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Apple Aims to Boost HomePod Sales With New Audio Software Lead

They literally just have to add line in jacks to make them more versatile and compatible with most people's setups. I feel like the Apple execs only watch TV and movies, and are out of touch with modern entertainment. I have several gaming consoles and other HDMI devices, and eARC with the new Apple TV is soooo cumbersome and slow. The audio quality is fantastic, when it decides to work.

Apple just gets in their own way, sometimes.
 
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yadmonkey said:
I love my HomePod. It would have sold better if people cared about sound quality and not being data-raped by competing products.
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I originally liked this comment, but now love it, but still really like it. Torn, but wow...

Yeah, those cheap 'dots' and other detritus have to be screaming jokes compared to at least the original HomePod. Plus the added baggage of the 'back end nonsense' of people laughing and ripping messages and other conversations the devices pick up.

Give there are no hard and fast laws to cover what a receiver can do with that data, I took a long degree of trust to get a HomePod. I don't use it near as much as I could use it, but it's not Siri's fault. It's that it's not cordless. The iPod wifi box was supposedly an earth shaking device with amazing sound, but was also tied to an AC plug, as I remember. I was actually sad that I didn't get one before Apple yanked it. (Apple has a rich history of coming out with amazing audio equipment, and yanking it off the market. Wouldn't it be cheaper to not even try? But I'm glad they did with the HomePod *shrug*)
 
Biro said:
Well then, allow me to be the first to have less than positive words about them for you. I have two HomePods and they have been very buggy. Siri often forgets that she knows my voice, the HomePods can forget the network they are on and there's the occasional "fart of death" that results in all information being lost. I finally unplugged both. I'll probably toss them soon.
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Would you like my address? Seriously.
 
vipergts2207 said:
It needed some kind of aux in as well. I mean it's nice that you can watch your ATV with some HomePod speakers in stereo. But then when you go to fire up the PS5 or Xbox, I guess you're relegated to the garbage TV speakers again? Why not just buy a soundbar, or even better a real home theater setup, and be able to route all of your audio through it? While you don't get Siri, she's not all that great anyway and anyone buying a HomePod probably already has an iPhone and Apple Watch on them at all times anyway.
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Yeah, I seriously considered getting a pair of HomePods, a couple years ago, back when there were rumors of them supporting the Apple TV (I think just basic AirPlay at that point). I waited for a while for Apple to do something with in that direction. I ended up going the Sonos route, and I'm pretty happy with the result. I don't use the voice assistant capabilities on the Sonos (an Arc, with sub and surrounds) at all - it's not set up, and the microphone is muted.

I do have a HomePod mini sitting next to it now. She's great for HomeKit stuff, setting timers and alarms, and adding reminders and such, and I can tell her to play something "on my Sonos", but I really wish Sonos and Apple would work out some better device support - I'd like to be able to give the HomePod commands to relay to the Sonos (well, I'd love the Arc to support Siri natively, but that's asking way too much).

The Sonos Arc sounds fabulous with both the Apple TV and PS5, by the way. Apple may get around to doing a sound bar some day, but they missed the boat for me, and they'd have to come up with something pretty astounding to get me to switch back.
 
New Homepod must be same size as the original. pairable for stereo, MUST HAVE LINE IN. EQ essential. Carry case for 1 and for 2.
 
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Siri is pretty awful, and strangely unreliable. Sometimes it doesn’t recognize my voice. Sometimes it can’t execute commands that worked fine the day before. Sometimes it can’t find and play music in my library that it could play in the past. I think Apple constantly tweaks things on the back end, and it bugs the living daylights out of me.
 
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yadmonkey said:
I love my HomePod. It would have sold better if people cared about sound quality and not being data-raped by competing products.
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How many people could hear the sound quality? It lacked any normal Bluetooth support for non-Apple devices, didn't support 3rd party music, tons of issues pairing it with a Mac to use it as computer speakers, and didn't support default stereo pairing for things like Apple TV until they had already cancelled it. Additionally, while the sound was decent for its size it wasn't life changing so the price was never justified. Lastly, Siri..nuff said.
 
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jmcgeejr said:
I would 100% still be using my echo's around the house if the apple music integration on it was better. We switch from amazon music to apple beacuse amazon kept losing access to music that you would add to your account. The apple music integration apparently doesnt understand that when you say play my music, it means I want to hear more than roughly the same 40 songs over and over, even when stating to shuffle. Audio quality on the homepod mini's are so inferior to amazon echos.
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use Spotify or amazon music instead. apple music is rubbish
 
B4rbelith said:
I'm very happy with my stereo pair of HomePods, and I've never heard anyone who owns them say anything but positive words about them. Those complaining about the price have no idea how much a comparable pair of speakers with beam-forming, smart capabilities and Dolby Atmos would cost.

Apple were possibly a bit premature in cancelling them, as many of the features that could have improved sales, such as eARC functionality, were added after they were discontinued. There's still nothing on the market that really compares with them quality wise, and I have zero regrets about purchasing them when I did. I use them literally every day.
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stop capping. homepod doesn't have the best sound quality in the market . not even with the dumb siri as software
 
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dmylrea said:
How's that pounding bass from those two mini's? Yeah, sounds like a good transistor radio. No thanks. C'mon Apple, create a great sounding speaker that actually does things. Quit trying to compete with the bottom of the barrel competition.
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Exactly, I tried a couple out and wasn't any better than built in TV speakers. Of course I think all smart speakers are incredibly unnecessary so guess I'm biased, it's literally easier to use your phone/tablet/computer than have Siri give you a response and why it can't do what you asked it.
 
I'll buy a thousand amazon echos before going near homefraud... ✌🏾
 
The mini is not among the better tier of smart speakers especially in terms of SQ. The HomePod was better but not great. Then we have Siri. And it all comes crashing down. Apple are not very good at this kind of thing at least not recently where quantity and high cost outweigh quality. Apple TV is good but hardly great and twice the price it should be. Apple tax like Fed tax seems to keep increasing under their profit and stock price driven leader. There was a time when the quality was such that it was justified. But that ship sailed a while ago.
 
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I connected an Echo to an old HK Onyx I had lying around, and it sounds fine. It's great for the kids. If I want to listen to music for real I'll listen through my Real Speakers, over wires.

However, the Echo/Onyx combo is pretty OK. I have another echo connected to a Bose revolve and the HK is better, though boomier.

When it comes do audio you basically choose the distortion level and price point that you want. I don't mind listening though my stuff on my 12 mini's speakers, because for me some music is better than no music.

For the HomePod, Apple didn't seem to understand the audio market and how to price for it. There's B&O, there's B&W, there are these sort of crazy audiophile things, then there's the like $5 BT speaker. Where does Apple fit in there? Apparently nowhere.
 
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nitramluap said:
I still use an Airport Express linked to my large speakers for playing music. The HomePod mini is simply a control device for me. I love Apple, but I don't want *every* device I use to be made by them...
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Oh how I loved the Airport Express, but they have blown caps here a fair number of times. Kinda depressing as they have been so powerful, and usable. Sad... Glad to hear there are some still out there fighting the good fight.
 
PinkyMacGodess said:
Oh how I loved the Airport Express, but they have blown caps here a fair number of times. Kinda depressing as they have been so powerful, and usable. Sad... Glad to hear there are some still out there fighting the good fight.
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Still enjoying my seven HomePods. Every. Single. Day. Superb audio for their price. Looking forward to what's coming next in the HomePod family.
 
yadmonkey said:
I love my HomePod. It would have sold better if people cared about sound quality and not being data-raped by competing products.
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I also think $350 was too high a price point. Sounds quality now lacking in the mini's. They are okay, but it's strange not to have the full scale OG HomePod. $199-$249 and it would have been better.
 
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urbanslaughter1997 said:
When will Apple realize? It's not about improving sound quality. It's about improving Siri!
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This this this, 1000x this. I go out of my way to use Google Assistant on my iPhone because Siri is so useless. It’s almost enough to make me switch back to Android.
 
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