Apple Confirms HomePod Can Leave White Rings on Wood Surfaces With Oil or Wax Finishes [Updated]

[Mhanos]

"You don't respect wood"

 

[phillipduran]

And a market for Homepod coasters is born . . .
Oh and, "You're just placing it wrong."
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I don't think this is a big deal, but Apple should have known this before shipping the product and they should've included a disclaimer about it in the documentation. Surely they didn't think people would never sit a speaker on a wood surface that had oil or wax polish on it?

Come on. That's a use test failure that an amateur would make, but this is Apple.

This is Tim Cooks Apple. Things like this seem to be the norm under his reign.

 

[hybrid_x]

I'm actually kind of surprised they didn't use a cork base. Cork is a natural material, a renewable resource, and has similar acoustic dampening properties to silicone. It seems like a good match for a premium product like the HomePod.
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Joking aside, it's been mentioned that the HomePod needs to be in contact with the surface to get the best sound quality, so cloth mats or coasters might not be the answer.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-43064772

If this were truly the case, it would be designed with a rigid coupling to the surface, not using a sound dampening material like silicone.

 

[kemal]

Oil in silicone rubber? What are you talking about Apple! Real silicone rubber is almost as inert as ....... glass.

 

[AdamA9]

People who don't think this is a big deal obviously haven't spend thousands or possibly tens of thousands on new kitchens etc. only to have the surfaces ruined by this speaker.

 

[ChrisCW11]

The marks can improve by not throwing money at a company that systematically does not care about their customers anymore.

 

[oyabroch!]

It's a subtle marketing stunt; Apple loves making rings.

 

[AmazingRobie]

How thoughtful of Apple. Now if you move your HomePod, you'll remember exactly where to set it back. Congratulations again, on giving consumers something in which they never knew they wanted or needed. Jobs would be proud.

*Update*
Apple is now bundling the HomePod with a special iTunes download of the 'Ring' trilogy in standard definition, with the option of an HD upgrade for only an additional $29.

 

[oyabroch!]

Based on Apple's recent track record of releasing mediocre products, it may be warranted. Mark my words, unless there is a major shakeup in management and talent, Apple will begin to decline to Sony levels in 5 to 7 years. Remember how hot and untouchable Sony was back in the day? Then they started releasing crap products with little innovation and poor quality control, just like Apple is starting to do. Just you wait.

Who are you, that we should sit up and listen, and that your words should be "marked"?

 

[douglasf13]

People who don't think this is a big deal obviously haven't spend thousands or possibly tens of thousands on new kitchens etc. only to have the surfaces ruined by this speaker.

It takes a $2 cork trivet from Ikea to fix it. I have all marble counter tops, so I already use these things all the time for just about anything I set down.

 

[macduke]

"You're placing it wrong!"

- Ghost in the Turtleneck

 

[spacemnspiff]

He's fairly right, is he not? Apple is clearly past their peak. All the giants have their time in the spotlight, then something else takes over. We've already seen Apple completely dethroned in "pro" computers.

An Apple related forum is exactly the place to complain. What benefit would complaints be on a competitor's discussion platform? At least here, maybe a group voice can be heard by someone in that company.

I don't know if you caught the sarcasm in my post, if you didn't, I suggest you reread it. This sentiment that I was responding to is reiterated again and again after every Apple product is released, which goes off at a tangent and ends up with Apple being doomed, and that is without showing any correlation to that conclusion, which makes it such sound infantile and uneducated.

Let me dissect the post to clarify my position, the poster commented on Homepod's being able to stain a particular surface. The poster is conflating Homepod's minor issue to Apple's downfall. I making a point about how this sounds pedantic.

Speaker innovation could have flattened and smartphone innovation definitely has flattened, just a PC innovation did a decade or so ago. But that says nothing about Apple itself, just before the smartphone's breakthrough, no one predicted the smartphone's rise like Apple did and as such, Apple, it's customers and the industry benefited from it. Since smartphone and its accessories such as the Homepod have hit a plateau, the future breakthrough product that can continue the Apple momentum is unknown at this point just like smartphones breakthrough wasn't known a decade ago. To predict Apple's downfall without knowing what Apple's potentially breakthrough products in the future are and conflating Apple's success on a Homepod stain is just plain preposterous.

Maybe I am nudging the poster to have an more nuanced view on their position, but what I don't know is if that is too high of an expectation in this forum.

 

[ackmondual]

Holding it wrong? Playing it wrong? iCoaster?

That, or we can expect the Apple table to come out shortly that guarantees NO marks from the Homepod. Other speakers though, all bets are off.

 

[jazz1]

snip

Article Link: Apple Confirms HomePod Can Leave White Rings on Wood Surfaces With Oil or Wax Finishes [Updated][/QUOTE]

I've already patented the HomePod Drone. Though it is a little noisy, but it won't harm your furniture, unless it crashes into it

 

[Michael Goff]

https://amp.tomsguide.com/us/sonos-one-damages-wood,news-26628.html?__twitter_impression=true

Turns out Apple isn’t the only one that doesn’t respect wood.

 

[ViDeOmAnCiNi]

Need to drop one of these under it: http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/kltk/

LOL

 

[brucebrendon]

Missed branding opportunity – not having that silicon base Apple shaped

 

[ignatius345]

iRing or, Apple Ring. next product from apple: a $49 silicone mat for HomePod which can also be used with other destructive-to-wood objects, like hot cookware

Upgade to milled aluminum for $99.

 

[AdamA9]

It takes a $2 cork trivet from Ikea to fix it. I have all marble counter tops, so I already use these things all the time for just about anything I set down.

How does that fix it? By covering up the marks after they've been made?

 

[DevNull0]

So you think they tested setting it on every single surface known to man to make sure it wasn't going to be an issue? Come on. Oiled wood isn't the most common, especially in the living room and bedroom where most HomePod devices will be set. You can't honestly expect any company to test ever single variable in every situation. Hell, people with oiled wood know that when you set anything on it, it will leave a mark. Those that don't know that are a small minority and it's going to happen no matter what's set on it. In this case a stupid few are complaining about something that has nothing to do with Apple at all. "When I set anything on it, this happens. How dare Apple!"

Oh, I see. So unless every product is tested on every possible surface it's impossible to predict what will happen?

There's a huge field of materials sciences that allows a competent engineer to know what materials their products will react with. Engineering is an amazing field and so well standardized that things like this simply should not happern or more realistically should happen in a way that can easily be predicted and accounted for.

Anyway, how many different forums did you post that one too? Why are you so personally offended about this issue that it's a personal crusade.

These rings are probably not really a big deal, but why is your mission in life to defend Apple from any minor perceived criticism no matter how warranted?

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Oh, I see. So unless every product is tested on every possible surface it's impossible to predict what will happen?

There's a huge field of materials sciences that allows a competent engineer to know what materials their products will react with. Engineering is an amazing field and so well standardized that things like this simply should not happern or more realistically should happen in a way that can easily be predicted and accounted for.

Anyway, how many different forums did you post that one too? Why are you so personally offended about this issue that it's a personal crusade.

These rings are probably not really a big deal, but why is your mission in life to defend Apple from any minor perceived criticism no matter how warranted?

You make it incredibly clear you aren't an engineer nor do you understand material science.

 

[douglasf13]

How does that fix it? By covering up the marks after they've been made?

Fixing an oiled wood counter top isn't that big of a deal. If you have wood kitchen counter tops, you've likely already dealt with it. In my case, simply setting down a glass of water for too long on my marble counter tops can etch them, so I already use trivets and coasters all the time.

 

[gijoeinla]

This is an apple forum, how about you going to a sony forum for sonos problems instead of expecting someone to spoon feed you something that is not about an apple product.

Wait... here’s somebody POINTING out that this is not exclusive to Apple and now they are being shown the door by proving in their experience this “ring” is endemic of these “smart speakers”.

Let his comment stand.
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You can fix this problem with a coaster. But you can’t fix the AirPlay issue at all, and that’s the bigger issue to me.

Question... what Airplay issue? It’s workimg from my iPhone, iPad Pro, Mac Mini, Apple TV, Mac Pro, etc. only thing I’m not sure about at this moment is from my Apple Watch 3

 

[25ghosts]

Is anyone surprised ? Apple QA is utterly malfunctioning across the board.

 

[Michael Goff]

Wait... here’s somebody POINTING out that this is not exclusive to Apple and now they are being shown the door by proving in their experience this “ring” is endemic of these “smart speakers”.

Let his comment stand.
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Question... what Airplay issue? It’s workimg from my iPhone, iPad Pro, Mac Mini, Apple TV, Mac Pro, etc. only thing I’m not sure about at this moment is from my Apple Watch 3

I’ve had a lot of drops when watching movies on my iPad Pro and the audio becomes de-synced if you put the iPad to sleep and then wake it up later. It also just drops completely if you leave it paused too long in the middle of a movie.