I've heard the top of the HomePod is prone to scratches from spiders, so its probably for the best.
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Actually has an A8 in it, which even that is likely even more power than it really needs.
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Apple Drops HomePod Price to $299, Down From $349
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It's only been out for about a year, with limited Siri. I am expecting a major software update with iOS 13.
I bought my second HomePod 13 days ago. Just called Apple Online and they refunded the difference in the new cost. Service!
Woot has had refurb HomePods a couple of times. I ordered one from Woot and freaked when a trashed box arrived. The HomePod inside was pristine — go figure.
And more signs that people do not like anymore Apple's overpricing products anymore.
I guess Apple greedy pricing is not flying anymore.
A fair competitive price would be $190.00 NOT $299.00
Especially when Siri is horrendous.
Still way overpriced when you can get Alexa for $125.00-$149.00
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It was late to the party and way overpriced. In addition, Siri is terrible. So way pay for something that is more expensive that actually works worse?
I guess Apple greedy pricing is not flying anymore.
A fair competitive price would be $190.00 NOT $299.00
Especially when Siri is horrendous.
Still way overpriced when you can get Alexa for $125.00-$149.00
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It was late to the party and way overpriced. In addition, Siri is terrible. So way pay for something that is more expensive that actually works worse?
That would work IF connecting an external DAC/speaker combination to the 3.5 MM jack would cause rerouting the streaming signal to the jack rather than through the Echo's internal DAC. I don't think the Echo does that. That is actually what happens with the LG V40 - its 4 channel DAC is automatically activated if the phone detects wired speakers or headphones at the jack. If I use bluetooth rather than wired headphones/speakers, the high quality DAC isn't activated by the V40. The bluetooth sound produced is inferior to the wired DAC filtered sound. I've tested this with a stereo speaker bar I have with both bluetooth and wired interfaces, and there is a noticeable difference using the same speaker bar. If the Echo did this, then yes, one could do a price comparison as you specify. Since the Apple speaker doesn't have a 3.5 mm jack this is all a moot point in terms of comparison. If both the HomePod and Echo had the 3.5 MM jack and a means of rerouting the signal to an external DAC/speaker combination we'd be able to make a valid price comparison. The case right now, as I understand it:
The HomePod speaker / internal DAC system is superior to that of the Echo - to be expected given the price differences.
The Echo has a 3.5 MM jack which allows one to use a wired external speaker/headphone, but is still limited to the Echo's internal meh DAC for filtering.
Since the HomePod and current iOS devices no longer sport the 3.5 MM jack, they can't be compared to wired speaker connected devices.
I still have an iPhone 6S+, the last Apple phone with the jack. Its sound through the jack is not as good as the V40 sound, as its DAC is not as good. That really is the V20/30/40 claim to fame - superior audio.
Sorry if this was TMI.
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My Echo sits in the room where my desktop (iMac) is located. I only use it when I'm in this room doing computer stuff. I guess things would be different if I had Echos throughout the house. I use other speaker/device systems when elsewhere and unplug the Echo if I'm not using it. If I was having discussions where privacy was a concern I'd just unplug the smart speaker. In my setup that's really simple.
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My interest would be in comparing the HomePad to wired speaker systems. I've yet to hear of a bluetooth / wireless device which can compare to high quality wired DAC/speaker systems. I have no doubt that it's probably superior or equal to other comparably priced wireless speaker systems. I don't use my Echo/Alexa device very often for music, as I have other speaker systems for that. The Echo is convenient for wireless news and radio streaming, where I don't care so much about sound quality. It's "smart" function is convenient for asking for various radio stations and programs.
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Indeed. The Echo was not designed for audiophiles and high quality music production. I use mine for news and other talk oriented radio / streaming content. It is a common consensus that high end wired speaker/headphone systems are superior to bluetooth systems, largely due to the compression needed for bluetooth communication. You should google "best wireless speaker systems" to get some information for comparison to HomePods. I found a good Quora discussion of wired vs. wireless headphones. A lot of the technical issues are relevant to speakers in general:
https://www.quora.com/Is-there-a-di...his-Is-it-bandwidth-or-a-frequency-constraint
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I'm genuinely curious. Why would you need a pair of Homepods in the same room? It's an expensive solution if you're seeking more volume or a certain spatial effect.
Yep. If it's water proof.
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I have a surround sound setup in my living room. The Denon AV receiver has Bluetooth built in. I just say "Alexa, connect to speaker" and the receiver turns itself on and I'm streaming music over a 5.1 audio system. I think the receiver was $300 and the Polk Audio subwoofer was $150 and the surround speakers were $200. $40 for Alexa. Apple Music is now on Alexa, right? I need to set that up.
Agreed, but I already have Sonos and Alexa. Granted I'm in Canada so Apple Music is not yet available on Alexa, but fingers crossed it's coming.
The Homepod is not a single speaker. It's an array of speakers in an omnidirectional arrangement. Assumedly, if it were placed in the center of a room, it would sound the same regardless where you stand.
You can use siri shortcuts to be able to use voice actions to do that on ipad and iphone. Some shortcuts also work on homepod but I haven't tested this particular one. So it may indeed work. You'd have to connect spotify manually but then you can use voice for control.
And of course spotify could support it further by adding native shortcuts. You'd have to ask spotify why they're dragging their feet on that one.
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So, here is what needs to happen/I want to purchase for my home.
Smart assistant
Smart speaker
Smart mesh network
Smart smoke and gas detector
Smart interior home surveillance system aka motion detection.
Yes, those all exist.
But do they all exist in one package?
My 27 year old home has hard wired smoke detectors.
Imagine a product that does all the above and is installed using pre-existing wiring.
Fire alarms are placed around the home usually up high benefiting mesh networks, speakers, etc.
There are products that have some of those features but not all. Apple could easily partner with a couple of firms to make this happen. I would buy that product from Apple. Apple looking after privacy concerns, of course, would be a huge bonus.
Convergence Apple, show the courage.
Smart assistant
Smart speaker
Smart mesh network
Smart smoke and gas detector
Smart interior home surveillance system aka motion detection.
Yes, those all exist.
But do they all exist in one package?
My 27 year old home has hard wired smoke detectors.
Imagine a product that does all the above and is installed using pre-existing wiring.
Fire alarms are placed around the home usually up high benefiting mesh networks, speakers, etc.
There are products that have some of those features but not all. Apple could easily partner with a couple of firms to make this happen. I would buy that product from Apple. Apple looking after privacy concerns, of course, would be a huge bonus.
Convergence Apple, show the courage.
while not all of those are in one package some of those features do exist together in some packages.
My nest smoke alarm senses smoke/gas and motion and is hardwired.
Obviously smart assistants and speakers are already together.
I'm not a fan of mesh networks. I find access points with an ethernet backbone the best way to go. Specifically from unifi.
Combining things together is fine for one product but you don't always need many of the same product all throughout the home. Which makes more sense to have them separate. Making your smoke alarms also act as access points would be nice but i'd much rather be able to connect them via ethernet.
I paid $1000. Got the play 1’s used. Sonos beam and a pretty good discount on the sub through citi ez deals.
We will find out about their "greed" at the next earnings call. My guess, that statement will be proven false. Having said that the problem with the homepod is the lack of openess. Not the price. The speakers themselves sound great. And Siri is not "horrendous" as claimed in the post. Alexa is not worth it, at least to me.
You never speak in the computer room. Friends never enter it? You don’t use Skype or FaceTime? You don’t think aloud?
I think price does have a lot to do with it when the HomePod is more than triple the price of the Echo. I’ve got three myself and one thing is clear and Amazon are way ahead of Apple with voice recognition. I get far less issues than I do with Siri on my iPhone or Apple Watch. I think Apple were late to the market and the price just hasn’t worked due to being uncompetitive.
The Echo was one of the top selling Christmas presents of the last couple of years and I seriously doubt it would have been as popular if priced at £300-350.
The echo always sells out at Christmas and last year even the google home mini sold out. There is a market for the homepod but that's just not going to be as big as the echo/google home mini because of the price. Nobody as going to buy a homepod on impulse. I'm sure many buy echos on impulse. I bought my first echo as an impulse buy in 2017 to see what all the fuss was about. I now have a speaker in each room of my house (3 echos, 2 home minis and 2 homepods). I wouldn't buy a homepod for every room as they are too expensive.
I've gifted both an echo and google home mini for Christmas in different years.
It’s too little, too late for Apple. Lots of people have become invested in Amazon or Google’s systems. If it were Amazon that just released a $300 Echo similar to the HomePod, there would probably be a stampede to buy those as Echos and Alexa are so well accepted. Apple, unfortunately, will need to work much harder than Amazon and Google in this market.
Computational acoustics.
Yes you can. (But it’s kind of cheating, because HomePod uses 8 drivers and an 8-channel amplifier.)
Android users and pretty much everyone else says the same thing about Apple.