Apple Releases New 11.3 Software for the HomePod

[MDF314159265]

As this thread has really died down, is it fair to assume we all had a placebo effect? After thinking at first that bass was reduced, I am now convinced that it still is as strong as it was in the beginning. Everyone in the house is still moaning about noise. I really like the HomePod, and am hoping for the Stereo update.

Still love the power & sound quality:size ratio of my HP, but yes, I do still believe bass has been turned down.
HOWEVER, in a strange way, the bass is louder. I can’t explain it. It’s louder in that I can more clearly hear more spectrum of the sound throughout my home, but the clock on the wall doesn’t rattle like it used to.
For some, that’s probably a really good thing, but I like boomy bass.
Put simply, I feel less bass, but hear more of it at the same time.
Perhaps the update further refined the sound but some of us (particularly myself) didn’t initially accept such refinement. A subtle way of Apple, in Steve Jobs fashion, giving is what we want before we knew we wanted it.
And here begins the “Apple fanboy” stabs....

 

[Buerkletucson]

Placebo?

NOT.........both my Homepods (2) have been returned to Apple at their request to investigate this bass reduction issue.
The issue is real and Apple knows its an issue and are working on it.

Continuing to complain on a forum does nothing, surely doesn't mean the problem does not exist.

 

[jonnyb098]

Placebo?

NOT.........both my Homepods (2) have been returned to Apple at their request to investigate this bass reduction issue.
The issue is real and Apple knows its an issue and are working on it.

Continuing to complain on a forum does nothing, surely doesn't mean the problem does not exist.

While I respect something may be legit wrong with your HomePod (Apple requesting them). It seems more of an issue of subjective sound and it’s a very big deal to you the bass was reduced or had a really dramatic effect in your home in comparison to others. So of course Apple has to take it seriously.

But the sky isn’t falling and millions of HomePod users are perfectly fine with the slight changes/don’t notice it. Once again , sound is VERY SUBJECTIVE. Millions of people think the garbage pancake speakers in their giant flat screen TV sounds “fine”.

 

[Christian_W]

While I respect something may be legit wrong with your HomePod (Apple requesting them). It seems more of an issue of subjective sound and it’s a very big deal to you the bass was reduced or had a really dramatic effect in your home in comparison to others. So of course Apple has to take it seriously.

But the sky isn’t falling and millions of HomePod users are perfectly fine with the slight changes/don’t notice it. Once again , sound is VERY SUBJECTIVE. Millions of people think the garbage pancake speakers in their giant flat screen TV sounds “fine”.

It is an issue with the hp detecting the room. Accept that. Not everyone is affected. I got some bass back by unplugging the hp for 60min. But my hp in another room sounds waaaay better. Although the room is basically the same shape.

There is a problem. That is the reason why there is no 11.4 beta for the hp.

 

[strategicthinke]

As this thread has really died down, is it fair to assume we all had a placebo effect? After thinking at first that bass was reduced, I am now convinced that it still is as strong as it was in the beginning. Everyone in the house is still moaning about noise. I really like the HomePod, and am hoping for the Stereo update.

No. Still waiting for a solution in an update. Songs sound definitely different, and many people proved this with two different homepods, one update dando-lhe other one not updated.

 

[Buerkletucson]

While I respect something may be legit wrong with your HomePod (Apple requesting them). It seems more of an issue of subjective sound and it’s a very big deal to you the bass was reduced or had a really dramatic effect in your home in comparison to others. So of course Apple has to take it seriously.

But the sky isn’t falling and millions of HomePod users are perfectly fine with the slight changes/don’t notice it. Once again , sound is VERY SUBJECTIVE. Millions of people think the garbage pancake speakers in their giant flat screen TV sounds “fine”.

Sorry but Apple contacted me because of feedback and is concerned, they wanted my (2) Homepods...........they admitted to a lot of negative feedback with the 11.3 release and significant bass reduction. That's why they are reaching out to owners and requesting their devices to analyze the problem in their labs. They wanted videos also to show and confirm the issue.
It's not because only mine has an issue and they are trying to please me.....

Of course the sky isn't falling....nobody but you said it was, I surely don't let little things like a Homepod irritate me, or I'd just sell them and move on...............but it's not a placebo effect as some have insinuated.

btw - YOU have no idea how many people hate the new bass reduction from 11.3 and how many don't. YOu have no idea how many Homepods have even been sold.
You have stats to back up your comments "Millions" are fine with it?

Must be pretty significant for Apple to be reaching out and getting units back for diagnostics to find the root cause of the issue.

 

[jonnyb098]

Sorry but Apple contacted me because of feedback and is concerned, they wanted my (2) Homepods...........they admitted to a lot of negative feedback with the 11.3 release and significant bass reduction. That's why they are reaching out to owners and requesting their devices to analyze the problem in their labs. They wanted videos also to show and confirm the issue.
It's not because only mine has an issue and they are trying to please me.....

Of course the sky isn't falling....nobody but you said it was, I surely don't let little things like a Homepod irritate me, or I'd just sell them and move on...............but it's not a placebo effect as some have insinuated.

btw - YOU have no idea how many people hate the new bass reduction from 11.3 and how many don't. YOu have no idea how many Homepods have even been sold.
You have stats to back up your comments "Millions" are fine with it?

Must be pretty significant for Apple to be reaching out and getting units back for diagnostics to find the root cause of the issue.

No I don't know the exact number of people who are fine with 11.3 on HomePod or how many hate it. Fair enough. But the overall point is that many people are fine with it . I was arguing that probably most are actually fine with it.

As far as HomePods sold here are the facts (link below) if you care: The supplier shipped 1 million initially and those sold out during pre-orders. So using basic logic after about 6 weeks on the market I would conclude most likely its in the "millions" that have been sold....maybe 2, maybe 3. But at least a million have been sold. So out of that million theres a tiny fraction of a percent complaining. Is it a potential issue? Totally. And I'm happy you are assisting Apple in it. They're going to take yours and measure them against their own units and go from there.

https://9to5mac.com/2018/01/17/report-inventec-shipping-first-1-million-homepod/
[doublepost=1523028659][/doublepost]

It is an issue with the hp detecting the room. Accept that. Not everyone is affected. I got some bass back by unplugging the hp for 60min. But my hp in another room sounds waaaay better. Although the room is basically the same shape.

There is a problem. That is the reason why there is no 11.4 beta for the hp.

As far as I know HomePod never got an 11.3 beta either. So what's your point about that? There is no need for betas on a homepod since it doesn't have any apps that require a developer beta.

Also, just because a room is the same shape doesn't mean sound will travel the same. I.E. obstacles, furniture, whats on the other side of the wall, are the windows, etc, etc ,etc. Sound is a very very tricky and subjective thing.

 

[Christian_W]

No I don't know the exact number of people who are fine with 11.3 on HomePod or how many hate it. Fair enough. But the overall point is that many people are fine with it . I was arguing that probably most are actually fine with it.

As far as HomePods sold here are the facts (link below) if you care: The supplier shipped 1 million initially and those sold out during pre-orders. So using basic logic after about 6 weeks on the market I would conclude most likely its in the "millions" that have been sold....maybe 2, maybe 3. But at least a million have been sold. So out of that million theres a tiny fraction of a percent complaining. Is it a potential issue? Totally. And I'm happy you are assisting Apple in it. They're going to take yours and measure them against their own units and go from there.

https://9to5mac.com/2018/01/17/report-inventec-shipping-first-1-million-homepod/
[doublepost=1523028659][/doublepost]
As far as I know HomePod never got an 11.3 beta either. So what's your point about that? There is no need for betas on a homepod since it doesn't have any apps that require a developer beta.

Also, just because a room is the same shape doesn't mean sound will travel the same. I.E. obstacles, furniture, whats on the other side of the wall, are the windows, etc, etc ,etc. Sound is a very very tricky and subjective thing.

Oh boy. I have no idea why someone spends time doing that. It’s okay. I’ve been talking tongue tech team now for 3-4 hours testing different positions and so on.

They said: There is a problem with the hp adapting to all kinds of positions.

That has been said quite a few times here.

And yes...you can install a beta profile on your hp. The same way you can do it with a Apple TV. But they are working on the hp now. That is why the beta got delayed. Otherwise we could test the multiroom and Stereo pairing now.

In some points you are right. But some are just childish arguments.

Nothing more to say. Let’s wait.

Btw... putting the hp in a shelf with only one open side brings back the bass.
So a very Little room should have a lot of Bass? No. That’s what Apple said.

They are on it.

 

[jonnyb098]

Oh boy. I have no idea why someone spends time doing that. It’s okay. I’ve been talking tongue tech team now for 3-4 hours testing different positions and so on.

They said: There is a problem with the hp adapting to all kinds of positions.

That has been said quite a few times here.

And yes...you can install a beta profile on your hp. The same way you can do it with a Apple TV. But they are working on the hp now. That is why the beta got delayed. Otherwise we could test the multiroom and Stereo pairing now.

In some points you are right. But some are just childish arguments.

Nothing more to say. Let’s wait.

Btw... putting the hp in a shelf with only one open side brings back the bass.
So a very Little room should have a lot of Bass? No. That’s what Apple said.

They are on it.

Putting it in a corner also makes the bass boom like it did before. Which is why this all comes down to the room measuring algorithm in my opinion and to my ears (subjective) the homepod acts much more like a traditional speaker now. Before I had to find a spot where the bass WASNT rattling the walls like crazy.

 

[Z3man]

I have had my second HP for 2 days now, returned the first one shortly after launch because there was too much bass for my liking.

When i set the new one up it was still on 11.2.5, so i listened to it for a while and it still sounded the same as my original one with too much bass, couldn't stand listening to it. Then i updated it to 11.3 and tried it again leaving it in the same location. There is definitely a reduction in bass, it sounds much better now, i used to hate listening to it but now but now i like listening to it.

Now i don't know whether Apple has changed the EQ settings or whether they have changed the detection algorithm, but no matter where i put it in the room now there is definitely less bass for sure. It used to be so sensitive to placement it was unreal, it really used to make a big difference as to where you placed it, but now it doesn't matter where you put it the change isn't that dramatic.

I still think Apple could improve the sound further by giving it a bit more treble as it still sounds a little bit muffled, but just a little bit, whereas on 11.2.5 it was very muffled.

I also still think Apple should give us some presets to choose from so it can then suit all peoples tastes, then we can all be happy. They give us presets and EQ settings on our other devices so they must think they are needed.

 

[shk718]

mine was just updated - i didn't move it to trigger a new scan of the room - and the bass is no different than it was before. in fact, i have one song that i don't feel it does a good job presenting and it sounds exactly the same (was hoping this would fix that).

 

[Christian_W]

I have had my second HP for 2 days now, returned the first one shortly after launch because there was too much bass for my liking.

When i set the new one up it was still on 11.2.5, so i listened to it for a while and it still sounded the same as my original one with too much bass, couldn't stand listening to it. Then i updated it to 11.3 and tried it again leaving it in the same location. There is definitely a reduction in bass, it sounds much better now, i used to hate listening to it but now but now i like listening to it.

Now i don't know whether Apple has changed the EQ settings or whether they have changed the detection algorithm, but no matter where i put it in the room now there is definitely less bass for sure. It used to be so sensitive to placement it was unreal, it really used to make a big difference as to where you placed it, but now it doesn't matter where you put it the change isn't that dramatic.

I still think Apple could improve the sound further by giving it a bit more treble as it still sounds a little bit muffled, but just a little bit, whereas on 11.2.5 it was very muffled.

I also still think Apple should give us some presets to choose from so it can then suit all peoples tastes, then we can all be happy. They give us presets and EQ settings on our other devices so they must think they are needed.

When they won’t give us the option to change that I might return my homepods. This is not the sound I paid for. I even got a privat listening session in a separate room. At least they are willing to change that to please everyone. But I can’t understand a update like that.

 

[Buerkletucson]

When they won’t give us the option to change that I might return my homepods. This is not the sound I paid for. I even got a privat listening session in a separate room. At least they are willing to change that to please everyone. But I can’t understand a update like that.

Perfect, Exactly the point....
I was sold a device with a specific sound signature.......purchased (2) of them based off of a sound I liked and enjoy. With a 14-day return policy to try it in my own home.
It's just wrong to come along 1-month latter and force an update that significantly changes that profile and expect a customer to have to "settle" with this new signature.......with no recourse to return them.

If this speaker sounded like it does now in the store I would of never purchase (1) let alone (2) Homepods

 

[Z3man]

When they won’t give us the option to change that I might return my homepods. This is not the sound I paid for. I even got a privat listening session in a separate room. At least they are willing to change that to please everyone. But I can’t understand a update like that.

I don't blame you for being pee'd off, i would be as well, wasn't right of Apple not giving you the option to change it back.

Whats this private listening you mentioned, was it something to do with Apple.

When you say "At least they are willing to change that to please everyone". What do you mean, do you know something we don't.

 

[Christian_W]

I don't blame you for being pee'd off, i would be as well, wasn't right of Apple not giving you the option to change it back.

Whats this private listening you mentioned, was it something to do with Apple.

When you say "At least they are willing to change that to please everyone". What do you mean, do you know something we don't.

In London are separate rooms in some Apple Stores to get a listening session.
And yeah I loved the room filling sound.
This sound is gone. I’ll have another chat to them soon. When nothing changes with the next update they will get the homepods back for an exchange with the old software models. I want the sound I paid for.

The tech team had a lot of sessions with me and there a many people complaining about the new sound signature. So they are working on a update to get everyone pleased again. But they said that a EQ would be against apples advertised guidelines, that the HomePod delivers the best audio quality for each song and adapts to the room.

So sound is subjectiv. This is the thing they have to learn. This update will please some people. But the people who bought it EXACTLY for this sound are pissed. This is just dumb.

The change of sound wasn’t intended. Otherwise they wouldn’t be after individual cases like mine.

 

[Z3man]

In London are separate rooms in some Apple Stores to get a listening session.
And yeah I loved the room filling sound.
This sound is gone. I’ll have another chat to them soon. When nothing changes with the next update they will get the homepods back for an exchange with the old software models. I want the sound I paid for.

The tech team had a lot of sessions with me and there a many people complaining about the new sound signature. So they are working on a update to get everyone pleased again. But they said that a EQ would be against apples advertised guidelines, that the HomePod delivers the best audio quality for each song and adapts to the room.

So sound is subjectiv. This is the thing they have to learn. This update will please some people. But the people who bought it EXACTLY for this sound are pissed. This is just dumb.

The change of sound wasn’t intended. Otherwise they wouldn’t be after individual cases like mine.

Apple are digging themselves into a hole here, because they have people like you that bought it because they liked the original sound, and now you have people like me that have bought it because of the new sound on 11.3. If they changed it back to the original sound there is no way i would keep the HP even if it was past the 14 day return period.

So what can Apple do, they can't have one sound that pleases everybody, because people have different tastes. They have already said to you that they won't be adding EQ settings, so what is left for them to do. We now have two sets of people who have bought it for different sounds and will not be happy if it is changed.

Did apple say anything about the possibility of presets.

 

[Z3man]

I have been thinking and have had an idea, i think its quite a good idea even if i do say so myself, so i hope Apple are reading this thread.

If Apple don't want to offer any EQ settings or presets because it goes against their advertised guidelines. They could disguise them as settings called Large Room, Medium Room and Small Room.

Large Room would be the original setting on 11.2.5 with plenty of bass.

Medium Room would be the current setting on 11.3, with medium bass which the majority seem to prefer.

Small Room would have less bass than the current setting on 11.3, this would be good for late night listening and for people who just don't like a lot of bass.

Whether Apple actually change the EQ settings or the Detection Algorithm doesn't really matter as only Apple will know what they have changed, and no one would be that bothered anyway.

This would be a good way of Apple getting out of the hole they are digging themselves and would end up pleasing everyone, and it will just look like room settings which no one is going to question because it seems quite logical to have them, seems very sensible too me.

 

[Christian_W]

I have been thinking and have had an idea, i think its quite a good idea even if i do say so myself, so i hope Apple are reading this thread.

If Apple don't want to offer any EQ settings or presets because it goes against their advertised guidelines. They could disguise them as settings called Large Room, Medium Room and Small Room.

Large Room would be the original setting on 11.2.5 with plenty of bass.

Medium Room would be the current setting on 11.3, with medium bass which the majority seem to prefer.

Small Room would have less bass than the current setting on 11.3, this would be good for late night listening and for people who just don't like a lot of bass.

Whether Apple actually change the EQ settings or the Detection Algorithm doesn't really matter as only Apple will know what they have changed, and no one would be that bothered anyway.

This would be a good way of Apple getting out of the hole they are digging themselves and would end up pleasing everyone, and it will just look like room settings which no one is going to question because it seems quite logical to have them, seems very sensible too me.

Yeah but the hompod should detect this by himself? They are advertising this. So a additional setting like this is nothing they would implement.

They didn’t say that they will never make a EQ or smth similar. They just said that this would be smth against their guidelines. Apple wants a product that adapts and delivers. They want a simple user experience. In this case of subjective audio quality perception it just doesn’t work.

We will see. Just send them your feedback through their feedback page!

 

[Z3man]

Already sent my feedback, which at the moment is good because i am happy with the update, but i am worried what they are going to do when they say "they are working on it". I am worried they might change it back to what it was, or they might even make it worse, i just cant see them pleasing us all without some sort of settings to change.

 

[Christian_W]

Already sent my feedback, which at the moment is good because i am happy with the update, but i am worried what they are going to do when they say "they are working on it". I am worried they might change it back to what it was, or they might even make it worse, i just cant see them pleasing us all without some sort of settings to change.

From a consumer point and the negative feedback they got it should be the case they change it back. Otherwise many people are about to return a product that changed with a stupid update.

I hope they find a way to please both of us. The one you bought it for the sound, and the other one who returned it and then bought it again.
[doublepost=1523184991][/doublepost]Fyi:

 

[StumpyBloke]

From a consumer point and the negative feedback they got it should be the case they change it back. Otherwise many people are about to return a product that changed with a stupid update.

I hope they find a way to please both of us. The one you bought it for the sound, and the other one who returned it and then bought it again.
[doublepost=1523184991][/doublepost]Fyi:

Good video. 11.3 for me.

 

[delo]

Placebo?

NOT.........both my Homepods (2) have been returned to Apple at their request to investigate this bass reduction issue.
The issue is real and Apple knows its an issue and are working on it.

Continuing to complain on a forum does nothing, surely doesn't mean the problem does not exist.

[doublepost=1523295899][/doublepost]I wrote Tim Cook last week about this update.. I just got a call from his office today. Couldn’t believe they called. They ask me what issue I was having and I told them that I felt like I had a completely different hp from when I first purchased. Expressed how disappointed I was because I returned it. However my local Apple store did give me a new work the older software on it. Which I WANT be updating until the this matter is resolved. They told me they was aware of this and that someone should be calling me again within the next couple of days. Also gave me her direct number.l

 

[Christian_W]

[doublepost=1523295899][/doublepost]I wrote Tim Cook last week about this update.. I just got a call from his office today. Couldn’t believe they called. They ask me what issue I was having and I told them that I felt like I had a completely different hp from when I first purchased. Expressed how disappointed I was because I returned it. However my local Apple store did give me a new work the older software on it. Which I WANT be updating until the this matter is resolved. They told me they was aware of this and that someone should be calling me again within the next couple of days. Also gave me her direct number.l

This is great news! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Buerkletucson]

My (2) replacement Homepods continue to say they are pending an update....
They will stay that way until Apple comes out with the next firmware update that fixes the mess they created with 11.3.

Loving the original sound signature that is the reason I purchased them in the first place!

 

[Christian_W]

My (2) replacement Homepods continue to say they are pending an update....
They will stay that way until Apple comes out with the next firmware update that fixes the mess they created with 11.3.

Loving the original sound signature that is the reason I purchased them in the first place!

Yeah I will return them as well. But I bought them in London and live in Germany were the hp is not released yet. They said it could be tricky to get a replacement. Positive thinking!