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 Developing New 'HomePod' Models With Screens and Cameras
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Yeah, u forgot about the MBA having a magsafe connector, so with the M1 you're losing 2 ports & a card reader.
Ok so 12 dongles instead of 15. Or if you really needed that many, you’d just get a dock. Most people don’t need the full complement of ports, and if somebody is willing to buy a PC laptop just for the ports? Well, I’d rather get a dock for when I need it as opposed to switching to an inferior laptop with an inferior OS from my perspective.
But if one claims they need 15 dongles for the new MBA but they have the older MBA, they must already have lots of dongles if they really have so many items to plug into their laptop.
I wish I had a nickel for every time somebody tossed this old trope onto the MR forums…..
Good move if true. I like my Alexa Show5 in the bedroom. No need to talk to see time at two am. Keeps wife happy. The most important thing.
You're right, I don't need 15 dongles, just the same as is on my 2012 MBP will do fine, incl. the Ethernet. I shouldn't have to cart about a dock just to make the laptop portable. & I will never be willing to buy a PC for ports or otherwise!
So you have no response to the study I quoted? Or the numerous other ones on the web? They are all pretty consistent. Alexa is usually last in accuracy, Google the most accurate, and Siri the most competent in overall functions.
I just hope they release another product with the same audio capabilities as the big HomePod. I have four HPs and three HP minis, and the audio quality in the minis - while decent, is still not a third as good as the big one.
Before Apple puts any energy into this product, they first need to learn how to put a decent camera in their laptops.
It will never be as good as the big one. You need to move a lot of air with the speakers for it to sound good. A small speaker simply (physically) can't do that.
That's why I specifically said "a third", not just because of size, but also price.
So, it will not only listen to you the whole time, it will watch you too.
In a report today focused on an unactivated temperature/humidity sensor in the HomePod mini, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman briefly mentioned that Apple has "been developing new speakers with screens and cameras."
This reporting suggests that Apple could be at least exploring the idea of new HomePod models with a display and camera to compete with the likes of Google's Nest Hub Max, Amazon's Echo Show, and Facebook's Portal, but Gurman cautions that "a launch isn't imminent," so there is no guarantee that Apple will release such a product.
Google's Nest Hub Max, for example, is equipped with a 10-inch touchscreen that can also be controlled by voice with Google Assistant. The Nest Hub Max allows users to view daily info like the weather and calendar appointments, stream video from Netflix and other sources with built-in Chromecast, play music through the stereo speaker system, make video calls using the built-in 6.5-megapixel camera, control smart home accessories, and more.
The Nest Hub Max also functions as a "smart digital picture frame" for photo albums, and it can display a live video feed from Nest cameras and video doorbells, making it suitable for a kitchen countertop or bedside table.
Apple's camera-equipped HomePod would presumably offer similar functionality like FaceTime video calling and HomeKit integration if it ever comes to market.
Earlier this month, Apple announced that it is discontinuing the full-size HomePod and shifting its focus to the HomePod mini. Gurman said that Apple still lacks a "unifying strategy" for the smart home market, with some people within the company apparently blaming the lack of progress on Siri's shortcomings compared to Google Assistant and Alexa. Whether new HomePod models with screens and cameras come to fruition remains to be seen.
Article Link: Apple Developing New 'HomePod' Models With Screens and Cameras
What could possibly go wrong?
No thanks.
"People couldn't type, they couldn't use the keyboard, and we realised...death will soon take care of that"
That is annoying. So it is an iPhone assistant crippled by not being adapted to work in a speaker.
"Our Homepods aren't selling because we priced them too high.
So we shall create a new HomePod, twice as much."
So we shall create a new HomePod, twice as much."
It would really help get HomeKit up to speed, but I can't help but feel like Apple is just too late to the game on this whole thing? Our family was all-in on Apple devices, so I tried to use HomeKit for the home automation. The whole thing was pretty miserable. Lots of issues with devices dropping off of the Home app so you couldn't control them anymore, and some problems where my iPhone or iPad would show everything but my wife's wouldn't properly mirror the whole collection at all times.
The cost was another factor, since anything that worked reliably w/HomeKit cost a lot more than options for Amazon or Google. (I know the Apple diehards insist that extra cost is worth it because it has more security... But I can't really accept that answer when the cost differences are so great. When all you want to do is control a lamp, you'd rather just pay $10 for something that works great w/Alexa than pay $60 for something like a Lutron, just so HomeKit will behave with it. If some random hacker gets control of my lamp? It's not the end of the world, for starters... and I'll deal with that if it happens. The extra cost for HomeKit's encrypted communications just doesn't have a big payoff for me for the scenario.)
In my new home, I dumped HomeKit and I'm focused on Amazon Alexa compatible automation this time around. I've had better results at a lower cost, and more functionality too. (I can just tell Alexa I'm leaving and it goes into "sentry mode" where it listens for sounds like breaking glass or a loud crash, or smoke alarm going off, and immediately alerts me. I can ask it to inform me about weather alerts, and it becomes a substitute "weather radio" for severe weather warnings. All kinds of other things Siri just doesn't seem to do.)
The sound quality is incredible and AirPlay works great for every single scenario I need. Plus, I used a stereo pair for my Apple TV audio and they couldn't sound better. Hardly use Siri with them if I'm being honest, so they are definitely more than just a "siri interface".