Apple Stock News: Apple’s HomePod to Rival Amazon’s Echo

Apple Stock News

For the latest Apple Stock News, AAPL closed at $144.09 on, July 7th, 2017. It had a gain of 0.99% from its previous close on July 6th, 2017, at $142.73 per share.

Apple Stock News

(Source: Apple)

Last month, Apple announced the launch of the HomePod. The HomePod is essentially both a state-of-the-art speaker and a smart assistant that is capable of answering user queries. Together with Apple Music, users will have instant access to one of the largest music catalogs in the world, 40 million songs to be exact. Perhaps most impressively, the device is able to sense the room and tune the music all by itself. The HomePod will be available for purchase in December and is accompanied by a $349 price tag.

According to new data from Raymond James, consumers have shown more interest in Apple’s siri-powered HomePod speaker than they did in the Apple Watch when that product was first released. Suggesting that the HomePod will be a bestseller this upcoming holiday season. 14 percent of iPhone owners plan to buy a HomePod according to a research note published by Raymond James. When the financial services firm conducted a similar survey prior to the launch of the Apple Watch, a mere 6 percent of iPhone owners were interested in buying the product. Apple’s “other products” category, which includes the Apple Watch, Beats Speakers, AirPods, and more, increased 31 percent year on year. Raymond James anticipates that not only will this growth continue but that the HomePod could help the category.

The bad news for Apple: the HomePod will compete against existing smart home products including the Amazon Echo. However, a combined 19 percent of iPhone owners plan to buy either a HomePod or a Beats product ahead of the 16 percent planning to buy an Echo. Meaning that Apple actually comes out ahead of the Amazon Echo in regards to consumer purchase intention.

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