Again. Forced upgrades. One hardware improvement per year. Gotta force that revenue somehow. They did the same thing with MBP 2021 with the HDMI 2.0 while 2.1 was common.
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Apple Announces New HomePod for $299 With Full-Size Design, S7 Chip, and More
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Too bad. I was hoping for a full size HomePod with integrated Apple TV, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac Pro, with a minimum of an M2 processor, Atmos support, stereo pairing with all other HomePod models, Bluetooth connectivity, and for it to cost no more than $10-$15. I guess I'm passing on this one until all of these features are met and Siri is "fixed" to the point of being able to read my mind so it can answer all my questions and requests before I even ask. Come on Apple, you're company is a mess right now, and it better get fixed soon, or else everyone is going to stop using your products.
I said WiFi 6, not WiFi 6E. Both models support both 2.4 and 5ghz, but WiFi 6 is the first time they improved the 2.4ghz range in a few generations. I am specifically looking for improvements in the 2.4ghz range.
When apple went out of their way to announce they were discontinuing homepod, many moved to Sonos. Does Apple really expect those people to come back running?
I loved my OG HomePods but as far as home audio is concerned, I no longer trust Apple. Won’t be buying this.
Apple opened up HomePod to support third party music services almost two years ago. Pandora and iHeartRadio have native HomePod support without streaming from another device. Spotify, SiriusXM, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music haven't bothered adding support yet. That's not an Apple problem, that's entirely on the service providers, they can add HomePod support at any point in time.
For all those that are saying that it should be cheaper, I’d wager you’re comparing it to Google or Amazon speakers. I’d just say that, both of those sell speakers as an add on to the data collection part of their business. It’s come out that Amazon basically sells Echo products at break even or a loss. That is probably true for Google as well. That’s not sustainable. A lot of tech is like that. Roku is notorious for collecting data without users really knowing. I do think that a stereo pair of the new ones should have a bundled discount, but Apple doesn’t really do that sort of stuff. Maybe retailers will have some room to do some discounting like they do with the minis.
As a side note - used OG HomePods we’re selling for $200-$300 AFTER it got discontinued.
This product might not be for everyone. It’s ok. I love my OG HomePods, quirks and all. I have a handful of minis as well. Not replacing anything for the time being, but might replace the OG ones after I see some reviews.
As a side note - used OG HomePods we’re selling for $200-$300 AFTER it got discontinued.
This product might not be for everyone. It’s ok. I love my OG HomePods, quirks and all. I have a handful of minis as well. Not replacing anything for the time being, but might replace the OG ones after I see some reviews.
Be careful, Apple might come after you to find out where your source is! lol
They've increase the price from £89 to £99 for the HomePod Mini.
Apple are losing their minds.
I have 3 large HomePods at home. Two of them used as a stereo pair, with Apple TV they work as Dolby Atmos TV speakers, also "play TV audio" is enabled which is a great feature. My PS5 audio plays on HomePods. Sometimes there is a lag when the speakers kick on (I think caused by Apple TV getting on from the standby mode). They sound great and I don't see the reason to upgrade anytime soon. What's strange is they haven't added any port for restoring it as you could do with the mini one. In the past I had a homepod pair only - one of the speakers become unresponsive- literally dead (despite being on). I couldn't reset / restart it. Took it to Apple Genius - he inspected it, followed all troubleshooting and classified it as dead. So i nearly recycled it and bought another one (FB marketplace). Believe it or not - after a few weeks when placing my iPad next to the dead homepod, it has shown up as a new device, allowed to be configured and it works from that time. Simply, the fact that there is no way of restoring it different way that Wi-Fi is a bummer. I thought, that the lack of ports was the reason why the first one got discontinued. Adding port would save them Genius Bar appointments. But knowing Apple there must be a logic behind it. Maybe upselling Apple Care? Who knows. Definitely it's good to see it back.
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They did fix it! The fix costs $299! lol
Sound is a very personal experience. One thing that sounds fantastic to you, may sound less so to me (or vice versa). The HomePod (first gen) is the best sounding smart speaker to me, but I have no problems believing you (or anyone) could feel otherwise. Your opinion shouldn't be considered popular or unpopular, it is yours based on your experience, so it is truth for you
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I mean, there wasn’t much to change about the previous Homepod, both design-wise and when it comes to specs. The new version is cheaper and apparently sounds better and that’s pretty much all the average customer will care about with a product like this.
Is anyone able to tell me if I can actually use it with my TV now as a very basic bluetooth speaker?I have Sky and I don't want to have to pay extra for NowTV just so I can watch on the AppleTV to be able to use the speaker for audio. Surely the biggest mistake for any such speaker? BLUETOOTH!
Forgot to mention I have 3 of the OG HomePods and this basic feature is missing and I'm hoping it will be in the new version.
Forgot to mention I have 3 of the OG HomePods and this basic feature is missing and I'm hoping it will be in the new version.
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You literally have no idea how it sounds. Fewer tweeters doesn’t mean that it will actually sound better or worse. The actual tweeter matters. Just like core counts don’t actually determine how good a processor is. There’s more to the equation.
Disappointing announcement, the HomePod is still too expensive at this 299$ price point. They even cheaped out on tweeters, and the design is pratically the same. Adding Thread and Matter is a nice addition, but not enough to replace my pair of OG Homepods
I’m glad they are committed to their Homepod lineup and bring back the bigger one, but I feel they could have done a better pricing strategy for a product this similar to the first gen, as they did with Apple TV and Mac mini
I’m glad they are committed to their Homepod lineup and bring back the bigger one, but I feel they could have done a better pricing strategy for a product this similar to the first gen, as they did with Apple TV and Mac mini
I guess it’ll be as wildly successful as the first time they released it, good job nobody can remember back that far.
What’s next? A communicationless iPhone we’re calling “iPod”
What’s next? A communicationless iPhone we’re calling “iPod”
The design is slightly different. It has a recessed touch surface compared to the original (I guess to match the HomePod mini's design language more).
At the risk of sounding like a fanboi, that is true of any gadget manufacturer. I've jumped around from one company to another for my 1st world comforts, and ultimately have settled on apple's walled garden as they at least seem the most reliable at releasing updates where applicable to their 2, 3, even 4-year-old devices. Sure they don't have all the same features since newer features will be built on technology that didn't exist or wasn't cost-effective. I'm a customer that no longer needs the latest and greatest and will typically purchase new old stock or a refurbed model to save some money at the expense of not having all the newest bells and whistles. Apple didn't have to enable sleep tracking on their watches older than series 5 (I think that was the newest one at the time anyway), but they did so (I had the series 2 at the time).
Now, does that mean they shouldn't add industry standards like aux ports to relevant hardware? No. If it's a speaker, it should have an aux port. I don't have any apple-made speakers (heck, I don't even have a fancy tv, lol, just a little 22" insignia). If I had the time, money and room, I'd build out an old school multimedia room with a receiver/amplifier, 8.1 surround and nice wood floor speakers. It'd be way overkill for what my degrading senses could appreciate but I'd have the serotonin release as a reward for a vinyl Pink Floyd listening session
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Those who went Sonos have great sounding speakers from a company focused on nothing but speakers. Their speakers are broadly compatible with just about everything, including being pretty strong within the walled garden too. Their "smarts" are flexible, meaning you can choose the other two generally considered smarter than Siri as well as Sonos' own option thoroughly focused on using speakers. Airplay 2 works just as well with Sonos.
Those who want mono, have it. Those who want stereo, have it. Those wanting full 5.1 surround sound compatibility can have that too. Those wanting a dedicated sub can pair one or two right in. Etc. Sonos has long since ALREADY worked out the variety of speaker setups consumers desire- be that one portable speaker mono to loaded surround sound setups. All of their stuff "just works" and is not heavily limited to mostly offerings from Sonos. Instead, if one loves Apple Music, use it. Spotify? use it. Pandora? Audible? Calm? iHeart Radio? Plex? Stingray? Soundcloud? Sirius? Tidal? TuneIn? YouTube? and many more... none hard pushed more than the others.
What Sonos lacks is Siri. So if Siri is the main draw, Apple people can use Siri on their iDevices or AppleTV to flow sound to their Sonos setups. Think of this as separating HP "smarts(?)" from the HP... with Sonos speakers standing in for the "dumb" portion of the speaker.
All that leaves is the logo. If that's the draw, dig out some Apple stickers and stick them to the Sonos speakers. Most people won't know if you don't tell them- and nearly all won't care.
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