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Comment by millstone | Hacker News Reader

Smart speakers feel like tablets: an initial burst of sales, followed by years of decline as the devices sit in drawers. They're priced right for gifts and impulse buys (especially with the heavy discounts), but they're in practice less useful than they seem, and their actual utility is vulnerable to being eaten by smartphones.

However they will endure as ad-ons. The latest Bose headphones have Google Assistant built in, Sonos soundbars have Alexa, etc. Just like TVs became "smart" (i.e. equipped with ads and analytics) we will see more and more "smart" devices with this stuff integrated. It's a checkmark in the feature list, and a revenue source for the tech titans. Hug your dumb devices tightly!

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There are over 150 million tablets shipped every year:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/276635/market-share-held...

I personally love my iPad and I’m on my 3rd one. I do wish it could replace my laptop. The Microsoft Surface seems to be doing well too. I’m considering getting the next generation.

Anyway, the narrative you’re spinning on tablets isn’t accurate.

As for smart speakers, I’ve had an Alexa for 6 months.

You’ve probably underestimated them too. For $30-$50, these little devices, while limited, are useful. Music, timers, limited shopping, weather, and random searches, ... it gets used daily.

I used recent speakers as simple Bluetooth speakers for a few years, and recently exhumed my old loudspeakers, those classic wooden box pairs with cables and rotative potentiometers. There's no photo: the sound is (was) much better.

Do you know the story with Spanish tomatoes? It's the same, they made them more convenient, easier to carry around and sell, better calibrated, more stable, etc. but suddenly some people tried the old tomato type and noticed that the only thing we should care about when buying them is... taste. Same with speakers: smart or Bluetooth it whatever is just a way to sell us speakers whose sound is fake (because it is cheaper to process the bass with a chip)

Tablets (iPads in my case) have been a lifesaver in my businesses and for family members. For family, even 90 year olds who don’t know English can reliably communicate with all of their family using Facetime, and in business, there is no excuse for why it doesn’t work or it was brought down by malware. If it breaks just go and buy a new one and restore from iCloud.

I’ve also been seeing tons of them as POS at all the new retail/restaurant places I’ve been going to. It’s versatile, secure, resistant to idiot employees, and cheap.

I don't think so.

I'm using our echos every day for time keeping, weather, music and lights.

My tablet (Nexus) I played with it way shorter.

Also I miss Alexa when I'm in a hotel.

What? No music? No timer? No quick weather report? No alarm clock and for the lights I have to use a switch?...

It's not just a gadget it is a very convenient input method.

And it is already super useful but still basically the first generation of devices.

> Also I miss Alexa when I'm in a hotel.

> What? No music? No timer? No quick weather report? No alarm clock and for the lights I have to use a switch?...

There is now an Alexa app that provides the same functionality on smartphones.

> Also I miss Alexa when I'm in a hotel.

Just bring a hockey puck one with you when you travel.

Yes, and to begin with. Retail sales numbers were surprisingly bad, given the enormous marketing spending.

I feel this is another smartwatch moment

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