A few years ago, the market essentially exploded with smart watches. You didn't have to look too hard to see one company after another launching their own idea of what the smartwatch should be. Having a connected wearable on your wrist is a Sci-Fi lover's dream, with plenty of love for Dick Tracy in there, too, but, it wasn't meant to be, apparently.
By the time that Apple found its footing with the Apple Watch, other companies had apparently decided it wasn't worth the effort. So while Apple appears to be in a groove, some companies, like HTC, have opted out of the experience. And while Google has Android Wear, it doesn't feel like the company is giving the wearable platform all that much attention anymore.
Smartwatches feel like an inevitability, insofar that eventually all watches will have some kind of smart and connected design to them, but they probably won't be like what we've seen in the years past. Just enough smarts inside to offer some important features, like notifications and health-related things. Either that or it'll just be a sea of Apple Watches.
That can't happen without Android support, of course. But hey, crazier things have happened.
Smart speakers feel like the new smartwatch. There are a lot of options out there already, and it feels like it kind of exploded into what company's consider mega popularity. Google and Amazon already have their own family of smart speakers. They cover price points, features, and more. And the options are surely not going to slow down anytime soon.
Even Apple is getting in on the fun. I wrote back in June about the HomePod, asking if you thought the device's specs, features, and sound quality would justify the pricing. I could ask the same thing for Google's Home Max, which is actually more expensive than Apple's effort (are we living in the Upside Down?). But, in light of the HomePod being delayed into 2018, I wanted to run down another thought.
Is this a smart speaker that you're actually excited about? After all, Google's effort, and Amazon's, and others, all work with the iPhone in some capacity. You don't have to rely on a platform to make those smart speakers listen to your requests. But of course Apple wants you to stick within their ecosystem, and it's designed for that. As in, Apple Music only for streaming tunes, for example. Of course, that's not bad news for the Apple Fans out there who don't wander out of the garden.
Which is what I'm mostly curious about. If you're an Apple fan, is the HomePod a smart speaker that you're actually waiting for? And, now that it has been delayed to "early 2018," are you still going to wait for it to arrive before you buy a smart speaker? Let me know!
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