I would expect the krk5s to very good in an easy sound space with proper amplification. Where the original HomePods shine is in self-adjusting to a difficult sound space.
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5 New Features and Changes Rumored for the 2023 HomePod
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Your experience is unusual if the space is not too large. Each original HomePod only has one 4" midrange speaker + tweeters, so they can only service smallish spaces, medium volume. Or perhaps you got flawed original HomePods.
Nice and excellent news... I have five original and two mini HomePods. And they all work superbly throughout the house.
I'll probably purchase two more of the larger HomePods.
I'll probably purchase two more of the larger HomePods.
Hey, @colinwil, I see you disagreed with a question I was making. I was wondering if the price reduction will imply a reduction on the sound quality. I wasn’t stating anything because I don’t know what Apple will do, but given the margins Apple usually have on their products (and those weren’t too high on the original Homepod), I think it is a legit question.
I don’t understand how someone can disagree from a conjecture or a question. It is like if I say “It is windy and cloudy, I wonder if tonight will rain” and you jump and say “I disagree! It won’t rain tonight” and then I, a bit shocked, reply “but I wasn’t stating that tonight will rain”.
So, hoping you better understand what I meant, I wasn’t stating that this new, hypothetic HomePod will have worse sound quality. But there are elements that make me think that it is, indeed, a possibility. But I certainly don’t know if a Apple can do better with a lower cost, let’s hope it does!
I wasn’t able to get the original Homepod, and If they make a device with a comparable -or even better- sound quality, I’ll gladly purchase a couple of them.
I would love to see an updated HomePod. Price was probably the biggest factor why the first one didn’t sell well.
Still have my original HomePods and love them. They say the originals struggle with some tasks but don't elaborate. I’ve never experienced a problem.
Later this year, Apple is expected to reintroduce a new full-sized HomePod, a successor to the original smart speaker which was discontinued almost two years ago.
Apple reportedly discontinued the HomePod in March 2021 due to lackluster sales and a lack of features compared to the speakers offered by Amazon and Google. The HomePod lineup remains part of Apple's portfolio thanks to the smaller HomePod mini, which Apple announced in 2020.
The HomePod mini, in its smaller form factor and cheaper $99 price point, has been a bigger success than the original HomePod. In 2023, Apple is widely expected to reintroduce the full-sized HomePod to its lineup with several new features. Below, we outline five new features and changes we expect from the upcoming HomePod.
1. Faster Processor
The original HomePod featured an A8 chip, which helped power music playback, Siri, and more. The upcoming HomePod, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, will feature an updated S8 chip from the latest Apple Watch models.
2. U1 Ultra Wideband Chip
The HomePod mini features a U1 Ultra Wideband chip, which detects when other U1-equipped devices, such as the latest iPhone models, are nearby and allows it to quickly hand off the audio to the smart speaker. The upcoming HomePod could feature the U1 Ultra Wideband chip to bring it to parity with the HomePod mini.
The U1 Ultra Wideband chip, in the future, could also allow for other experiences, such as close-range data transfer, improved AR experiences, and the ability to track a user's exact location within their home.
3. Larger Backlit Touch Interface
The original HomePod and the HomePod mini feature a backlit touch interface at their top. The interface is small and doesn't show images or text but instead glows different colors to indicate different statuses or when Siri is invoked.
For the upcoming HomePod, Apple is expected to make the touch area even larger, according to a recent report by Gurman. It's unclear if the larger area will allow for richer information or expanded functionality.
4. Cheaper Price
When Apple first announced the HomePod, it was priced at $349, a higher price point than competing smart speakers on the market. Apple eventually dropped the price to $299 in hopes of sparking sales.
Even at $299, users were still put off by its high price and Siri's shortcomings. With the upcoming model, Apple is expected to drop the price even further, according to several reports. For comparison, Amazon's Echo Studio, which has a similar overall footprint compared to the full-sized HomePod, is priced at $199 and has direct integration with several services, including Apple Music, Spotify, Samsung's Smart Things, and more.
5. Faster Software Features
The A8 chip powered the original full-sized HomePod, which provided adequate performance to power different HomePod features, such as spatial awareness, Siri, and more. In recent years, however, users have found that the original HomePod struggles with certain tasks, sometimes making it difficult to use certain features.
Thanks to the S8 chip in the upcoming HomePod, users will be able to better use new software features, such as improved Siri capabilities, faster Siri voice recognition for multiple members of a household, and more.
Article Link: 5 New Features and Changes Rumored for the 2023 HomePod
I got my Homepods cheap... and enjoyed them until they became bricks.
Wonder how long the life of any new model will be...
(Apple should be fixing the bricked Homepods, (instead of acting like there wasn't a problem) but last I checked they wanted $2-300 to do it. (just replacements)
Wonder how long the life of any new model will be...
(Apple should be fixing the bricked Homepods, (instead of acting like there wasn't a problem) but last I checked they wanted $2-300 to do it. (just replacements)
Should be having U1 chip. Also a lower price tag will be welcome.
The HomePod mini features a U1 Ultra Wideband chip, which detects when other U1-equipped devices, such as the latest iPhone models, are nearby and allows it to quickly hand off the audio to the smart speaker. The upcoming HomePod could feature the U1 Ultra Wideband chip to bring it to parity with the HomePod mini.
The HomePod has hand off of audio from the iPhone already. I use this feature quite a lot on my HomePod.
I'd love to replace all of my Echos with Homepods but we use the drop-in feature all the time. Apple, make it happen!
Agreed, apart from replacing all my echo devices in my home....slowly...
(I have one in my sons room, my bedroom will be next, and the lounge is the toughest as it'll require larger home pods as we have three across the room; Not in stereo pairs, but playing together).
Is it? I know they can supposedly do Mac audio, but can a stereo pair do ALL sound output - including system sound effects?
multi-target airplay, including stereo pairing, is still not system level as an audio output on MacOS I believe. I know it definitely isnt for multiple non-paired targets, which is incredibly annoying
Nope. It was a light-hearted ‘dislike’ for using the horrible phrase ‘price point’
Oh, I see. I guess it’s better to talk about just ‘price’. I’m not a native English speaker so I appreciate the nuanced correction.Nope. It was a light-hearted ‘dislike’ for using the horrible phrase ‘price point’
One HomePod in the kitchen sounds brilliant and you can appreciate the auto-EQ working. One in the lounge sounds great as well, until you sit in certain seats and then the bass is boomy and overwhelming. The 'reduce bass' option works for the lounge HomePod, but it would be nice to have a basic EQ to dial the bass in to personal preference.
I can second this. Like Allen_Wentz I do have trained ears (having designed several high loudspeaker designs) and the HomePods excel at adapting to difficult acoustic environment. They also sound very good when used at a low level, but cannot compete when trying emulate a full range system setup with appropriate drivers and amplifiers in a largish space. They are pretty good at near field listening and mid size room environments.
I also agree that the Sonos 1 sounds reasonable but has what I call 'lumpy' bass and tends to be a bit forward and less transparent. For all that, we are talking about a $217 speaker and not a mid range high fidelity speaker which may cost upward of several thousand dollars. I have, in another post, noted NAIM and Deviate as ones who make very good sounding small speakers with built in amps. But again these are more than a thousand dollars each in their cheapest form. So this is not apples to apples (pun intended). I still think that for the original price the HomePods were amazing value and well worth the money, but people did not want a good sounding speaker they wanted the Apple equivalent of the Amazon Echo. Hence the debate.