xanadome
Well-known member
@xanadome See... I have an issue with that poster and their rant, for a number of reasons...
1) Every brand targets their core/faithful customer with products and services. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. HomePod is meant to appeal, first and foremost, to that group.
2) Market forces take care of pricing miscalculations on their own. If it was truly overpriced, then the speaker would sit and collect dust until the price reduced. That's not been the case from what I've read. So it appears to be priced to market.
3) I don't necessarily disagree with the "captive market" sentiment, but it's a bit overdone I think. A company can't make you stay with their brand or force you to buy their products. Any consumer can "leave" whenever they get ready. (and no, the iMessage/Facetime excuse is just that, an excuse)
4) Every company works for it's own best interest, as it should. They aren't your brother-in-law and they don't own you anything outside of what they've promised to deliver in exchange for payment.
5) It's not a gateway product, since you have to already have an Apple device for it to work. So why are people acting so surprised that it's being marketed to existing Apple customers!?!? That's so strange to me...
6) If someone doesn't like the HomePod, don't buy it. Buy something else.. Sonos or whatever you like ..
Just so I'm clear.. I am by no means an Apple fan. I own one product and even that wasn't until recently. But I'm balanced enough in my opinion to recognize when this company doesn't get it's proper framing. Apple isn't trying to fool anyone into buying a speaker and the "walled garden" isn't new by any means. So I don't understand why, for the life of me why, are people's expectations for the HomePod outside anything besides what Apple is positioning it to be. A CHOICE for the core Apple consumer. A product for the core Apple consumer to consider when they are looking at competing products like SONOS.
Fair enough. I knew the post was from somewhat different angle (but I tend to agree with the contention), and I was fully expecting flaks from all directions, lol. I would not comment on each point you raided, as it will take another long post, which I want to avoid. But I am a long time Apple aficionado(and still am), and lamenting the loss of innocence (so to speak) or mojo of Apple in the past. Although Steve Jobs was somewhat divinized, I cannot help but comparing the SJ era vs. Cook's modus operandi (seemingly).
I list a few quotes of SJ here, which symbolize his enthusiasm to please his customers.
A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them. - Steve Jobs
We built [the Mac] for ourselves. We were the group of people who were going to judge whether it was great or not. We weren't going to go out and do market research. - Steve Jobs
Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything. - Steve Jobs
Apple's HomePod falls in none of these thinking. It's a copy of competition, targeted at the Apple enthusiasts, the most loyal and faithful customers of Apple's.
I believe one has to consider contexts in which things have been happening lately, such as persistent overpricing etc.
I believe HomePod is already overpriced at $349. AppleCare is $39, but the out of warranty charge is staggering $279. If you consider all these, I see something alarming. YMMV.