Apple Releases New Beta Software for HomePod

[MacRumors]

Alongside this morning's release of the new iOS 11.2.5 update, which introduces support for the HomePod, Apple has also released new beta software for HomePod.

The new software is not available through the Developer portal like a standard beta software update, but it will be downloadable by testers who have a HomePod. It is available via third-party software sites, so the general public can download it if desired.

Apple's latest HomePod software update comes just over two weeks ahead of the official launch date of the device. Apple this morning announced plans to debut the HomePod on Friday, February 9, with initial orders to kick off on Friday, January 26.

Ahead of launch, HomePod devices are in the hands of Apple employees who are testing the smart speaker to iron out bugs before it becomes available for purchase later this week.

Apple has been beta testing the HomePod with its employees for several months now and has released several previous firmware updates.

Once the HomePod is released, it will presumably get regular software updates much like iOS devices, Macs, the Apple TV, and the Apple Watch.

Specifically, Apple has promised a future update that will bring support for multi-room playback and pairing multiple HomePod devices together for stereo sound, two features that will not be available at launch.

HomePod is Apple's Siri-based smart speaker that focuses heavily on high-quality sound. It incorporates a 7 tweeter array, an Apple-designed 4-inch upward-facing woofer, and an A8 chip to power features like spatial awareness.

A lot of new information was shared about HomePod this morning, so make sure to check out our HomePod roundup for complete details on Apple's smart speaker.

Article Link: Apple Releases New Beta Software for HomePod

 

[SD449]

I cannot believe they are releasing this without Stereo and multi-room support.

I bet the guys over at Sonos are rolling on the floor laughing

Edit for spelling

 

[Braderunner]

"Apple has been beta testing the HomePod with its employees for several months now", and now they are ready for their customers to do the same.

 

[itsmilo]

Any iPhone XS Plus leaks included?

 

[GadgetBen]

Get on it Rambo! Low chance of a much needed massively improved Siri.

 

[5105973]

I can’t get over how these companies are releasing the hardware without all of the software features worked out. It’s not just Apple, but I am disappointed Apple is getting a bit frumpy and sloppy like the rest.

I’ve got all these portrait modes that work rather awkwardly for months. I’m not paying such high prices to beta test this stuff. I want it to just work when I actually bought the item, not when it’s time to think about upgrading.

Grumpy rant over.

I’m actually not that salty about it, but I am not liking this trend.

 

[k2director]

First they announce it 6 months before its official launch, which is an unusually long cycle for a music accessory. Then they miss their own date by almost two months. Then they delay a pretty key feature (multi room audio) for, potentially, many additional months.

This ineptitude is appalling but it’s becoming the New Normal under Tim Cook. What is going on over there? Cook seems a lot more focused on politics and championing illegal immigrants than the basic nuts and bolts of disciplined, competent product delivery (AirPods that sell out before Christmas, late accessories for the IPhone X like the charging pad, missing features in major OS deliveries, years without major updates on MacBook Pro and Mac Pro, etc etc).

Wall Street hasn’t quite noticed the slow rot going on over there, but it eventually will and then it’s going to be a very very unpleasant — but deserved — experience for Mediocre Cook.

 

[burgman]

I cannot believe they are releasing this without Stereo and multi-room support.

I bet the guys over at Sonos are rolling on the floor laughing

Edit for spelling

Doubt it unless all you want is a speaker system, or plug in an Amazon Dot with the Beta for existing Sonos speakers. Or buy a new Sonos one. Of course you can't integrate it into an existing Sonos system. Sonos took lessons from Microsoft.

 

[Starship67]

I cannot believe they are releasing this without Stereo and multi-room support.

I bet the guys over at Sonos are rolling on the floor laughing

Edit for spelling

And yet it will outsell the Sonos by far.

 

[tzm41]

Doubt it unless all you want is a speaker system, or plug in an Amazon Dot with the Beta for existing Sonos speakers. Or buy a new Sonos one. Of course you can't integrate it into an existing Sonos system. Sonos took lessons from Microsoft.

SONOS claimed that they will support AirPlay 2, though.

 

[anson42]

I cannot believe they are releasing this without Stereo and multi-room support.

For stereo support you need two of these speakers. Expecting folks to even buy one at $349 as an early adopter could happen but expecting the same folks to buy two or more for stereo and/or multi-room might be a stretch at this point. Let's see how much folks like just one of these first... gives Apple time to get the other stuff right.

 

[Recognition]

I can’t get over how these companies are releasing the hardware without all of the software features worked out. It’s not just Apple, but I am disappointed Apple is getting a bit frumpy and sloppy like the rest.

I’ve got all these portrait modes that work rather awkwardly for months. I’m not paying such high prices to beta test this stuff. I want it to just work when I actually bought the item, not when it’s time to think about upgrading.

Grumpy rant over.

I’m actually not that salty about it, but I am not liking this trend.

Well wait 2 years and then buy it?

Nobody is forcing you to purchase anything as soon as it’s released?!

The best time to buy the ‘final product’ is just before it’s discontinued.

Can’t get anymore final then that!

 

[neutralguy]

"Apple has been beta testing the HomePod with its employees for several months now", and now they are ready for their customers to do the same.

That's because all the employees move on to the fitness challenge to win the watch band.

 

[mariusignorello]

First they announce it 6 months before its official launch, which is an unusually long cycle for a music accessory. Then they miss their own date by almost two months. Then they delay a pretty key feature (multi room audio) for, potentially, many additional months.

This ineptitude is appalling but it’s becoming the New Normal under Tim Cook. What is going on over there? Cook seems a lot more focused on politics and championing illegal immigrants than the basic nuts and bolts of disciplined, competent product delivery (AirPods that sell out before Christmas, late accessories for the IPhone X like the charging pad, missing features in major OS deliveries, years without major updates on MacBook Pro and Mac Pro, etc etc).

Wall Street hasn’t quite noticed the slow rot going on over there, but it eventually will and then it’s going to be a very very unpleasant — but deserved — experience for Mediocre Cook.

I hate to use the Steve Jobs card but Steve would never have done that as CEO. Politics were completely overlooked by him. Nobody even knew who he sided with. For a company like Apple, politics shouldn’t be a concern because they get their income from bulletproof products.

 

[Mike MA]

I was not aware that high quality speakers feature mono sound...yet I’m excited and will be an early adopter.

What I keep asking myself though, will it be an embedded (or at least customizable Airplay 2) feature to watch content on my Apple TV with audio output pushed to one or several HomePods?

This would basically my main selling point besides some decent music playback.

 

[justperry]

Now, lets wait for some candy hidden inside this software.

 

[RamGuy]

So many questions, so few answer surround this product. And as it goes up for pre-order already there won't be any keynote or anything that will actually tell or show us how this product is suppose to work.

How does streaming to it actually work? From what sources can you stream? What does AirPlay 2 actually mean? How does it differ from AirPlay 1? Is "Multi-room" a part of the AirPlay 2 specification or is it something custom for the HomePod? Judging from the website its part of AirPlay 2 but who knows for sure? What devices and software even support AirPlay 2? What kind of Siri commands can you actually use? Will it automatically work with Apple TV's so if I put a HomePod speaker in the kitchen, in the bathroom, the bedroom etc will they be able to co-play with speakers in my living room and in my fitness room as I've got Apple TV Gen.4 and Gen.5/4K in these rooms? Is it moister resistant?

 

[dugbug]

First they announce it 6 months before its official launch, which is an unusually long cycle for a music accessory. Then they miss their own date by almost two months. Then they delay a pretty key feature (multi room audio) for, potentially, many additional months.

This ineptitude is appalling but it’s becoming the New Normal under Tim Cook. What is going on over there? Cook seems a lot more focused on politics and championing illegal immigrants than the basic nuts and bolts of disciplined, competent product delivery (AirPods that sell out before Christmas, late accessories for the IPhone X like the charging pad, missing features in major OS deliveries, years without major updates on MacBook Pro and Mac Pro, etc etc).

Wall Street hasn’t quite noticed the slow rot going on over there, but it eventually will and then it’s going to be a very very unpleasant — but deserved — experience for Mediocre Cook.

oh good lord. These are much more complicated than music accessories.

 

[Aston441]

How is this supposed to be better than the Sonos 1 that already comes with Alexa built in?

 

[Arbuthnott]

[...] Ahead of launch, HomePod devices are in the hands of Apple employees who are testing the smart speaker to iron out bugs before it becomes available for purchase later this week.

Article Link: Apple Releases New Beta Software for HomePod

Whatever else they are doing, surely it can't be this? Sales will be of the over 1m already manufactured units that have already been pushed into the sales process. Any bugs not already identified are unlikely to be found by those Apple employees over the coming week. Millions of consumers will spot bugs rather faster than what may only be a few hundred Apple employees at most.
[doublepost=1516769994][/doublepost]

oh good lord. These are much more complicated than music accessories.

Agreed. And in addition, there is a fundamental conflict of underlying principles that is becoming an issue between Siri (user privacy) and Alexa/Android Assistant/Cortana/etc (anti-user privacy). This confrontation becomes increasingly important in devices such as this kind of smart hub.

In addition, as the other side of the coin, accessing web services through an audio device potentially bypasses the advertising that is the life blood for Google and perhaps to a lesser extent Amazon & Microsoft. As an aside, the balance of pros and cons would suggest that Alexa is likely to be able to develop faster and more effectively than the other two.

These hub devices are a far more critical area of competition than some appear to realise. It is therefore not surprising that Apple considers getting it right to be more important than getting in first or getting in early. As per their long track record of success with this approach.

 

[Mark Booth]

At launch, no support for paired speakers to function as stereo and no multi-room support.

Holy cow, Apple, talk about a freakin FAIL.

My PRIMARY reason for considering HomePod speakers is to put one or two in multiple rooms and control them (sync them or play different music in each room) with my iPhone or with my voice. It's something SONOS has done for years (iPhone app) and months (voice with companion Echo device).

These are basic features these days. How on earth can Apple release the product 2 months late and STILL not have these features sorted out?

Mark

 

[dugbug]

Interesting blurb from Reddit (per loopinsight.com)

1. They're using some form of dynamic modeling, and likely also current sensing that allows them to have a p-p excursion of 20 mm in a 4" driver. This is completely unheard of in the home market. You can read an introduction to the topic here. The practical upshot is that that 4" driver can go louder than larger drivers, and with significantly less distortion. It's also stuff you typically find in speakers with five-figure price tags (The Beolab 90 does this, and I also suspect that the Kii Three does). It's a quantum leap over what a typical passive speaker does, and you don't really even find it in higher-end powered speakers
   
   
2. The speaker uses six integrated beamforming microphones to probe the room dimensions, and alter its output so it sounds its best wherever it is placed in the room. It'll know how large the room is, and where in the room it is placed.
   
   
3. The room correction applied after probing its own position isn't simplistic DSP of frequency response, as the speaker has seven drivers that are used to create a beamforming speaker array,. so they can direct specific sound in specific directions. The only other speakers that do this is the Beolab 90, and Lexicon SL-1. The Beolab 90 is $85,000/pair, and no price tag is set for the Lexicon, but the expectation in the industry is "astronomical".