Report: Apple Cut HomePod Orders Amid Low Demand

Apple tree's $349 HomePod speaker isn't exactly a breakout hitting.

Bloomberg on Thursday, citing Apple store workers, reported that the Cupertino tech giant is having trouble getting HomePod units off its shelves. Equally a outcome, Apple late last month "lowered sales forecasts and cut some orders" with HomePod manufacturer Inventec Corp., the report notes.

Data from research house Piece Intelligence indicates that Apple tree saw strong HomePod sales early on. The Siri-backed speaker "outperformed its competitors on the get-go day of release, selling 9x more than units than the Sonos One and outselling the Google Dwelling house Max by a factor of 11," Piece Intelligence wrote in a blog postal service terminal month. But the HomePod proved to be no friction match for Amazons' Repeat Show.

"The Repeat Show is the lion of the smart home speaker jungle, with the HomePod selling just 48 percent of what the Repeat Evidence sold in the countdown 3-day launch period," Slice Intelligence added. "Indeed, the HomePod launch fits the pattern that is familiar to Apple watchers—a spike in sales the first days followed by a quick drop off."

Information technology's not a huge shock Apple tree is having problem convincing consumers HomePod is worth the coin, given that in that location are then many cheaper alternatives available. Plus, as we noted in our review, HomePod has some serious limitations and drawbacks: y'all can't employ voice control for not-Apple music services, Siri "falls style short when it comes to tertiary-party, branded skills," and the device leaves white rings on some wooden surfaces.

Launch timing may as well exist a factor in HomePod's woes. Apple originally planned to start selling HomePod in Dec 2022, in fourth dimension for the holidays, but pushed back the launch, maxim it needed more than time to work on the device. The company didn't showtime taking HomePod pre-orders until belatedly January and pushed its official launch to February.

If you're in the marketplace for a HomePod culling, be sure to check out our tiptop picks for loftier quality-audio smart speakers.

About Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo is PCMag'south expert on fitness and smart home products. Teaching yoga for about 10 years has helped her in evaluating a range of connected wellness products including fitness trackers, centre charge per unit monitors, rowers, smart scales, stationary bikes, strength training machines, treadmills, and more. Angela also tests smart abode devices from her ranch in Florida, including air purifiers, kitchen appliances, and robot vacuums, just to proper name a few.