Although sales of HomePod are quite brisk, Apple may release a cheaper version with a price tag of $ 150-200 by the fall. This was announced by June Chan, an analyst at Rosenblatt Securities. He also noted that this year Apple will sell about 6 million full-size speakers.
Chan did not mention what features Apple he will donate to reduce the cost of the new one HomePod. Amazon, for example, sacrificed sound quality to lower the price tag of a miniature Echo Dot to $ 40-50, which is half the price of a regular Echo. This price makes it profitable for users to buy multiple Dots and install them in each room. will undertake Apple is unclear. The company has made it clear that quality sound is a key feature of this speaker and is unlikely to sacrifice it.
Also in a separate report, Chan suggested that in 2018 Apple will release an updated iPhone SE and iPad Pro with a TrueDepth camera. In addition, he noted the likelihood of the release of (Product) Red iPhone 8 Plus, sales of which will be about 3 million. But we will not see the red iPhone X – according to the analyst, “the metal frame it will be too difficult to paint. ”
Finally, the analyst predicts the release of the updated Apple Pencil, which will work not only with iPad Pro, but also with the new 6.5-inch iPhone. Perhaps in this way the Cupertinians want to compete directly with Samsung's Galaxy Note.