Apple Event: Now That's Something

(Image from 9to5Mac)

And one more thing..... before we move on from yesterday's Apple event.

Before talking about the iPhone 12, Apple spent the first 13 minutes of the presentation on the HomePod mini. The HomePod mini sells for $99, has an excellent speaker system, and can run all of the Apple devices in the house through the issuance of verbal commands.

The mini may be a great product, but why did Apple spend so much screentime on an item so immaterial to its business? (If Apple sold 10 million units, the revenue of approximately $1 billion means nothing to a company whose annual sales are $260 billion.)

The final image from the section reveals, in my humble opinion, Apple's long-term strategy: it wants to run the home of the future.

Today everyone is adding smart devices to their home on a piecemail basis, from doorbells to coffeemakers, from refrigerators to stoves, from cars to entertainment systems. from solar panels to water heaters. It's all balkanized, and many devices can easily be hacked. And some systems like plumbing and wiring will be very expensive to upgrade.

Ten years from now when I need to move to assisted living or get a lot of help around the home, Apple may by that time have a completely integrated House of the Future. It will be powered by solar panels and batteries and come with robot health aides, cooks, and cleaners, and a self-driving car. The whole residential living system (aka "my home") will be operated by voice command and sell for $1 million (just spitballing here on the price) plus land.

The HomePod mini revenue (10 million x $99 = $990 million) is nothing. The House of the Future (10 million x $1 million = $10 trillion), now that's something.