Why Apple's HomePod won't just collect dust on your shelf

Apple brought its smart speaker into the world with a shoddy name and an unconventional pitch, but anyone brash enough to cast the device to the side so easily will surely pay the price. Apple, unlike Amazon and Google, understands that selling glorified intelligence-in-a-box as a method of human computer interaction lacks foresight -- people want a product, not a technology. Launching the HomePod is the most startup-y move Apple has made in years. The company is simultaneously disrupting the massive home speaker market and the emerging smart speakers space. By treating hardware as an opportunity rather than a means to an end, Apple might actually be able to deliver a product that ends up as more than a gimmicky metal tube bound to eventually collect dust on a shelf.