https://finance.yahoo.com/news/analyst-apples-homepod-speaker-identity-crisis-191247934.html

“They are leading with the sound hardware as a differentiator, and then saying, ‘Well, it also has Siri in it,’ kind of as an afterthought,” Wright says. “And I think they marketed it that way because they realize they have come to the market pretty late, compared to the tremendous gains Amazon and Google have made at a rapid pace. When HomePod was announced, the sound hardware was more impressive than Amazon’s and Google’s, but Amazon and Google have lifted their game pretty quickly and eroded any kind of edge Apple was trying to gain on the hardware front. I think they need to figure out their story.”

Indeed, Apple’s price point, at $349, is much higher than the $100 Echo, $129 Home, $40 Echo Dot, or $49 Home Mini. But Apple is banking on HomePod’s premium sound quality. The problem with that approach is twofold: Amazon Echo and Google Home have beefed up their hardware, closing the gap; and IDC says that most buyers of smart speakers aren’t getting one for sound quality anyway. The appeal is the voice assistant.