I picked up a refurbished one for $250 a year ago and love the combination of the speaker with Apple Music. Great sound quality, immense music library accessible by voice by everyone in my family, and blends right in to my kitchen's decor.
Your knockoff earbuds have sound reproduction that is literally nothing even close to my Sennheiser Momentum’s.Exactly. I laugh at people who buy “quality” sound equipment. I use knock-off earbuds from the dollar store and it’s just as good as those ugly over-the-ear headphones. Guess people love to waste money.
With no I/O so when apple stop supporting it (or planned obsolescence somehow) it becomes a brick. Good quality speakers last a really long time "decades" but HomePod will last exactly how long Apple wants it to last. Sure google home mini is also the same deal. But it does more, and costs a fraction of this so I don't mind if it's disposable.Some people like high quality speakers.
If you're buying it to do Alexa things, you're right. The two I have sound better than my Sonos system though, it's a VERY music first device, with smart stuff tacked on afterwards.I want to like this product but I just feel it's not smart enough to warrant its existence.
$249.99 at B&H too.
Yeah the smart home sector is dominated by Amazon and Google. Apple is nowhere to be found.With no I/O so when apple stop supporting it (or planned obsolescence somehow) it becomes a brick. Good quality speakers last a really long time "decades" but HomePod will last exactly how long Apple wants it to last. Sure google home mini is also the same deal. But it does more, and costs a fraction of this so I don't mind if it's disposable.
Rather than a measly discount off a hyper inflated product. They could learn from Amazon and google and make a piece of hardware that is almost sold at a loss when people also subscribe to iTunes. "Sign up for a year with iTunes, get a HomePod for $50". Its not as if +70% margins are not built into this monstrosity as it is. That might make using either of those products justifiable.
Apple is just so far behind the 8 ball.
No but the fact that they're discounting the speak fact.This piece of anecdotal experience is totally meaningless.
If you're buying it to do Alexa things, you're right. The two I have sound better than my Sonos system though, it's a VERY music first device, with smart stuff tacked on afterwards.
1) Siri is almost useless. All these "AI" voice companions are little better than animatronics and kitsch robot toys of the past and present. I had high hopes for Siri (and the others) when it came out, but it hasn't become a helping hand--it's a hampering hand.
2) Apple Music. Unless you are just into the corporate propaganda rock, Apple's curation is complete CRAP. And crap is a very nice word for it, because crap doesn't do justice for how abysmal Apple's curation of all music happens to be. They center around music, in PR, but in actuality they center around pop-aganda and astro-turf nonsense ONLY. It's impossible to set up a satisfying playlist in most genres of music without a major waste of time. The USER must curate their own and Apple offers nothing, only directions back to U2 or Ed Sheehan or Adele or Minaj, etc.
3) Why would I listen to music on that speaker when I already have a ton of worthy bluetooth speakers I can link into and port my own collection of music? FOR FREE.
4) What is this going to b come in the future? A: nothing more than it is. There is nothing more that it can become until they fix the first two problems described above.
Tim Cook always prides how Apple says no to so many products. This should have been one of those. I’ve got one. Very nice speaker. That’s about it, the most underwhelming Apple product I’ve ever owned. Screams that Tim felt pressure to expand somewhere new and market data drove him to smart speakers.
I’m sure there are lots of people who do that, but I’ve got two points:I know lots of people who just use their smartphone speakers at home.
Funny, my biggest problem with the HomePod is that it's too smart. I would love a high-quality AirPlay capable speaker like the HomePod but I have no use for Siri. If they made a cheaper, 'dumb' version of the HomePod I would be all over that.I want to like this product but I just feel it's not smart enough to warrant its existence.
Siri is ABSOLUTE TRASH on this thing. I have to say Hey Siri, twice, to get it to respond at least 50% of the time.
Anything over $150 for this product is a scam
You have no facts, only assumptionsNo but the fact that they're discounting the speak fact.
Still too high. For most people listening to music on an Echo is more than acceptable..
Still too high. For most people listening to music on an Echo is more than acceptable..
Because those companies focus heavily On it and take pride in taking away your privacy. Apple don’tYeah the smart home sector is dominated by Amazon and Google. Apple is nowhere to be found.
Same here. Apple Music subscriber and HomePod owner. The sound coming out of it the HomePod is fantastic for its size. I would love to get a second one, but the prices are too high for what it is. Siri is ABSOLUTE TRASH on this thing. I have to say Hey Siri, twice, to get it to respond at least 50% of the time. Then, at random times, it will blurt "mm hmm" or "I'm sorry, I didn't get that" when no one said anything even remotely close to sounding like "Hey Siri." I keep waiting for Siri to get better, but I have been waiting years and looks like I will continue to wait.