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It looks like Apple won't make room for any third-party HomePod apps (AAPL)
Launching a smart speaker without the ability to leverage outside services could put Apple’s new HomePod at a disadvantage.
Launching a smart speaker without the ability to leverage outside services could put Apple’s device at a disadvantage as it enters a new but fast-settling market.
- Both Amazon and Google offer development tools for their smart speakers.
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- Siri’s existing features could help users to miss voice apps less.
- With an Echo, a user needs a third-party skill to control smart home devices. But Apple offers that directly using its HomeKit smart home ecosystem and Home app, which gives it more control over the experience and a better ability to adjust based on user feedback.
- And HomePod's debut is still a long way off.
- Apple’s smart speaker won’t go on sale until December, so it may still update the device’s software to support third-party apps. The HomePod will run a variant of iOS — the same software that powers the iPhone and iPad — so Apple likely wouldn’t face too many hurdles creating a framework for third-party voice apps.
Though Apple might appear to be holding back its HomePod’s potential for growth, it’s followed a very similar path before. The iPhone was released in 2007 without any third-party apps, and generated excitement and moderate sales. But with the release of the iPhone 3G and the introduction of the App Store in late 2008, device sales climbed dramatically and an ecosystem developed around the device. Apple could be trying to pursue the same basic model, but Amazon is generating more excitement for its new Echo Show than Apple has for the HomePod, and with over 10 million Echos in homes around the world, Apple might have a tougher time dislodging today’s incumbents in the smart speaker space.
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