https://techcrunch.com/2023/01/31/apple-homepod-2023-review/

Welcome to the dark night of the smart speaker. A few years back, the category felt inevitable — and, frankly, why not? We’ve smartened our phones and watches. Why shouldn’t our homes be the next step? For decades, many looked longingly at home automation. Smart blinds that opened with your alarm clock might as well have been magic — or, at the very least, the domain of those with money to burn.

Suddenly, however, a new generation of the technology arrived with the promise of a (relatively) affordable entry point into home control. Smart lights, smart smoke detectors, smart locks, smart doorbells — and at the center, the smart speaker, the consummate hub and portal into this brave new world.