I agree and would like to add that HomePod & HomePod mini have intercom which I don’t believe the other brands do and tie very well into the Handoff, CarPlay and other cool features or “ecosystem” that is IOS.
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$99 Speaker Showdown: HomePod Mini vs. Amazon Echo and Google Nest Audio
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However true that is for using with a TV or media center, the thought process first is to use as a multi room Siri with intercom and other HomeKit features, TV “theater mode“ as a secondary.
Yes, you can tell Siri to play specific rooms as well as “all” rooms if desired. Same with when using intercom, you can issue it to a specific room or ”all” as to everyone. If you pair 2 together however they act as one with Siri not 2 separate.
Oh please, is Covid interfering with your sense of humor THAT much?
You're passing up a prime opportunity to have some real fun with this! Take a page from Grandparents who get their grandkids all sugared up AND THEN hand them back to the parents to deal with!
I'd be visiting my friends even MORE often, just for the opportunity to toy with their Google or Amazon assistants.
"Sheesh, about a month ago my search suggestions started including animated showtune movies, Depends and incontinence aids, Denture adhesives, and Hovaround scooters. And what's with the constant Amazon suggestions for Freud books and Norwegian death metal music?"
"That's nothing, my Google assistant is suggesting that I get gender reassignment surgery and stock up on poisons for my kitchen!"
Dude, what a missed opportunity!
I have Sonos with Alexa and NEVER yelled at is. Use regular voice. Not sure what you are talking about
I have the original Echo Plus and got a new Echo last week, never yelled at it either. In fact, sitting here at my desk the Echo is behind me, I don't even need to turn towards it to interact even when music is playing.
Got 3 for only controlling my HomeKit devices lights garage doors etc. Not impressed at all so far literally now I have three google minis also plugged in. Siri can for instance turn on all the lights in a room and turn them off like google. That’s where it ends for Siri I have multiple fixtures with 2 or more bulbs (ceiling lights, fans, lamps) all grouped in to scenes. With my home pod I CAN turn on the “living room fan”(4 bulbs) but Siri can’t turn them off!!!!! The same scene google has no problem turning on and off in the home app I can tap on the same scene to turn on and off so why can’t Siri!!!!!!! So basically with home pod If I want to turn off a group of lights I have to make two scenes in the home app one to turn it on and another to turn it off how is this even worth it now my home app is cluttered with scenes and I have to remember multiple scenes names to turn on and off a group of lights. Am I the only person who finds this completely useless? We all know apple it’s going to take 3 years and millions of complaints before they even consider a logical change.
I can turn on and off all my lights with Siri. Individually or as a group. And I have a lot of them.
How did this work out for you, was there any lip sync delay if you watching say Netflix on the Apple TV. I didnt realise it could connect to it.
I Agree, if your using these speakers on your living room TV then it must be a really **** TV. I Got as 2nd hand Immaculate Sony Smart TV for £150 and the stereo Sound of the built in speakers blow the Homepod Mini away. You even have built in google assistant which only listens if you activate the button on the remote. I think most are forgetting they have so many smart devices already. My phone is with me all the time in case my family need me.
Its the same thing as always with Apple, Excellent devices but you're likely to have to buy extra stuff to match the competition.
Each to their own but personally if i needed extra speakers for next to my TV id either get a sound bar like harry says or 2 Wireless speakers that can stereo pair like the Sony XB43 or 33 with built in batteries that you can take anywhere.
As it seems Siri is constantly skipping school. What is the use of highly praised Machine Learning in MacBooks, if Siri does not attend that school. Some meaningful not complex questions are answered very illogically, and the excuse: Look what I found in the internet is not very clever.
Pick whatever best meets your needs:
Google - best for general questions and playing media. I've connected a bunch of chromecasts to a multizone amp and it's a great setup.
Amazon - best pricing and device selection, most integrations. Obnoxious Prime Unlimited ads.
Apple - best integration with Apple ecosystem, inferior assistant, decent sound quality but impractical to put in every room of a large house.
Pet rock - superior privacy, lowest cost. customizable by painting.
Google - best for general questions and playing media. I've connected a bunch of chromecasts to a multizone amp and it's a great setup.
Amazon - best pricing and device selection, most integrations. Obnoxious Prime Unlimited ads.
Apple - best integration with Apple ecosystem, inferior assistant, decent sound quality but impractical to put in every room of a large house.
Pet rock - superior privacy, lowest cost. customizable by painting.
If you get any one of those in your house you don't care about privacy anyway. I've turned off "hey siri" on all of my devices and still it keeps popping up every once in a while saying it can't understand what I'm saying. Possibly because I set the language to Hebrew before turning it off. :/
This site is always so noncommittal when it comes to picking winners in their testing. It’s always “personal preference” or “depends” type language.
Obviously, everything comes down to preference. Pick a winner!
Obviously, everything comes down to preference. Pick a winner!
When you tell it to stop listening, you either have to tap and hold the HomePod to activate or go into the Home app to turn it on. I have no real reason to doubt Apple’s privacy stance, at the very least they seem to see it as an important point of market differentiation. If you’re suspicious of smart speakers in general, that’s fair, though why bother commenting on a forum thread about them? On the other hand, if you’re shilling for Google or Amazon on privacy, I have to assume you’re being disingenuous.
I'm an Alexa user but that's a very short-sighted way of thinking. People do have private conversations. People can also be recorded and taken out of context. If the smart speaker is not secure in how it's storing recordings, it does matter.
Not shilling for anyone. I've been heavy into the Apple universe since 1982, IT work and management since 1961 on six computer families besides Apple.
I just find this subject amusing.
If anyone wanted their hardware to listen, they could, no matter protestations otherwise. Including Apple. You have no way to really prevent this without physically unplugging your device.
But why would they? Marketing? Too much bother to monitor millions of the devices on line.
I have a selection of Alexa devices around my house and the homes of my distant family so all I have to do is say "Alexa-call XXXs mobile or their Echo" and it does, and I can intercom with the three other family members in my house or the kitchen Dot with Dropin.
Actually, FaceTime is more fun, but only some of my scattered family are equipped.
I also have two ancient iMacs, four iPads in the house, two Classics, an iPod Touch and an iPhone 12 incoming.
Apples and oranges. Nobody says you have to put all your eggs in one basket.
Amazon happens to provide great sound, abundant smarts and versatile intercom for my tastes and needs, at lower cost and capability than Apple, so I use both.
If Apple or Amazon want to listen in on my chit-chat or the 18,000 iTunes tracks I Blutooth to my Echo Studio from my Touch, have at it.
They might enjoy it, since I have lots of stuff ripped from CDs that neither Amazon nor Apple Music ever heard of, accumulated over the last 50 years.
"She" is a software system controlled by Apple which will stop listening when Apple wants it to, not when you tell Siri to stop listening.
The probability of anyone listening approaches zero in any case.
Too much trouble and too many devices.
Why would they bother?
In the future for audio comparisons PLEASE use the same audio clip for each example. You played a simple intro for one then by the time we heard the Mini it was playing the full instrumentation of the song! We can't compare, only guess what they sounds like. Pick one section of music and use it for ALL three devices. thanks