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

[WestonHarvey1]

Quick! Call everyone who put these on their wood surfaces idiots and morons for not knowing something SO obvious!

Silicone on danish oil, people! Common sense!

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

Apple should give every HomePod customer a free bumper-coaster!

 

[neutralguy]

Time for HomePod 2!!!!

 

[RogerWilco]

And now we know where the inspiration for the spaceship campus came from.

Or this:
http://dilbert.com/strip/1996-06-11

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I guess Jony never waxes his furniture, he just has it replaced weekly.

Home? What makes you think he has a home? He's too busy jetting to London to design Christmas trees and the such.

Honestly though. This is just Apple's attention to detail. It's quite revolutionary. No other speaker makes perfect rings in your furniture so the maid knows exactly where to place them after dusting the table. Nothing more frustrating than having the maid put your speaker back 2 degrees to the left of where you originally placed it. Just kills the feng shui.

 

[NMBob]

Timmy wanted squares, but Jony overrode him.

 

[yeah]

This advertisement was in the comments... I guess this is going to ramp up sales of furniture polish.

 

[MrGimper]

And now we know where the inspiration for the spaceship campus came from.

You say this..... Basingstoke, my home town for many years, has the most roundabouts in the UK. Rumour was that they had the map laid out on a table when they were planning the town, and people kept putting their tea/coffee cups down on it. The construction companies thought the cup rings were supposed to be roundabouts.

 

[MacFan23]

Quickly ADF- redirection time. I'll get it started...

But look at the perfection of that circle. Nobody does a circle like Apple. They may not be first, but...

I actually want circles on my furniture.

I think my furniture looks better with the circle.

Buy an HP and get a furniture tattoo for free.

It's clearly the furniture's fault.

Who buys wood furniture anymore anyway? What is this? the 1800s?

That's what you get for buying cheap wooden furniture.

Can I brand myself with an Apple circle if I lay down and set an HP on me for a few days?

All But the actual ADF responses are going to be entertaining for this one.

I enjoy the idea that you think you live in a world where people like this exist.

 

[naturalstar]

After laughing to tears, I have sobered up enough to determine that these “-gates” are built into the products at time of design. There’s just no way.... excuse me while I laugh some more....

Oh, Apple.

 

[bruinsrme]

Next up: Some HomePod users were unaware their electric consumption would increase after integrating HomePod into their homes.

 

[RecentlyConverted]

Apple is ruining your wood, boycott

It doesn’t matter, he doesn’t play cricket any more! ( Sorry poor cricket joke).

 

[neutralguy]

Apple should give every HomePod customer a free bumper-coaster!

They should give out free Mr. Clean!

 

[Freida]

What surprises me here is how many people are apologizing Apple. If I was to buy a product that is meant to be used at home I wouldn't like to have marks all over my wood furniture. That to me sounds like a bad material on the bottom of the Homepod.
Unless it comes with a warning then most people will not expect that it only "works" with certain materials.
And you can't argue that its "specific cases" as a lot of people have wooden furniture and will hope to put it on those pieces.
So how can so many people here think that its ok is beyond.
For me it is a non issue as I don't have wooden furniture at home so I don't really mind but I'm glad that I know about this now and I do think this is a problem. Its not a major one but it is a problem nevertheless.
Anyway, will wait this one out to see how it turns out

 

[Shearwater]

Hot of the Press...Apple are to release a “ Bottom Bumper” case for the HomePod to prevent damage to wood and other surfaces. At a cost of £89.95 in the UK and $32 dollars in the US long waits are expected!!

 

[Mac 128]

And now we know where the inspiration for the spaceship campus came from.

You know ... for Apple:

 

[Gasu E.]

Pretty sure they knew especially when Apple themselves have wooden furniture at their retail stores. I wonder how they compensated for this flaw.

Undoubtedly, they would not have a oil or wax finish on their commerical-grade display tables. These finishes will show marks under heavy duty use. The plus side is that they are easy to fix, by just adding the same oil or wax used in the finish.
[doublepost=1518633563][/doublepost]

Pretty sure they knew especially when Apple themselves have wooden furniture at their retail stores. I wonder how they compensated for this flaw.

By not having an oil or wax finish.

 

[Freida]

OH DAMN!

You are totally missing the point here. Our mum taught us to use things under glasses when used on wooden furniture. That is not the case with other things. If you leave a book on that surface it won't leave a mark. Same for other items. So, Homepod doesn't strike people like that kind of product that needs something underneath it and that is the whole issue here. So your picture is a miss and I'm sure you know that by now.

 

[djlythium]

#RingGate

 

[RogerWilco]

Undoubtedly, they would not have a oil or wax finish on their commerical-grade display tables. These finishes will show marks under heavy duty use. The plus side is that they are easy to fix, by just adding the same oil or wax used in the finish.

Would you feel the same nonchalance if someone carelessly rubbed a mark on the paint of your parked vehicle and then told you it can be polished out with a bit of wax and effort on your part?

 

[BWhaler]

"try cleaning the surface with the manufacturer's suggested oiling method”

...is the new…

“you’re holding it wrong.”



It seems like Apple is missing a lot of obvious stuff of late. It’s normally in software with obvious bugs and design flaws, but hardware is starting to show the same problems with this and the terrible new keyboards on laptops, the pro laptop/dongle craziness, etc.

I love Apple and its products. I’m worried about its future. If they don’t stay amazing and innovating ahread of everyone else, "good enough and cheaper" will win. It almost drove Apple out of business before.

 

[cmwade77]

This is not unique to HomePod... many, if not most, synthetic rubber bases like this will cause issues with certain oils used to protect wooden furniture.

My advice would be to use something else to protect your furniture, if you want to rest devices which have silicone bases directly on the table.

Or, like mom always said, "Use a coaster!" A disk made of thin cork or felt small enough to cover the silicone, but still be unobtrusive, would prevent the marking.

Yet we haven't seen these reports with Google Home or the Echo devices, so no, I don't think that is a good option, this should have been tested properly.

 

[TheShadowKnows!]

Here is Ive's design studio official reaction on the HomePod snafu:
"Unapologetic silicone!"

 

[Rogifan]

Oil or wax may not be naturally occurring in the wood itself, but is a common way of cleaning, protecting, and polishing natural wood surfaces. What isn't clear is if the white ring from the reaction between the HomePod base and the oil eventually causes a permanent change in the underlying wood. Apple's statement implies all you have to do is clean your wood furniture normally and the ring will go away with no lasting effects, and if so then this is a non-issue.

Ah but it it is an issue because it’s Apple. And anything about Apple drives clicks. I guarantee you the anti-Apple crowd in my Twitter feed will be aghast that this ever made it out the door and it would never have happened under Steve Jobs.

 

[tshort]

I had this happen to a nightstand with one of those "white" erasers; it ate right through the finish.