(2017-12-28) Siegler Alexa Everywhere

Alexa Everywhere – 500ish Words (MG Siegler)

Apple had to delay their foray into the space, the HomePod, into 2018. But not only did they miss the all-important holiday shopping season, I’m increasingly thinking that they may have missed the boat.

Amazon is the number one seller of speakers in the world right now. And they’re doing this not by focusing on quality, as Apple will, but by focusing on making their digital assistant, Alexa, ubiquitous.

One expensive speaker, no matter how nice, is not going to be able to compete with what Amazon is doing

Perhaps Apple is thinking one “home hub” for Siri in the HomePod and then a handful of other end points in iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches is how you combat the ‘Alexa Everywhere’ strategy. They’ve more or less said that the best assistant is the one you always have on you. This is true some of the time, but in building out this new voice-enabled world, it’s blinding them.

If Apple chooses to overlook that data point, perhaps they should just peruse a few more spots down the list to find the Google Home app, which sits just outside the top 5. Again, overall. Why? Undoubtedly Google’s $29 Home Mini.