Make It Cheaper (Or Make a Cheaper One)
Compared to most of the other smart speakers on the market, HomePod’s $349 price tag is fairly prohibitive. HomePod may be one of the best sounding speakers, but that doesn’t matter if no one is buying it.
But Apple just can’t compete in the sphere when some Amazon Echo Dot devices retail for not much more than $20. And if it doesn’t want to make its primary HomePod less expensive, the least it could do is debut a lower-priced alternative as a separate option.
HomePod isn’t necessarily aimed at the same market segment as the Echo Dot. But consider the fact that most people are buying the budget-friendly Alexa device over Amazon’s pricier options like the Echo Show. The demand is pretty clear.