The reason I am not considering Apple HomePod is the restriction to the Apple ecosystem. This is what the author concludes as well. Given Apple's history, we will probably never see Spotify integration with Siri. Its integration with Androids is also not as great. I don't think it makes sense even if you're completely in the Apple ecosystem.
I use Spotify for my music on Echo dot. I connect my Echo dot with a 2.1 speaker system. I can get a much better speaker system with woofers and smart capabilities for much lower cost this way. So I don't get the appeal of HomePod if the main draw is its sound capabilities when compared to Echo or Google Home.
> So I don't get the appeal of HomePod if the main draw is its sound capabilities when compared to Echo or Google Home.
The impression I get from various discussions is its sound capabilities are better than nearly anything else under $1000.
As Om indicates, I don't think it's Google and Amazon that Apple is aiming for here. They're not trying to make a smart speaker play: they're trying to make a music play.
I use Spotify for my music on Echo dot. I connect my Echo dot with a 2.1 speaker system. I can get a much better speaker system with woofers and smart capabilities for much lower cost this way. So I don't get the appeal of HomePod if the main draw is its sound capabilities when compared to Echo or Google Home.