Am I missing something or is there almost nothing different about this HomePod vs the old one?
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Apple Announces New HomePod for $299 With Full-Size Design, S7 Chip, and More
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It’s so awesome that it’s come back! I loved the original HomePods, couldn’t figure out why they bothered with the underpowered minis
It knows if you moved it and recalibrates the sound for the room. It's seamless and virtually imperceptible but it does it.
I noticed it when moving my first gen HomePod from the bedroom to the office. The sound wasn't as great as it was in the bedroom but within the first 10 seconds of playing my reference song, the sound got noticeably warmer and it felt like the speaker had been moved to the centre of the room even though it was on my desk against a wall.
These things are magical and don't get the credit they deserve. I'm glad Apple brought them back.
No bluetooth, I am out.
I had a homepod. Sounded ok. Nothing amazing, but ok for a smart speaker. Sold it.
Currently using a Bose Cinemate GS II and bluetooth from one side of the room to the other using:
Sennheiser BT T100 Bluetooth Transmitter and a BT receiver (using Aptx-LL).
I can play games, videos, etc, I have a cinematic sound, separation, and no lag!
As good as EARC is, there is always some lag, and I haven't found a single projector that supports it.
I had a homepod. Sounded ok. Nothing amazing, but ok for a smart speaker. Sold it.
Currently using a Bose Cinemate GS II and bluetooth from one side of the room to the other using:
Sennheiser BT T100 Bluetooth Transmitter and a BT receiver (using Aptx-LL).
I can play games, videos, etc, I have a cinematic sound, separation, and no lag!
As good as EARC is, there is always some lag, and I haven't found a single projector that supports it.
So Apple should sell these at $199 because you think thats all their worth. Got it.
Dude take a breath, it was just my opinion.
Can I play music from my local Music library on my iPad or iPhone or does this still require a subscription to Apple Music? Also, no interest in Music Match. If it requires any of this, then it remains a pass.
Why did they downgrade the Wi-Fi from 5 to 4?
Edit: Instead of upgrading to Wi-Fi 6 which supports both 2.4 and 5 GHz radio frequencies, they dropped to 802.11n so the HomePod is compatible with legacy routers and devices. Likely a minimum requirement of the Thread standard.
Edit: Instead of upgrading to Wi-Fi 6 which supports both 2.4 and 5 GHz radio frequencies, they dropped to 802.11n so the HomePod is compatible with legacy routers and devices. Likely a minimum requirement of the Thread standard.
With the cuts to processor, wifi, tweeters and so forth lowering cost this product actually meets the high profit threshold for Apple to consider this an actual product!
I was ready to upgrade for the temp sensor and S7/U1 but was quite disappointed when I saw no WiFi 6 support. My OG HomePod has garbage WiFi range and that would have gotten me to upgrade. Oh well, maybe HomePod 3.
Edit; am I crazy or does the tech spec page only say 802.11n, not even 802.11ac like the gen 1? That can’t be right
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I was very polite - and honest. I don’t have to pretend to like all of apples decisions while in a chat support. And the support person agreed with me.
When you move it, it re-orients its DSP to account for the different acoustics.
Nope, it's exactly the same as the other homepods. Supports 3rd party services (of which there are none that support homepods) and Apple Music. You can airplay from your local files from your devices so you could do it that way.
2.4ghz Wi-Fi has MORE range than 6ghz, not less. If anything they made it better for your use case.
Yes you can still play your local music from your iPad or iPhone to these. It’d use airplay. You don’t require a subscription.
Exactly this. I don't see this as a compelling upgrade, even for existing HomePod users.
When the Minis came and they were selling so well (due to lower price point, mostly) we thought Apple would learn a thing or two about outrageous HomePod prices. But, what did they learn? That people miss the OG HomePod very much - so much so that after-market sales still command pretty high prices. So Apple does what Apple does best; change almost nothing, offer no new functionality (like Bluetooth pairing), keep them prices high!
That's so true: I bought a pair of HomePod minis to use as speakers for my intended purchase of a Mac mini and whilst waiting 8 months for the new one to be announced, thought I'd use them with my MacBook Pro.
Poor decision due to the latency issue and means that I'll probably not bother with buying the Mac mini as I'd need to get an all-singing - literally - all-dancing Apple Display rather than just the monitor I already have (that works well as a monitor but has horrendous, tinny speakers).
Um… okay?
The first HomePod was overpriced and severely lacking in features. The mini made much more sense at its lower price.
This new HomePod changes very little hardware and even less on the software side. What was the point of bringing it back? Just to get a few suckers to pay for a decent sounding, feature-lacking speaker? Yeah. Sounds right.
I’d give them more credit if there were significant improvements on software.
The first HomePod was overpriced and severely lacking in features. The mini made much more sense at its lower price.
This new HomePod changes very little hardware and even less on the software side. What was the point of bringing it back? Just to get a few suckers to pay for a decent sounding, feature-lacking speaker? Yeah. Sounds right.
I’d give them more credit if there were significant improvements on software.
Yeah they really should have included a Toslink input. Bluetooth no matter how advanced is not always a good fit for every home environment.
This is one reason I still use the iPod Hifi.