Apple Says HomePod Consumes Less Power Than Average LED Bulb During Music Playback

[Morgenland]

This low energy consumption is excellent. I'm an engineer, I've looked at all the details and I think it's really amazingly well done, !
Some PR: https://images.apple.com/environment/pdf/products/homepod/HomePod_PER_jan2018.pdf

 

[Winter Charm]

So it is not loud enough.

It's plenty loud. Peak power is different from average power consumption of a speaker.

 

[PlainviewX]

If that's true, at $350, it should have battery power built in.

 

[oneMadRssn]

I am always impressed with Apple's energy efficiency.

This is a point I make often about the Mac Mini. Sure anyone can build an equivalent hackintosh, or even a much better hackintosh, but how many desktop computers idle at 6W and peak at 85W? I had mine running 24/7, so this sort of mattered.

 

[kerpow69]

This is a selling point? Who here is concerned about the power consumption of your current stereo?

 

[Wrong Turn]

I wonder if they are going to throttle the volume when it gets old and worn...

 

[DevNull0]

Well Apple did manage to surprise me this time.

I don't believe I've ever heard of a company bragging about their magnificent "room filling" new speaker being a sub-10 Watt speaker.

I mean when I bought my home theatre speaker system, they were bragging about 700 watts, though I never believed the power consumption was really that high.

 

[mookc1]

When they figure out how to create a stereo pair, someone will develop an accessory that turns them into headphones.

 

[boss.king]

I'd love to see what kind of volume this is at, and how those numbers change when listening to music at higher volumes (especially bass music).

 

[fairuz]

Not exactly. There are several other factors that’ll affect speaker power other than input power.

It's always true that the output power will be less than or equal to the input power, and the input power is very little. That's the problem. But I'm sure these numbers are for playback at min volume, and it's probably fine when you max it out.

Still, this is impressive. Pretty sure a lot of electronics I have like TVs and such use this much while turned off, mainly due to the voltage transformers and pointless "sleep modes."

 

[vizzini]

what decible level is 50%?

I hate this use of % of something as some abjective number when we don't know what the values are based out of. 50% could be 1 a decible. out of a 2 scale.

same gripe I have about display testing. use real objective measurements. Not some arbitrary out of one hundred number

Someone's got to say it: "Ours goes to 11."

 

[whooleytoo]

Why does it feel like they're reaching....

+1!

In other news...

Apple says the Apple TV requires 100% less twisting than a light bulb. The Apple Watch is more slimming than a bar of chocolate. And the iPad is 1,000 times quieter than thunder.

Maybe I'm not as concerned about the environment as I should be, but this really wouldn't be the most important stat when buying a device like this.

 

[Bray-dog]

It never seemed likely that I’d look at my electricity bill and say, “Ahhh! That HomePod is putting me over the top!”

 

[fairuz]

I am always impressed with Apple's energy efficiency.

This is a point I make often about the Mac Mini. Sure anyone can build an equivalent hackintosh, or even a much better hackintosh, but how many desktop computers idle at 6W and peak at 85W? I had mine running 24/7, so this sort of mattered.

Yes, the non-Apple desktops always use power like it's nobody's business, especially the home-built systems. They have no regard for proper fan control, for one, and the only temp sensors are on the CPU(s) and GPU(s) it seems. It's annoying cause one of the benefits of a desktop is you can always leave it on, but I don't want to waste power, generate heat, and generate noise all day.

But I'm still not gonna defend the Mac mini, haha. I think you can do even better than the Mac mini both in speed and energy-efficiency just using any modern Mac laptop as a desktop.

 

[robertosh]

what decible level is 50%?

I hate this use of % of something as some abjective number when we don't know what the values are based out of. 50% could be 1 a decible. out of a 2 scale.

same gripe I have about display testing. use real objective measurements. Not some arbitrary out of one hundred number

I agree 100% with you

 

[LordVic]

I agree 100% with you

Plus, iirc. I’m not an audio scientist, but decibel audible levels are not linear but logarithmic.


So 50% that is at 10db, doesn’t mean 100% is 20db. If the percentage is based on how many times louder it sounds to the end user.

So, if your volume is only doubled to 100%, that could very well only be 15db, not 20. And the more dB you pump, the more power it needs on a similar scale.


Ultimately. Going to have to wait for real reviewers to test power draw as this report is way too narrow focus

 

[WilliamG]

This is a selling point? Who here is concerned about the power consumption of your current stereo?

I would be if said current stereo were ALWAYS ON.

It's the reason I turn off my A/V receiver when I'm done watching movies. The thing is a power hog.

 

[Recognition]

Not every one. We had our weekly AUG (Apple USer Group) meeting yesterday and discussed this release. Out of 47 folks, when asked if they were interested, 1 person raised their hand, and it wasn't me.

What?! Are you serious?! An Apple User Group meeting?! lol!

Wait, you're retired aren't you? whats the average age of your AUG?

 

[oneMadRssn]

Yes, the non-Apple desktops always use power like it's nobody's business, especially the home-built systems. They have no regard for proper fan control, for one, and the only temp sensors are on the CPU(s) and GPU(s) it seems. It's annoying cause one of the benefits of a desktop is you can always leave it on, but I don't want to waste power, generate heat, and generate noise all day.

But I'm still not gonna defend the Mac mini, haha. I think you can do even better than the Mac mini both in speed and energy-efficiency just using any modern Mac laptop as a desktop.

Yes, true. There is a reason I sold my Mac Mini recently. For purpose-built stuff, other devices can be pretty energy-efficient as well. I got a Synology NAS to replace my Mac Mini, and it's pretty darn efficient considering there are 8 desktop-size spinning hard drives in there.

 

[lowendlinux]

Lmaoo. This is a genuinely funny post.

But how is the HomePod not useful? The UE MegaBoom is $299 and doesn’t have “smart functions”.

Apple packed awesome audio technology into a device that is also a personal assistant (that will get better over time) and a hub for your smart home. You can still stream/AirPlay music to it that’s not in your Apple Music app.

I don’t get why it’s getting so much hate.

Some of us have home audio equipment and don't want to talk to Siri/Alexa/Cortana/Google

 

[sos47]

if those homepods burn my ears i will sell my bose stuff and more. simplifying home entertainment. i cant wait...

 

[az431]

Uhhhhh...Why? The Airport and Apple TV have removable power cables. Does Apple sell those cables individually? I think the odds these are sold individually is closer to 0.

Apple does sell the cables individually.
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At what volume level?

read the entire article.
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Can't Apple make niche devices anymore?

What “niche” devices has Apple made????

 

[RONS67]

No internet radio streaming => under 2 watts in my hands, except that it would be pointless for me to buy it in the first place.

 

[44267547]

If that's true, at $350, it should have battery power built in.

Why? There are those speakers portable intended for travel and have a water resistance rating, but the HomePod is meant more less to be stationary in a living room type setting. It's just one more thing that would need to be recharged when it's more convenient to leave it plugged in. And if someone forgot to charge it And wasn't aware of where the battery life is , then it would not be very effective for HomeKit control, etc if the battery was depleted.

 

[Martyimac]

What?! Are you serious?! An Apple User Group meeting?! lol!

Wait, you're retired aren't you? whats the average age of your AUG?

My guess would be 74,