumers in June which showed that 14% of those surveyed fully intend to buy the HomePod/Beats wireless speakers,” Jay Somaney writes for Forbes. “Investors need to keep in mind that the HomePod is not even available yet and more than likely will debut during the Christmas selling season towards the end of 2017. The survey found that despite that fact, more consumers indicated their decision to purchase the HomePod and/or Beats wireless speakers than they did for Amazon’s Echo.”
“In addition the report from Raymond James found that there was high demand for the Apple Watch and for the AirPods (conceivably the hit product for last year’s Christmas selling season),” Somaney writes. “AirPod demand is said to be exceeding supply by six months as per Raymond James.”
“19% of those polled indicated that they would buy an Apple home speaker system system (including Beats wireless speakers) compared to 16% of those that would buy an Amazon Echo,” Somaney writes. “According to the analysts, 12% of those surveyed also indicated that they are in the market for an Apple Watch, the highest level seen by the Raymond James analysts thus far.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: And, this is before the holiday season ads for Apple Watch, AirPods and HomePod. Another all-time record Christmas quarter is on tap for Apple!
Also, as per HomePod via Reddit user Arve:
1. They’re using some form of dynamic modeling, and likely also current sensing that allows them to have a p-p excursion of 20 mm in a 4″ driver. This is completely unheard of in the home market. You can read an introduction to the topic here. The practical upshot is that that 4″ driver can go louder than larger drivers, and with significantly less distortion. It’s also stuff you typically find in speakers with five-figure price tags (The Beolab 90 does this, and I also suspect that the Kii Three does). It’s a quantum leap over what a typical passive speaker does, and you don’t really even find it in higher-end powered speakers
2. The speaker uses six integrated beamforming microphones to probe the room dimensions, and alter its output so it sounds its best wherever it is placed in the room. It’ll know how large the room is, and where in the room it is placed.
3. The room correction applied after probing its own position isn’t simplistic DSP of frequency response, as the speaker has seven drivers that are used to create a beamforming speaker array,. so they can direct specific sound in specific directions. The only other speakers that do this is the Beolab 90, and Lexicon SL-1. The Beolab 90 is $85,000/pair, and no price tag is set for the Lexicon, but the expectation in the industry is “astronomical”.
So yes, compared to the typical sub-$2000 speaker, the technology they apply may just as well be considered “magic”.
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s HomePod could have an even more successful start than Apple Watch – July 7, 2017
Analyst: Apple Watch and AirPods dominate ahead of next-gen iPhone – July 6, 2017
Woz on Apple Watch: ‘I just love it. I love every time I use it. It helps me. I love it so much.’ – June 14, 2017
Apple Watch the most accurate heart rate monitor in new fitness tracker study – May 24, 2017
Sweaty fitness bands fall behind as Apple Watch outpaces sales – May 12, 2017
Apple Watch helps doctors detect the leading cause of heart failure with 97% accuracy – May 12, 2017
Fossil shares plunge as Apple Watch kills traditional watch market – May 10, 2017
As it turns two, Apple Watch focuses on core strengths – April 24, 2017
How in the hell is “Buying Intent” anyway near accurate?
I’m intending to buy one. Had absolutely no inclination to buy an echo. Was seriously looking at the Bose revolve or the Libratone, the Bose sound is amazing, but the small item that had me sold on Bose revolve was the tripod mount. Affix a mount on the ceiling and the sound would be perfect.
Please please please apple, make the homepod tripod mount capable. With or without the tripod mount, I am intending to bit the homepod ☺️
Buy*
Is “fully intend” different from “intend”? Was there a survey scale from “fully intend” to “intend” to “leaning that way” to “don’t really intend” to “heck no” to “what are you talking about, anyway”?
I’m not quite sure to whom you’re aiming your comment to, but if I may take liberties I, woulda thunk😉, ‘fully intend’, would be in the realm of a definite purchase. And, ‘intend’, would mean somewhere in between 50 to 70% chance they would purchase the item.
I’m quite certain that I may have over comma(ed) the living cr*p out of my reply, so I look forward to your correction. And, why didn’t I indent to designate the first paragraph? Well, that’s my gift to you to condescend to me 💋😁. To make you all happy in your pseudo superiority 😌
It’s not. It’s an estimate by an analyst.
Holy electroacoustic transducers Batman! Is this the beginning of a revolution in speaker design?
When Apple showed Homepod, I said to myself, “sold”. I really don’t care about the stats. I’m in. Like I was with iPod, iPhone, iPad, AppleTV, AppleWatch, AppleMusic, etc.. I can’t imagine NOT liking Homepod.