It’s been just four years since Spike Jonze released the film Her. The story of a sensitive and soulful man who fell in love with his operating system seemed ludicrous to many upon its original release, even if she was the voice of Scarlett Johansson.
Today it’s a different story. Today, there is a broad range of digital assistants available to talk to us. Siri, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Microsoft Cortana are now deeply embedded within our homes, smartphones and pop culture.
In a world where people have invited online microphones into their homes in a bid to make their lives easier, Apple has been conspicuous in it’s absence. It’s announcement therefore of the HomePod at Apple's WWDC 2017 in San Jose is aimed at changing all that.
The 7-inch smart speaker is spatially aware of it’s surroundings, in glaring contrast to its users at the WWDC that sit on the floor hogging a power socket. The gadget will set Apple fans waiting to create seasonal playlists from it’s 40+ million songs, back a cool $349 when it first arrives in December.
There were a few cringe-worthy moments at the WWDC I must admit, as Phil Schiller tried to drum up excitement for the HomePod by announcing that you can ask it “questions”. Now we all know the novelty of questioning these assistants has already worn off, whether it is OK Google, Hey Siri, or Hey Alexa.
At a time where Google Home can be found for as little as $100, and an entry into Amazon’s Alexa platform can be secured for a mere $49, people will undoubtedly question if they really need an Apple HomePod in their life? If you already have an Amazon Echo and a Sonos speaker, there would really not have been anything new for you to gain from Apple’s HomePod announcement.
HomePod was positioned by Apple as a music-listening platform, and I got the sense that, at least for this iteration, smart features such as reminders and calendar access were a bit of an afterthought. Reading between the lines, there may be a slight admission here that HomePod might not be the smartest speaker on the block, but it will certainly sound the best.
Speaking of sounding the best, I would question even that part given I can use Siri today to drum up any song from Apple Music on my iPhone and play it on my very superior sounding Devialet Phantom Wireless Speaker, sold here on Apple’s online store, one of the best things to hit audio speakers since the Bang & Olufsen.
Now, if you are looking for one device that does everything instead, then I suppose the HomePod might be your answer, and is heading your way later this year. Once again, Apple has illustrated how they prefer to take a step back and assess where the market is moving before throwing their virtual hat in the ring and carving out their own niche.
Although there is a good reason to believe that this new device is not going to set the world ablaze, but Apple however, has made an astute move by distancing itself from the Google Home and Amazon Echo hardware that is briskly dropping in price with each new iteration.
By setting their sights on Sonos and focusing on premium Siri-powered smart speaker technology for music lovers, Apple is once again making their product stand out in an increasingly crowded market. The HomePod wireless smart speaker is obviously compatible with all Apple HomeKit devices and provides seamless access to Apple Music. So if you are wedded into the Apple ecosystem, then by all means buy it.
But herein lies the Achilles heel. HomePod seems to be more about trying to lock its users further into the Apple Ecosystem than anything else. Living inside an apple bubble where you can only access a limited range of products should probably be more attractive to Apple than to its users for obvious reasons.
Both Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant recognize that its users have diverse tastes across the digital landscape. These platforms offer access to Amazon Prime Music, Google Play, Apple Music and Spotify on their platforms, whereas Apple instead remains defiant that users only use their products.
The HomePod is designed to work solely with an Apple Music subscription and nothing else. So if you are a Spotify user with hundreds of playlists, tough luck I suppose!
We all have unique requirements, and it's not unusual to have an iPhone, but use Google Chrome on it for web browsing instead of Safari, and subscribe to music streaming services that are not Apple’s. Any attempts to restrict users from accessing what they want are ultimately futile and frankly a bit short sighted.
Apple is further fortifying its store front while cementing a reputation for luxury products. There is also real opportunity for integrating home automation via HomeKit compatible gadgets. However, by making it difficult to integrate with non-Apple services, many consumers will be forced to stay away from this late addition to an increasingly crowded digital marketplace.
The biggest drawback of many of these tech platforms is the fragmented and disjointed landscape. Platforms need to embrace other products and realize they cannot force users to subscribe only to their own offerings. The world has evolved and moved on. Perhaps it’s time Apple does the same with it’s own restrictive ecosystem.