Page 2 – News Debris For The Week of April 23rd
Amazon’s Obsession

Smart speakers are growing in popularity, according to Business Insider. They’re now in 20 percent of all homes. And yet, it’s been widely reported that Apple’s HomePod isn’t selling all that well. “Apple cuts HomePod orders by more than half.” This suggests that Amazon is doing a more convincing job than Apple at developing customer-focused home AIs.

Another article, also by Luke Dormehl at Cult of Mac argues this point exactly. “Amazon is (apparently) doing more than Apple to improve society.”

One can almost begin to see a pattern here. Apple has a different vision than Amazon. Amazon’s vision emerges victorious because customers are ignoring Apple’s low-key emphasis on privacy and security. Without a clear home strategy on privacy, Amazon customers are opting for the coolness and convenience of Echo/Alexa products. Buoyed by customer embrace, Amazon keeps rolling out new variants.

[Amazon’s New Echo Dot Kids Edition Could be Your Child’s Best Friend ]

On the entertainment side, Amazon is folding its Fire TV into its own branded 4K/UHD TV sets. Its just seems like Amazon is unstoppable in its efforts to psychologically overwhelm consumers and rope them into a different, more compelling ecosystem.

[Will Amazon’s Fire TV Edition Do What Apple Could Not? ]

And now we have some additional whetting of the appetite. “Amazon is teasing a mysterious new device called the Fire TV Cube on its website.” It’s the Amazon version of Apple’s “Oh, one more thing.”

Clearly, Amazon is obsessed with getting into our homes (and cars) by any means possible while Apple stands back and claims no interest in our personal affairs. Without a compelling counter. Here’s a good explanation that puts the icing on this segment’s cake.

That about sums it up. Pretty soon, little, friendly Amazon robots will be wandering around our homes, peering into everything. (“Need more condoms?”)

[Amazon’s Vesta Project Means it’s Time For Apple to Step Up its Robot Game ]

All this is happening like a giant avalanche. It can’t be stopped. Few customers seem to have developed home security policies that will negate the growth of these products. The final question: What can Apple do about it before Amazon makes products from Apple irrelevant as we get deeper into the 21st century?

The beachhead is being secured by Amazon. Is it time to fight back yet?

Particle Debris is a generally a mix of John Martellaro’s observations and opinions about a standout event or article of the week (preamble on page one) followed on page two by a discussion of articles that didn’t make the TMO headlines, the technical news debris. The column is published most every Friday except for holiday weeks.