70M American Adults 'Interested' In Buying Apple's New HomePod

70 million Americans are interested in buying Apple's new $350 smart speaker, HomePod. According to a new survey, 33% of American adults are considering buying the new device. That only drops to 30% when respondents are asked to compare HomePod with Google Home and Amazon Echo.

The results, from a Morning Consult national survey of 2,200 adults, seem to indicate that the well-known Apple Effect is still very much in force: when Apple enters a new market, it often dominates the space very quickly.

Take smartwatches, for example, where Apple has about 55% market share. Almost half of current Apple customers -- people who own a Mac, an iPhone, or another Apple product -- are potential HomePod buyers, according to the report. 45% said they were interested, though that number drops to 40% when people were asked to consider the alternatives.

However, "interest" does not always translate into an actual purchase. 57% of respondents said price was "very important" in making buying decisions. Apple's HomePod will be $200-$250 more expensive than Amazon's very successful Echo and Google's relatively new Home. Amazon also has a significant lead in the market, and Morning Consult's data indicates that it could be a preferred brand that consumers will choose in a competitive situation.

One other interesting piece in the research: a list of what consumers care about most in a smart home speaker. Morning Consult asked people which features were "very important" when considering buying a voice-controlled assistant for their home.

Source: forbes