As the years have gone by, Apple has fascinated us with all its technology and models, but they just might be out of ideas. Three years ago, Amazon released Amazon Echo, a hands-free speaker you control with your voice. After being wildly successful, Google made Google Home, being nearly identical to Echo. Just when we thought that these two products were good enough options, Apple decided to jump in.

This is when they decided that they would make the same product with the same functionalities, and double the price because, why not? The new HomePod costs a whopping $349, while Amazon’s Echo costs a $179 and Google Home costs $129, making it almost double the price. It’s not unusual for Apple to price their products at a high rate, like the iPhone, which is one of the most expensive smartphones on the market, but they still manage to sell them like candy bars. Basically what Apple has done is, taken the Amazon Echo and made a better and fancier version of it. Still though, it doesn’t change the fact that they are indirectly copying Amazon.

The senior Vice President of Apple, Phil Schiller talked about the speakers and overall sophistication of this new product. He said that the hardware has a ring of seven small “tweeter” speakers arranged in a ring around the bottom of the unit and a large 4-inch woofer in the middle. Reviewers have said that the HomePod is better than Echo and Google Home, which could be true depending on what one expects from the product’s functionalities. I think Apple needs to stop misleading customers into thinking that their product is better and different when it’s really just an amplified version. Personally, I would stick to the original Amazon Echo, because it’s a better price value and does the same exact work as the HomePod.