Apple Now Selling Sonos One SL Wireless Speaker, AirPods Pro Cases

[roar08]

What a neat product!

It really is incredible. I'd planned on expanding it with a sub and two Sonos One speakers but honestly the bass is so great with the Playbase, the sub would be overkill for our taste so just looking to get the two Ones now that I know how good it is firsthand.
[automerge]1577489533[/automerge]

I’ll never buy another smart home product that requires a hub again lol.

Agreed: would never do anything with a hub. To that point, I only recently got into "smart home" products. Now I have my sprinklers, a few speakers, front and back lighting (Christmas lights too), and a few other things set up via HomeKit. It's a lot more useful than I'd anticipated. I really like tech, but just didn't "get it" I guess. I do now for sure. Installing a direct drive, HomeKit enabled garage door motor next, only because it includes a form of secure deadbolt. I don't see a "smart" door lock in our future ...

 

[Shanghaichica]

Of the many gripes I see about the Homepod in threads, the limitation of only being able to stream Apple Music is one of the biggest. People want the freedom to stream from their preferred music source. I get it, but being someone who only listens to my iTunes library on my Homepods, it is not a feature I miss or desire.

I have other smart speakers because they are cheaper, and also can do things the HomePod can't. However I don't actually care that the HomePod can only stream Apple music natively. I have no real interest in other streaming services. I use Apple music on my HomePods and all my echos. I subscribe to youtube premium and as part of the package I get goole play music. I subscribe for the youtube features. If I could use Apple music on my google home minis i would. However I suppose if you're hell bent on spotify then you shouldn't bother with a HomePod.
[automerge]1577491722[/automerge]

I don’t know why it would work well. Sold two of the three HomePods I had to go with the home minis I had..google home breaks all the time for me. And oddly the one second gen mini is the biggest problem. Apple and Sonos played better. I think the issue now was the investment I made with the GE bulbs..I’ll never buy another smart home product that requires a hub again lol.

Not really bothered as the google home minis are my third choice after my HomePods and echos. However they are the ones that don't work most often. The other day I couldn't get music from my phone to play on one of the home minis via bluetooth. On Christmas Day the one I have in my living room to control my chromecast kept shouting that it wasn't connected to the internet at random intervals and now the chromecast seems to have gone on the blink. Again not a big deal as my main streaming devices are my Apple TVs. I suppose when they only cost £30 you can't expect much more.
[automerge]1577491963[/automerge]

I feel like $30 is a bit steep for an AirPod case. You can find a lot of very workable cases on amazon for around $7-10.

I paid £5 for mine on eBay. I've had AirPods for almost 3 years but only recently decided to get a case. I always had a little pouch to carry them in but only now went for a decorative case.

 

[44267547]

They don’t seem to be pushing the homepod that much anymore. It’s a shame as it’s a great sounding speaker. All they need to do is continue to work on siri and that is all software based. It doesn’t need New hardware.

This is a great observation. As popular as the AirPods are, I do feel like the marketing has been slightly off-point for the HomePod lately. Now I don’t know if that means that there’s a possible refresh coming or what the situation is, but I think they should continue to be dynamic enough where they market the HomePod to keep it relevant against all the competition. And you’re right, it is a great sounding speaker, and there’s been plenty of lucrative discounts for the HomePod included.

I’m also Curious to see how Apple expands the HomePod in the future, [I.e. what changes they make, possibly introducing a smaller variant of the HomePod, ect.]

 

[CarlJ]

Sonos is fantastic. Glad to see Apple supporting them.

And the SL series is the right single speaker to buy from them as it doesn’t have microphones—no Amazon/Google spyware.

Sonos is one of the few companies I'd actually like to see Apple buy. Would love to see them merge the HomePod and Sonos gear into a HomePod home theater system, taking the best tech from both.

 

[farewelwilliams]

Besides Siri being a disappointment, HomePod pretty much priced itself out of the home assistant market.

siri is available on all major apple products. hopefully people will realize they don't need a small crappy speaker in every room for home assistant. instead they'll just use their phone or watch. apple just needs to improve the software.

 

[Gutwrench]

siri is available on all major apple products. hopefully people will realize they don't need a small crappy speaker in every room for home assistant. instead they'll just use their phone or watch. apple just needs to improve the software.

When I’m home my phone and watch goes on the cradle. And I’m more than okay with having small crappy devices in every room because they’re inexpensive.

 

[cuhulin]

More important: no one cares about audio quality enough to buy one of these pieces of garbage. And if they did, they would buy the superior Google Max.

The HomePod is not a "piece of garbage". Indeed, it is a better speaker than the Google Max, IMO, and also does not put everything you say in the room with the speaker into the public domain.

 

[Toratek]

That waterproof case is clever, and makes having the lid flip open inadvertently while dangling from the carabiner become a near impossibility.

As for the HomePod vs anything from Amazon or Google, it's beyond me why anyone would want a Google or Amazon spy device in their living space for any reason whatsoever. Truly incredible.

 

[rjp1]

They need to re-enable the EQ. It sounded amazing when it first launched but the update that disabled the EQ was a mistake. The EQ lets people choose exactly how their music sounds, specifically if they disagree with how Apple thinks it should sound. You can use Airfoil -- a great product by Rogue Amoeba -- but you shouldn't have to.

Wait, the HomePod originally had an EQ? That is my only complaint with it. It sounds bad in a large or small room. An EQ could fix the sound quality issues I had.

 

[LimitR]

Incase finally coming through with the goods. I wish it was before I got this underwhelming dbrand sticker, though.

 

[patent10021]

How is Apple not getting into AirPod cases and colored AirPods is a mystery. Instant easy profit.

 

[mimeArtist]

That airpod case is horrible

 

[Glideslope]

That airpod case is horrible

I can't speak to the Catalyst, however I did receive an Incase Woolenex in Graphite for the AirPods 2 I picked up over the Holidays yesterday. While I agree the price is high and I would not have purchased it without the Gift Card I had, it is a very nice case. While it really doesn't provide any drop protection I find the Woolenex to be very easy to grip and while being textured it doesn't not bind in a pocket like some silicone cases will.

The fit and finish is high quality. However, it would not have been my choice for it not for my Gift Certificate.

 

[Attonine]

Wait, the HomePod originally had an EQ? That is my only complaint with it. It sounds bad in a large or small room. An EQ could fix the sound quality issues I had.

EQ is more important than that. If you have any kind of hearing loss, EQ is needed to bring the audio to a point where it sounds tight for you. Example: my dad worked in a factory and has lost high frequency hearing. I asked him to describe it and he says when he drops keys in a ceramic floor he gets a dull thud not the shimmer most would associate with this. This explains why, in his house, he has the bass turned off of everything and treble right up. It sounds awful...if you don’t have hearing loss, but for my dad it sounds just right. If a device doesn’t have EQ it locks out many potential users.

 

[bacaramac]

I’ll admit, just ordered the Incase pro case. Love having cases on AirPod charger and this one looks nice with the fabric style.

 

[farewelwilliams]

When I’m home my phone and watch goes on the cradle. And I’m more than okay with having small crappy devices in every room because they’re inexpensive.

if you're in the ecosystem, there's the Apple TV remote. some people have an iPad or a qi charger near the couch. my dad keeps an old iPhone on the kitchen table. personally, i drop the watch on the charger the moment i sit down at the computer and pick it up when i leave for lunch. most of them respond to hey siri.

you can pick up a new iphone SE for around $50 last i saw.

 

[roar08]

Wait, the HomePod originally had an EQ? That is my only complaint with it. It sounds bad in a large or small room. An EQ could fix the sound quality issues I had.

Yes, when it was first released, you could set the EQ in iTunes and the HomePod honored it. It was only a couple months after initial release when Apple disabled that -- and didn't say a word about it for some time. Even then it was just a vague comment about how the HomePod determines the best way to present the music. I really enjoy Apple products and boy we have a lot of them ... but that's just stupid with a medium as subjective as music.

 

[soulreaver99]

I picked up an open box Sonos One Gen 2 for $99 right before Christmas and it has been incredible. I like how it supports both Google Assistant and Alexa as well as being able to shut off the mic completely. Sound quality is fantastic.

 

[44267547]

How is Apple not getting into AirPod cases and colored AirPods is a mystery. Instant easy profit.

They know they could offer multiple AirPod colors, but they won’t. I think by them using the ‘classic white’, it really identifies it being an Apple product when you see it in public, which essentially is kind of marketing for them. I don’t think it would make the AirPods any less popular offering white only, but offering multiple colors would definitely have an appeal to a wider demographic.

 

[DeepIn2U]

They don’t seem to be pushing the homepod that much anymore. It’s a shame as it’s a great sounding speaker. All they need to do is continue to work on siri and that is all software based. It doesn’t need New hardware.

it is a shame, because I feel the range of the sound (lows, mids especially, and the highs) are better than the previous Sonos Play:1 that I have. I don’t see how the Sonos One/One SL will fare better than the Play:1.

I was VERY upset about the Play:1 not getting AirPlay support; and no I don’t believe the hardware cannot support it - considering the year long announcement of AirPlay support coming to the “Play” speakers directly from Sonos the company themselves yet not being specific and ONLY doing so when the Play One debuted.

although I’m starting to feel the limitation of my HomePod, not sure if I should keep it.

Apple and MacRumors made a big celebration when former Google AI head left to come to Apple last November (‘18) yet it’s been a year now and THE ONLY thing about Siri improved was the announcement voice quality!! This did NOT need a former Google AI engineer to do this.

shortcuts: that existed as an app desperately alone and was brought into Apple after purchase. Once again Apple paying top executives that are NOT fully delivering on their jobs nor their teams delivering

Of the many gripes I see about the Homepod in threads, the limitation of only being able to stream Apple Music is one of the biggest. People want the freedom to stream from their preferred music source. I get it, but being someone who only listens to my iTunes library on my Homepods, it is not a feature I miss or desire.

iTunes Library must be played either from macOS or iOS devices.Unless iTunes Match/Apple Music is used you cannot command HomePod to play it; or am I really missing something here??

- I think I need to clean up my Apple Music and iTunes.

 

[falainber]

Not really bothered as the google home minis are my third choice after my HomePods and echos. However they are the ones that don't work most often. The other day I couldn't get music from my phone to play on one of the home minis via bluetooth. On Christmas Day the one I have in my living room to control my chromecast kept shouting that it wasn't connected to the internet at random intervals and now the chromecast seems to have gone on the blink. Again not a big deal as my main streaming devices are my Apple TVs. I suppose when they only cost £30 you can't expect much more.

Well, this feature (BT) obviously can never break on HomePod because it does not have it.

 

[MikeDProducer]

These are awesome. They fit the AirPods Pro perfectly. Loving them.

The Apple store in Uptown Minneapolis has them.

 

[I7guy]

Well, this feature (BT) obviously can never break on HomePod because it does not have it.

HomePod has BT 5.0.

 

[HiRez]

Just picked up 2 Sonos One SLs on Cyber Monday for $129 each. Great speakers, my only regret is I didn’t get a few more at that price. They work great with Airplay 2 so I rarely have to stream anything through the Sonos app anymore. But yeah, I don’t know why anyone would buy these through Apple.

 

[falainber]

HomePod has BT 5.0.

No, in the context of this conversation (OP used BT for streaming music to Google device), HomePod does not have BT. It has it for other features, but not for this one. Hence this is one (supposedly not very reliable) feature of Google Mini that can't break on HP because it does not have it.