Apple Says HomePod is Delayed Until Early 2018

[Abazigal]

Yes because all they care about is using cheaper parts to charge the highest price. That’s what kind of company Apple is. The statement about the ingredients in the dish and standards just doesn’t hold weight. They could use better components but like I said, the first thing they ever consider is maintaining the hefty profit margin. You can choose to be naive and think that Apple is benevolent. I think they are extremely greedy. Among the greediest out there.

I don’t think Apple is benevolent. It’s a purely mutually beneficial business transaction - Apple gives me the tool I want to get the job done, and in turn benefits financially from it.

Obsessing over these paper specs in a vacuum just feels like a textbook case of missing the forest for the trees. You know the specs of everything but not their value.

At the end of the day, the fact remains that few other companies can make products the way Apple can. You can choose to buy some other product which comes with the latest bleeding tech. Bluetooth 5.0. Gigabit LTE. The works. The resulting user experience still may not be better than what Apple can offer despite using worse paper specs. Which to me is the greatest irony of them all.

I have picked my poison, and am at peace with my choice. Seems like you all still aren’t.

 

[deanthedev]

I am well aware that the Home Max will probably have better low end to mid range spectrum than the homepod. The Homepod will probably have crisper highs on the other hand.

Cone area is king, then you have efficiency, mass, fs of the drivers, air space, resonating fq, etc. We don't know the TS specs of the drivers, but we do know the size, quantity, as well as the weight of the products. Google Home Max is 11.7lbs, Homepod is 5.5lbs. Home Max is 13.2 x 7.4 x 6, while Homepod is 6.8 x 5.6 x 5.6. You have to take into account the weight of the drivers and amplifiers. Each amp will have capacitors, mosfets, toroids, etc. If each of the 7 tweets will have its own amp, plus the woofer's amp, imagine how small these amps must be in order for the whole Homepod to only weigh 5.5lbs. I'm willing to bet that both companies are probably using class D topology.

I am currently using 2 Dss 18" (direct sound solutions) subwoofers on a Taramps 8k amp. The motors of the subs use MMAG technology, and its the only subs in the world with 3 air gaps. This means they can retain 100 BL as the voice coil moves out of the magnetic gap, unlike tradition drivers. With that being said, someone with 4 18's could get louder than mine depending on tuning fq of enclosure, power to the subs, vehicle resonance, and many more factors. My wall is currently tuned to 31hz, and used to be tuned to 28hz, and I could easily hit 153+db at 23hz, sealed up on the dash. Those 4 Pyle subs could probably beat me in frequencies above 60hz on the other hand though, but I doubt they could take as much power, except in short bursts.

Funny, I’ve heard the exact same arguments from others comparing their gear to my Meyer system. My speakers overall are smaller and use smaller drivers. Yet they absolutely stomp on other systems out there. I unload my gear for a gig in a 3,000 seat auditorium and I still have people question whether I have enough cabinets for the size of the venue. Until they hear it.

You need to get over the idea that “bigger is better”.

 

[Regime2008]

Funny, I’ve heard the exact same arguments from others comparing their gear to my Meyer system. My speakers overall are smaller and use smaller drivers. Yet they absolutely stomp on other systems out there. I unload my gear for a gig in a 3,000 seat auditorium and I still have people question whether I have enough cabinets for the size of the venue. Until they hear it.

You need to get over the idea that “bigger is better”.

So now you get the pass, yet again, to switch the topic...?! So no debate/logic to my arguments??? I obviously know a little thing or two when it come to audio. Saying you have a Meyer system has absolutely NO merit to this thread. Is Apple using Meyer audio? Absolutely not, so get back on topic. Let's be real, at 5.5lbs, there is no magic that Apple can pull out of a hat. You have no idea of sound reproduction according to the "retorts" you have had to my responses. You have not yet responded to any of my questions. Let's get back on topic, ok?

 

[Alvi]

Who cares about HomePod...I just want iMessage in the Cloud. iOS 11.1.2 is out and 11.2 is just about ready and it is still a no show.

Really, what happened with that?

 

[GadgetBen]

The limitations of Siri were known at WWDC.

Of course. Apple will have finally realised after WWDC that they need to do more to compete than just make a fancy speaker. Especially as the new Amazon Echo came out looking very similar to HomePod after the WWDC announcement with the capability to carry out more voice commands and for only £70.

I expect major Siri updates coming with the HomePod in Spring 2018. That will be good news for all of us.

 

[woody74]

The problem that Apple have here is that the HomePod and Echo, etc are dumb hardware. All the technology is in the software. Unlike a phone where you may want a better screen, camera, battery life, etc, once you have a HomePod or Echo is there really any reason to upgrade, as the software running it and creating all the functionality is online and constantly being updated. So if I have an Echo why would I ever upgrade to a HomePod. Ok, I will get better sound but the Echo is pretty good and I can get better sound from a Sonos. Are Apple really going to produce a speaker with better sound than Sonos, who are a 100% speaker company? If apple are not careful it will end up like the Blueray wars where millions had a PS3 with a blueray drive so why change to anything else, for no benefit. Unless Apple make Siri absolutely killer, which they have not been able to do for years no, then why would anyone switch or upgrade.

You have to wonder why Apple are struggling so much with Siri when Google and Amazon (an online retailer) have nailed it out of the box. I wonder if there is some technology that Apple just can't get a licence for. Apple even have the basic problem where on my Apple watch Siri rarely gets my voice dictation right, but the messages dictation function works perfectly almost 100% of the time. So they have the technology but it is just not used correctly across the board.

 

[Piggie]

The ai that might make this interesting is as yet unknown. The use of devices for surveillance is real. Get back to me in ten years
[doublepost=1511145347][/doublepost]
like the watch

Please tell me you are really not that paranoid to imagine Amazon are 24/7 listening to over 20 million alexa's all around the globe, in the hope it may catch just you saying something secret?

Please, think about this logically for one second, you don't REALLY think this do you?
[doublepost=1511175883][/doublepost]

The problem that Apple have here is that the HomePod and Echo, etc are dumb hardware. All the technology is in the software. Unlike a phone where you may want a better screen, camera, battery life, etc, once you have a HomePod or Echo is there really any reason to upgrade, as the software running it and creating all the functionality is online and constantly being updated. So if I have an Echo why would I ever upgrade to a HomePod. Ok, I will get better sound but the Echo is pretty good and I can get better sound from a Sonos. Are Apple really going to produce a speaker with better sound than Sonos, who are a 100% speaker company? If apple are not careful it will end up like the Blueray wars where millions had a PS3 with a blueray drive so why change to anything else, for no benefit. Unless Apple make Siri absolutely killer, which they have not been able to do for years no, then why would anyone switch or upgrade.

You have to wonder why Apple are struggling so much with Siri when Google and Amazon (an online retailer) have nailed it out of the box. I wonder if there is some technology that Apple just can't get a licence for. Apple even have the basic problem where on my Apple watch Siri rarely gets my voice dictation right, but the messages dictation function works perfectly almost 100% of the time. So they have the technology but it is just not used correctly across the board.

The problem Apple have is they are trying to do something impossible.

A exact analogy would be:

I have an Amazon Secretary in real life, she knows things about my home and family, and my work and calendar etc.
She does not know things like my finance and banking, but much of the normal aspects of my life I share with her, as she is then able to do things for me, and help me from day to day with many tasks and questions I may need.
That's how real life works.

Apple's version is I have a secretary that I 100% don't trust.
I think as son as I tell her anything, she will run to the cops, or run to others spreading information about me.
So I don't tell her anything.
Then I moan about her, as she's not able to be of much use to me, as I keep almost everything from her.

So is you want to keep everything to yourself as you are worried THAT much, then no one is ever going to be able to help you much.

And as has been said many many MANY times before.
Please........ Get over yourself.
Sorry, as a normal typical person, unless you are some world leader or head of the secret service or something.
No one cares about you that much in the 1st place.

 

[exexs]

I hope for once Apple will do things right... been so disappointed these last few products..

 

[Steve121178]

Who cares? It's just a speaker. I'm sure 100% of people that wanted one this side of 2018 will cope without it.

 

[Piggie]

I hope for once Apple will do things right... been so disappointed these last few products..

Well, Apple will do it THEIR WAY
Whether you feel it's right for you is of course another thing entirely.

Bit like the headphone jack.
You can't really say it's right or wrong. It totally depends on what you as the consumer want.

These devices has two separate sides.
The speakers bit is the easy bit. The Loudspeaker was invented in 1876/1877 and been in development ever since.
Sticking speakers in a box with an amplifier (millions of ways of doing this) has been done beautifully for high quality audio for many decades now.
That's the easy bit.
Almost any idiot? can do that.
The AI ? Smart assistant is the hard HARD bit.
Naturally you want to link it to the internet so it can respond to questions asked.
Also you wish it to integrate with 3rd party hardware and services the users may have.

This brings up the 1st question of will Apple allow it to link to other music providers?
I'm sure Apple want to only make it compatible with Apple Music.
Whether than have the "Courage" to lock it down this much (no spotify etc) we shall have to see.

Apple's current stumbling block is how useful can it be with your day to day tasks by using data about you/your life.
There is a lot of paranoia going on from some people who think the world is spying on the amount of toilet roll and playboy magazines they are buying!

 

[SAIRUS]

That or Tim hired too many people and getting anything done smoothly is now an issue, but is afraid of trying to get a coherent vision because that would contradict openness.

 

[MH01]

I don’t think Apple is benevolent. It’s a purely mutually beneficial business transaction - Apple gives me the tool I want to get the job done, and in turn benefits financially from it.

Obsessing over these paper specs in a vacuum just feels like a textbook case of missing the forest for the trees. You know the specs of everything but not their value.

At the end of the day, the fact remains that few other companies can make products the way Apple can. You can choose to buy some other product which comes with the latest bleeding tech. Bluetooth 5.0. Gigabit LTE. The works. The resulting user experience still may not be better than what Apple can offer despite using worse paper specs. Which to me is the greatest irony of them all.

I have picked my poison, and am at peace with my choice. Seems like you all still aren’t.

The key thing here is User experience, that is what separates Apple from the competition, as no specs can overcome poor user experience .

It's the reason I returned my iPhone X also.... $$$$$ to get a product out , sacrificing user experience.

If you do some research you will see Apple is starting to fall short on user experience to get products out to make $$$$. Jobs got it very much, Tim does not , well he does , but money is more important.

 

[citysnaps]

Let's be honest and realist here.
We see things like 360' speakers in demos and a few show set-ups.
And I'm sure SOME very few homes, would place a speaker on a table in the middle of a room (once they would out how to run power to the middle of the room)

But come on. We all know, for 99%+ of normal households Speakers are placed on a table, a shelf, a stand which is against the wall, and firing sound into the room. That's where you have all your wires and power sockets.

I've has a few 360' speakers, and it's a novel idea in theory.
But reality of people's homes is not the same.

As for moving the speaker around so it constantly needs to change the sound, or large items being placed by it so it again changes the sound.
Really?

I'm hoping for great room filling strong crisp/clear sound from any speaker. and not tech gimmicks.

I'm going to be very interested to see how the sound quality from Apple's unit stacks up to Google's Unit.

You seem to be creating a narrative that Apple's HomePod adaptive beam-forming and equalization technology is only interesting and only provides benefits when the speaker is placed in the middle of a room.

I'd be shocked if the features and benefits were limited to that one location.

 

[deanthedev]

So now you get the pass, yet again, to switch the topic...?! So no debate/logic to my arguments??? I obviously know a little thing or two when it come to audio. Saying you have a Meyer system has absolutely NO merit to this thread. Is Apple using Meyer audio? Absolutely not, so get back on topic. Let's be real, at 5.5lbs, there is no magic that Apple can pull out of a hat. You have no idea of sound reproduction according to the "retorts" you have had to my responses. You have not yet responded to any of my questions. Let's get back on topic, ok?

It’s not magic, it’s technology. If you can’t be bothered to educate yourself on the latest advances then there’s really no point in discussing this with you.

This is the difference between you (and many others here) and myself. I work with the latest audio gear on a regular basis. Systems that can run well over a million dollars and make my system look small (which makes your Jeep look like a $20 Bluetooth speaker). When I saw the HomePod demo and listened to the terminology they used I instantly knew where they were going. You didn’t. Which is how I know you don’t know what you’re talking about.

You seem hung up on driver size or enclosure size. You remind me of Samsung and Qualcomm. Hung up on cores and GHz while Apple blew by them all by extracting more from less.

 

[scottcampbell]

Do you think they finally noticed the problem of defining which device the user was trying to use when you say "Hey Siri" in a house with more than one Apple product?

True. "Hey HomePod" perhaps?

 

[iPhone_X]

Work out the kinks? Its a blinking speaker that responds to voice commands. Its hardly rocket science. It was announced like 6 months ago. Pathetic.

But that's the thing—it's not. Apple designed a speaker that those in attendance said sounded better than Sonos or anything else on the market and has some interesting technologies to create a surround sound environment. They also have to make sure Siri works well without a head, as Siri has always had a display to fall back on. That and the fact that Siri still isn't super great at answering a lot of things (for which there is no excuse given the crazy head-start that they had in 2011) so they might be working on fixing that, which would be the bigger news because it really needs some work.

 

[Regime2008]

It’s not magic, it’s technology. If you can’t be bothered to educate yourself on the latest advances then there’s really no point in discussing this with you.

This is the difference between you (and many others here) and myself. I work with the latest audio gear on a regular basis. Systems that can run well over a million dollars and make my system look small (which makes your Jeep look like a $20 Bluetooth speaker). When I saw the HomePod demo and listened to the terminology they used I instantly knew where they were going. You didn’t. Which is how I know you don’t know what you’re talking about.

You seem hung up on driver size or enclosure size. You remind me of Samsung and Qualcomm. Hung up on cores and GHz while Apple blew by them all by extracting more from less.

Well that is the difference between us two. I actually do know what I am talking about, I was even trying to engage in a good debate, but it seems you are not capable because of the lack of knowledge in this area. You made claims about how you do mobile production on your phone or tablet, and now suddenly, overnight, you work on large scale equipment....?! hmmm... Sounds very fishy... I am not convinced, BUT lets just say you actually do what you say you do. You should then be able to respond back with an intellectual answer, instead of literally dodging everything I ask or mention. If you are only going to quote me, just to change the subject, don't even bother quoting me anymore. I am extremely passionate about Audio, so you won't be able to fool me by putting on an act and pretending.

I already explained why the size and weight of the devices matter. Is the homepod anything special, or new? Absolutely not. They are literally copying off Sonos design with multiple amps. Copying Amazon/Google for trying to come out with a voice assistant speaker, in the home. The only unique thing it has, is Siri... Which isn't saying much at all, and seems more like a con than a pro.

Speakers really haven't changed much at all over the years. We still use a copper or aluminum voice coil, ferrite or neo for the motor, a former, surround, spider, tinsil leads, etc. There is no magic or new technology in the homepod, which means it can only rely on it's components, enclosure and software. I have designed enclosures, from the ground up, which is why i have been so adamant about this topic.

 

[Piggie]

You seem to be creating a narrative that Apple's HomePod adaptive beam-forming and equalization technology is only interesting and only provides benefits when the speaker is placed in the middle of a room.

I'd be shocked if the features and benefits were limited to that one location.

I will admit, as soon as any professional/serious long standing audio expert hears Apple constructed phrases such as "adaptive beam-forming and equalization technology" intended to make the person in the street go "whoooo" then they've lost any credibility.

This may very well be an American thing, hence why it's looked upon so sadly in the UK.
Picking names like Genius, Lightning, Retina, is along the same level as FLASH Gordon type.

Or perhaps rather it's more akin to how you would speak to a group of 8 years olds as the adult trys to think of impressive sounding words for them.

Please yes, do make impressive items, but for gods sake, please stop with the embarrassing terms you use.

 

[deanthedev]

Well that is the difference between us two. I actually do know what I am talking about, I was even trying to engage in a good debate, but it seems you are not capable because of the lack of knowledge in this area. You made claims about how you do mobile production on your phone or tablet, and now suddenly, overnight, you work on large scale equipment....?! hmmm... Sounds very fishy... I am not convinced, BUT lets just say you actually do what you say you do. You should then be able to respond back with an intellectual answer, instead of literally dodging everything I ask or mention. If you are only going to quote me, just to change the subject, don't even bother quoting me anymore. I am extremely passionate about Audio, so you won't be able to fool me by putting on an act and pretending.

I already explained why the size and weight of the devices matter. Is the homepod anything special, or new? Absolutely not. They are literally copying off Sonos design with multiple amps. Copying Amazon/Google for trying to come out with a voice assistant speaker, in the home. The only unique thing it has, is Siri... Which isn't saying much at all, and seems more like a con than a pro.

My basic point is this: a single driver of a fixed size could generate the same output as two drivers of the exact same size. You seem to want to ignore this simple truth, and based on nothing more than the size/weight of the HomePod vs the Max make a conclusion about their respective outputs. That’s the real difference between us - I say wait and see how they perform, you seem convinced without any data whatsoever to back your claims. Is this how someone who “knows what they’re talking about” decides equipment performance? By simply looking at pictures of how big they are? Or how much they weigh?

Apple copied Sonos? Outright lie. Which Sonos speaker had an array of tweeters and microphones before the HomePod was announced? Which Sonos speaker had real-time modeling? Which one had a processor with a fraction of the power of the A8? Please tell me what Apple copied from Sonos because I can’t think of a single thing.

As to your comment about me using mobile.....

Did it ever occur to you people can use more than one piece of equipment? I take pictures with my iPhone. I also take pictures with my Nikon D810. Is that a difficult concept to understand? Or are you just upset that Android is a complete and utter joke for mobile audio while iOS owns this market?
[doublepost=1511207529][/doublepost]

I will admit, as soon as any professional/serious long standing audio expert hears Apple constructed phrases such as "adaptive beam-forming and equalization technology" intended to make the person in the street go "whoooo" then they've lost any credibility.

This may very well be an American thing, hence why it's looked upon so sadly in the UK.
Picking names like Genius, Lightning, Retina, is along the same level as FLASH Gordon type.

Or perhaps rather it's more akin to how you would speak to a group of 8 years olds as the adult trys to think of impressive sounding words for them.

Please yes, do make impressive items, but for gods sake, please stop with the embarrassing terms you use.

I already explained this to you. Why are you claiming this is a gimmick without reading my description of how it likely works? Or does that contradict with your Apple bashing narrative?

 

[Hitrate]

Glad they're taking their time and not rushing this product.

 

[Regime2008]

My basic point is this: a single driver of a fixed size could generate the same output as two drivers of the exact same size. You seem to want to ignore this simple truth, and based on nothing more than the size/weight of the HomePod vs the Max make a conclusion about their respective outputs. That’s the real difference between us - I say wait and see how they perform, you seem convinced without any data whatsoever to back your claims. Is this how someone who “knows what they’re talking about” decides equipment performance? By simply looking at pictures of how big they are? Or how much they weigh?

Apple copied Sonos? Outright lie. Which Sonos speaker had an array of tweeters and microphones before the HomePod was announced? Which Sonos speaker had real-time modeling? Which one had a processor with a fraction of the power of the A8? Please tell me what Apple copied from Sonos because I can’t think of a single thing.

As to your comment about me using mobile.....

Did it ever occur to you people can use more than one piece of equipment? I take pictures with my iPhone. I also take pictures with my Nikon D810. Is that a difficult concept to understand? Or are you just upset that Android is a complete and utter joke for mobile audio while iOS owns this market?

I obviously do research, and extensive testing before i pick my gear. A single driver can get louder than 2 similar sized driver, I seen this a very few times at competitions. But that usually comes with at least doubling the power, better designed/efficient enclosure, etc. Doubling the power or doubling cone area can give around 3db gain. We can conclude that the homepod is using a single driver, in a smaller enclosure, and it only weighs 5.5lbs. So if you are still following along at this point, it's almost safe to assume the amplifiers don't weigh much, which means, it probably won't have double the wattage as the Home max. Aka, not as loud in the low end or mid range spectrum.

I specifically stated that the homepod is using different amplifiers for it's drivers, just like how Sonos did. I mentioned that to back up my statement that there is nothing special about the homepod that hasn't been done before. My headunit in my Jeep can auto EQ and Time Alignment. My driver's have their separate amps, crossovers, etc. If you actually work with all of this gear you claim, you wouldn't be amazed at ANY of these voice controlled speakers, as they cannot replace full range setups that people have in their homes.

Might wanna do some research as one person corrected you, and pointed out the same sweetwater website you claimed to only sell Apple gear, actually had quite a big selection of Android compatible devices. Plus everyone should know Android supports way more devices than Apple. There's over 1000 smart home devices that the Google ecosystem can connect to.

 

[Uofmtiger]

I specifically stated that the homepod is using different amplifiers for it's drivers, just like how Sonos did. I mentioned that to back up my statement that there is nothing special about the homepod that hasn't been done before. My headunit in my Jeep can auto EQ and Time Alignment. My driver's have their separate amps, crossovers, etc. If you actually work with all of this gear you claim, you wouldn't be amazed at ANY of these voice controlled speakers, as they cannot replace full range setups that people have in their homes.

Might wanna do some research as one person corrected you, and pointed out the same sweetwater website you claimed to only sell Apple gear, actually had quite a big selection of Android compatible devices. Plus everyone should know Android supports way more devices than Apple. There's over 1000 smart home devices that the Google ecosystem can connect to.

I agree that the HomePod will not replace full range speakers, but that isn't the bar that has been set. Many people want small speakers that sound decent with a small footprint.

As you mentioned, EQ has been around for a while, but how it is implemented isn't uniform across the board. My Onkyo receiver has a mic that you set in the center of a room and it plays test tones to adjust each speaker. Audyssey takes it further and has you move the mic around the room for several independent calculations. Audyssey has different versions of their software and they are not the same across the board.

Apple is going for convenience with their setup, but we don't know how well it will work. However, the room is often the thing that screws up decent sound quality....for even large floor standing speakers, which is why many audiophiles have dedicated rooms for their audio.

Apple Homekit works with a lot of devices. However, the number of home devices is less important than being able to control the most popular items. I believe Apple requires the system to pass some security tests before it can be part of HomeKit. That will knock some products out, though the list of supported devices is long.

I am still curious to see if it will implement Airplay control or if they are going to make it only compatible with Airplay 2 devices. Also, which devices get Airplay 2 updates other than the AppleTV 4 and 4k. This will determine how large the ecosystem is out of the gate.

 

[deanthedev]

I obviously do research, and extensive testing before i pick my gear. A single driver can get louder than 2 similar sized driver, I seen this a very few times at competitions. But that usually comes with at least doubling the power, better designed/efficient enclosure, etc. Doubling the power or doubling cone area can give around 3db gain. We can conclude that the homepod is using a single driver, in a smaller enclosure, and it only weighs 5.5lbs. So if you are still following along at this point, it's almost safe to assume the amplifiers don't weigh much, which means, it probably won't have double the wattage as the Home max. Aka, not as loud in the low end or mid range spectrum.

I specifically stated that the homepod is using different amplifiers for it's drivers, just like how Sonos did. I mentioned that to back up my statement that there is nothing special about the homepod that hasn't been done before. My headunit in my Jeep can auto EQ and Time Alignment. My driver's have their separate amps, crossovers, etc. If you actually work with all of this gear you claim, you wouldn't be amazed at ANY of these voice controlled speakers, as they cannot replace full range setups that people have in their homes.

Might wanna do some research as one person corrected you, and pointed out the same sweetwater website you claimed to only sell Apple gear, actually had quite a big selection of Android compatible devices. Plus everyone should know Android supports way more devices than Apple. There's over 1000 smart home devices that the Google ecosystem can connect to.

I never said Sweetwater only sold Apple gear. I said they had a dedicated iOS/iPhone/iPad section in their store. And none for Android. Which is true - there is no Android section. While some products come up in a search for Android it’s only because they happen to work with Android devices, not because there’s a huge market for it. I’d hardly call microphones with a standard 1/8” plug a “Made for Android” product. Android is still useless for audio production.

What does the number of devices that Google can connect to have to do with any of this?

Nowhere did I say I was “amazed” by smart home speakers. The only thing impressive about the HomePod is that Apple appears to be bringing real-time modeling to an inexpensive (relatively) consumer device. No doubt this is the reason they’re using the A8 - to handle the real-time audio processing. Because a normal smart speaker can get by with a fraction of the processing power.

Curious which deck do you have in your Jeep?

 

[Regime2008]

I never said Sweetwater only sold Apple gear. I said they had a dedicated iOS/iPhone/iPad section in their store. And none for Android. Which is true - there is no Android section. While some products come up in a search for Android it’s only because they happen to work with Android devices, not because there’s a huge market for it. I’d hardly call microphones with a standard 1/8” plug a “Made for Android” product. Android is still useless for audio production.

What does the number of devices that Google can connect to have to do with any of this?

Nowhere did I say I was “amazed” by smart home speakers. The only thing impressive about the HomePod is that Apple appears to be bringing real-time modeling to an inexpensive (relatively) consumer device. No doubt this is the reason they’re using the A8 - to handle the real-time audio processing. Because a normal smart speaker can get by with a fraction of the processing power.

Curious which deck do you have in your Jeep?

You can't even use a mouse on ios....(Jump Desktop or jailbreak doesn't count as its not natively built into the OS). It's definitely easier and a much better experience working with audio production on a REAL device, you know, like a computer. But I am glad you only nitpick my posts for the irrelevant stuff, but disregard everything else. Then again, you are asking "What does the number of devices that Google can connect to have to do with any of this?", Yet you are talking about mobile production in a thread that is about smart speakers...

Google Home Max has smart sound. Sonos has Trueplay. Auto EQ and TA isn't new to smart speakers. The lack of audio jack and even bluetooth really segregates what can be hooked up to the Homepod, not to mention all the questions on what generation of airplay devices can/cannot be used with it. Apple doesn't support multiple profiles on its devices, so will a family have to share a single account library of music? Their AI department is extremely lacking compared to Google/Amazon. This is what makes me wonder if the reason for a delay is because of the better devices that the competition offers.

I am using the Pioneer 80PRS. Burr brown 24bit dac, 28bit DSP, 5v preouts, and many other great features.
Here are the specs for it. Click on the details page.
Hopefully I am going to pull the plug, and get my hands on a Pioneer P99RS that's on sale right now.

 

[Abazigal]

Well that is the difference between us two. I actually do know what I am talking about, I was even trying to engage in a good debate, but it seems you are not capable because of the lack of knowledge in this area. You made claims about how you do mobile production on your phone or tablet, and now suddenly, overnight, you work on large scale equipment....?! hmmm... Sounds very fishy... I am not convinced, BUT lets just say you actually do what you say you do. You should then be able to respond back with an intellectual answer, instead of literally dodging everything I ask or mention. If you are only going to quote me, just to change the subject, don't even bother quoting me anymore. I am extremely passionate about Audio, so you won't be able to fool me by putting on an act and pretending.

I already explained why the size and weight of the devices matter. Is the homepod anything special, or new? Absolutely not. They are literally copying off Sonos design with multiple amps. Copying Amazon/Google for trying to come out with a voice assistant speaker, in the home. The only unique thing it has, is Siri... Which isn't saying much at all, and seems more like a con than a pro.

Speakers really haven't changed much at all over the years. We still use a copper or aluminum voice coil, ferrite or neo for the motor, a former, surround, spider, tinsil leads, etc. There is no magic or new technology in the homepod, which means it can only rely on it's components, enclosure and software. I have designed enclosures, from the ground up, which is why i have been so adamant about this topic.

Here’s the thing. Is there the chance that your experience with sound equipment might blind you to possibilities of what Apple might be able to accomplish here?

I remember when Apple launched the first iPhone and the CEO of blackberry couldn’t understand how the iPhone could have the battery life it did. Turns out Apple effectively rewrote the rules of the game by shrinking the logic board and basically filling the phone with battery.

Same here. Apple controls the hardware and the software. I have always seen the HomePod as a computer with speakers, rather than being just another smart speaker. I won’t be surprised if Apple was able to use software to compensate for its otherwise limited form factor and offer better sound quality than one might otherwise expect.

So Siri sucks. Take it away and you still have a very capable speaker. One that people won’t mind paying a premium for.

I think many people continue to sell the HomePod short and underestimate it to their own detriment.