Daniel Eran Dilger, AppleInsider:

For years, this new Apple product was derided as too expensive to compete against cheaper alternatives. Yet by targeting the premium high end first, it was able to establish itself and then attract an even broader audience of users at broader price points in the future.

And:

HomePod was one of the results of Apple’s largest-ever acquisition —the $3 billion purchase of Beats Electronics in 2014. This acquisition gave Apple the world’s largest and most profitable headphone and speaker business, and contributed to the audio overhaul that brought much higher-quality stereo sound to iPhone 7, iPads, and MacBooks.

And:

Comparing only the emerging sliver of Apple’s overall Siri activity exclusively connected to HomePod against virtually the entire business of Amazon Alexa and often all of its partners is ridiculous, yet market research groups continue to do this.

In a nutshell, HomePod is a clue to an emerging business. The business model has not yet revealed itself.

Google and its licensees haven’t been effective at establishing proprietary features to keep Android users from leaving the platform. Apple has. Over the last decade, Apple has introduced tight Continuity integration between iPhones, iPads, and Macs; introduced Apple Watch and AirPods as wearables with similarly tight connectivity; and launched iMessage, iCloud, AirDrop, Apple Pay, Apple Card and other free and paid Services that keep iOS users reluctant to even examine other options. This year, the new Apple Arcade, Apple TV+ and AirPlay 2 are expanding the tight integration between Apple’s products.

And:

Apple has already launched a successful business in home audio in its first year, without needing to rival Amazon or Google in total unit shipments. Yet HomePod didn’t even need to be commercially successful on its own to be strategically successful for Apple. As part of the Siri, HomeKit, and AirPlay 2 ecosystems, HomePod is a valuable product category for Apple.

Judging HomePod as an expensive speaker playing in the expensive speaker marketplace is a short term view. To me, the long game has just gotten started. Apple is doing what it always does, patiently learning about a market, releasing product to enhance its ecosystem.

Don’t forget, HomePods are said to have brought in about $1.4 billion in revenue last year. Hard to argue that that’s anything but a great success.