Of course that’s what I meant.....
But also the crux of that comment was the portion you left out...
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Confirms HomePod's Supported Audio Sources in Tech Specs
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
But also the crux of that comment was the portion you left out...
Yah, I'm going to drop a big wad of money on these speakers just so I have to use Airplay on my iPhone or iPad to stream music to it. Seems a little backwards, no? Why can't I tell it, "Hey HomePod, play my favorite songs on Spotify." You mean I can't do even that? I have to pull out my iPhone, open the Spotify app, and then use Airplay to stream that music to a speaker that should just do it by voice command. Apple is rotting.
Keep it up, Apple. You're pushing me further towards Google and Amazon every day.
Keep it up, Apple. You're pushing me further towards Google and Amazon every day.
bluetooth sucks from a UX perspective:
-pairing via bluetooth sucks
-other devices trying to pair while one is already paired sucks (probably need to add a “pairing” button on the device)
-what happens when one device comes into range and autopairs but you already have homepod playing from apple music directly?
-what happens if you have two homepods linked together as a stereo pair? do you pair bluetooth on one? on both? what if you switch devices?
-what if you want all devices to stop connecting automatically?
-having a bluetooth device stop playing in one room and to have it start playing in another room isnt easy
-cant play music in multiple rooms from one device
-what if one device is already playing over airplay? does bluetooth get priority?
-what if device rings? some devices prioritize phone calls bluetooth instead of on device.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
You sir need to visit AirPods threads or step back to when we were collectively rationalizing the jettison of the headphone jack in support of Bluetooth. Overwhelmingly we argued that it is "the future."
Oh and back then, all consumers were to be happy with inferior audio via bluetooth because it is "good enough." Now, barely a couple years later, we all have to step up toward the audiophiles end, even if the primary source of the audio will be exactly the same files.
Oh and back then, all consumers were to be happy with inferior audio via bluetooth because it is "good enough." Now, barely a couple years later, we all have to step up toward the audiophiles end, even if the primary source of the audio will be exactly the same files.
Alternative phrasing: "I want my music to sound terrible and I want to make sure the artists barely make any money for their work."
I could only make it through the first 6 pages of this thread before I gave in. I apologize if this question was addressed in pages 7 to 13.
I'm interested in how the HomePod works with a Mac via Airplay. I guess in the basic sense, I would initiate music on the Mac and Airplay it to the HomePod. I am curious as to whether I could initiate Airplay via the HomePod.
For instance, if my Mac/iTunes Library is powered on and connected to the same wifi as the HomePod, could I say something like "Hey Siri, play Led Zeppelin" and the HomePod would stream the music right off of my Mac?
That's kinda like how Home Sharing would work, but Home Sharing isn't stated as a feature. So maybe (hoping) that Airplay can incorporate some of the features of Home Sharing.
I'm interested in how the HomePod works with a Mac via Airplay. I guess in the basic sense, I would initiate music on the Mac and Airplay it to the HomePod. I am curious as to whether I could initiate Airplay via the HomePod.
For instance, if my Mac/iTunes Library is powered on and connected to the same wifi as the HomePod, could I say something like "Hey Siri, play Led Zeppelin" and the HomePod would stream the music right off of my Mac?
That's kinda like how Home Sharing would work, but Home Sharing isn't stated as a feature. So maybe (hoping) that Airplay can incorporate some of the features of Home Sharing.
Pandora is REALLY GOOD at this, quite possibly the best.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Very likely NO! Apparently the only (direct, not airplay) way to ask Siri to play that Led Zeppelin song is via AM or if you have a Match subscription and have matched your Led. Then, apparently, it still is not playing the copy on your hard drive but the Matched copy from Apple's servers. This may or may not matter to you. If you've ripped your Led at- say- lossless but then Matched it, HP is very likely playing the 256kbps version on Apple's servers, not your copy. Of course, 10 guys might leap in to say our ears can't hear the difference (apparently Apple just created the Lossless format for nothing) so be your own judge if that matters to you.
If you do believe that lossless > 256kbps AAC, the option is there to airplay it and that will be playing the copy from your hard drive. In this scenario, you take over as the "smarts" though- no Siri control.
Maybe in the future. Conceptually, Apple could update the software to embrace home sharing to make it work like that. Then again, us
TV people have been waiting for Siri to "see" our ripped video content in iTunes for years and it still can't "see" it. So I wouldn't hold my breath.
Last edited:
Sounds like you were lied to by someone on Twitter. Someone who didn't know the real reason so they just made up something that they thought sounded plausible.
How far the wall should be to take advantage of the reflection? Does that mean, we need to keep HomePod in a corner? Can I put it in the middle against a wall where the side walls are separated by 20ft?
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
I'm going to guess for this one and say (others will say) ANY walls & any positioning. Thus, I fully expect my local IMAX theater to yank all of their speakers from all of their walls and just stick one of these down front under the big screen. Apparently, the audio experience will be just the same- if not better. 
Jokes aside: apparently, a key (differentiating) feature of HP is the ability to put it anywhere and it does some kind of optimization process to make it sound as good as it can from that spot. So if it's close to a wall on one side, the audio from that side is going to "know" and be adjusted accordingly. Assuming that works well, that's a GREAT HP feature.
Now, some of us are taking that concept and running with it to imply it's going to shoot Left channel sound to the left and Right channel sound to the right and thus it's stereo, or even more than stereo. Of course, HP doesn't know where it's audience is sitting. So if I'm sitting over by the "left" wall, I'm getting BEAMED by left channel sound while right channel sound is shooting away from me. But that doesn't support the narrative, so it WILL know where it's audience is sitting, not just how close it is to walls.
Jokes aside: apparently, a key (differentiating) feature of HP is the ability to put it anywhere and it does some kind of optimization process to make it sound as good as it can from that spot. So if it's close to a wall on one side, the audio from that side is going to "know" and be adjusted accordingly. Assuming that works well, that's a GREAT HP feature.
Now, some of us are taking that concept and running with it to imply it's going to shoot Left channel sound to the left and Right channel sound to the right and thus it's stereo, or even more than stereo. Of course, HP doesn't know where it's audience is sitting. So if I'm sitting over by the "left" wall, I'm getting BEAMED by left channel sound while right channel sound is shooting away from me. But that doesn't support the narrative, so it WILL know where it's audience is sitting, not just how close it is to walls.
Last edited:
Not calling you out - I truly don't know - but is this confirmed? Does it only work with Apple Music, or does it work if you are streaming Spotify from your iPhone? I've never tried AirPlaying Spotify to my Apple TV and receiving a call to see if music stops playing.
If the music does continue to play, this will be fantastic.
I never understand peoples problems with Apple Music. I have many "radio" stations in Apple Music based off of some of my favorite artists from many different genres and it never fails to play music back that is very similar to the original artist the station is based on. It's one of the primary ways I've discovered some artists I've never heard of or listened to before. To each his own I guess but I have had no problems with Apple Music and think its awesome.
So you want me to use AirPlay and control everything with my phone? Ill stick with just saying ‘elexa play Chanel xxx on Sirius xm’
Maybe if Spotify forks over some of those ripped off royalties to Apple they could add that service. Why should Apple make hardware for competing services at zero cost? What’s in it for them again?
If you want to get into subscription streaming again, give Spotify a shot. I hated (and still hate) Apple Music for the very same reason you stated, and it is why I love Spotify so much. Spotify is great at this.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Happier customers, enjoying more utility out of the hardware they pay up for?
to make the product attractive to more consumers so they might buy the product?
At $300 the speaker is a bonus to those in the ecosystem not a device to grow Spotify? Apple is a business.
I agree with the original poster. I moved from Bluetooth to Sonos for this very reason. When peoples phones are blowing up with texts or calls, it is really annoying.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
And yet, Apple allows us to play stuff like Spotify on the cash cow, it's bigger-screen sisters and on any of our Macs. They "let" me listen to Pandora on my
TV all the time. Perhaps the business is only shrewd with this ONE product?
The fact is that these new home speaker products are all about voice control.
There's no technical limitation whatsoever to allowing voice control of Spotify or Pandora, as Alexa does these things just fine, the only reason the Homepod will only do Apple Music is Apple's lock-in.
Apple wins, consumer loses. I've been an Apple user since my Mac Plus, but this is really getting stupid now.
There's no technical limitation whatsoever to allowing voice control of Spotify or Pandora, as Alexa does these things just fine, the only reason the Homepod will only do Apple Music is Apple's lock-in.
Apple wins, consumer loses. I've been an Apple user since my Mac Plus, but this is really getting stupid now.
I really don’t get the desire of some to shoehorn this thing into being a “home theater”. The ATV exists for a reason. Aside from the fact that $700 is overpriced for a 2.0 setup of this quality, there’s no way to expand the setup to surround sound. You can also only stream audio from an ATV or other Apple device. Cable/sat feed? Nope. Gaming console? Nope. Back to the crap TV speakers for all your other sources with a HomePod as a “home theater”.