Blogs have been activated, and they say that a cheaper HomePod could be in process. That sounds like a reasonable expectation. Apple is expected to eventually reduce the price of its smart speaker, especially considering that it could be selling less than 10 HomePods a day in some stores. But still, Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI does not think we should be excited about a more economical option in the short term.
His most recent report says that Apple could sell between 2 and 2.5 million HomePods this year, with one million coming from demand in the first month. He also dismisses cheaper HomePod rumors by saying that Apple is just "reflecting" on a lower-cost speaker, which could mean that he has not yet heard the company commit itself completely to a specific model. Although we have heard several reports, mostly from China, about a cheaper alternative, I would not like to have your hopes. I am sure that the factories are creating prototypes, but who knows when we will actually see a product. KGI is usually accurate with his Apple predictions, so if he says do not start thinking about a cheap HomePod, I will.