Apple's main claim to fame is a proven track record for successful products. But with its latest, the HomePod smart speaker, some analysts say its old formula for success -- going for the high end of the market and tightly controlling its ecosystem -- has let it down. Recent analyst reports suggest that the HomePod isn't selling well. Bloomberg reported last week that Apple even cut its internal sales estimates. While Apple hasn't released numbers on HomePod sales, it's expected to give some sense of the HomePod's sales in its next earnings report on May 1. HomePod sales are important to the Cupertino, Calif.

It has only been a few months since Apple entered the smart speaker market with its $349 HomePod, but a report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman suggests it's not selling as well as the company hoped. The report cites sources close to suppliers for some of its components, Apple Store workers and industry analysts who report that between its relatively high price, late entry to the market after the holiday season and somewhat limited AI capabilities, the HomePod isn't making much of a dent. With all of those elements going against it, it's not hard to see why the speaker might not be flying off the shelf, with its current position as a high-priced iPhone accessory instead of a truly smart standalone unit. Most of the issues we noted in our original review, while others like its tendency to mark certain types of wood, came up later. Apple's hiring push and the addition of a new AI lead suggest it's making Siri improvements a priority, and we have some ideas about what that should look like.