When I said speaker system I didn’t mean a Sonos but a proper receiver and speakers. For most people that is obviously too much they rather buy something cheap with decent quality - which the HomePod is neither
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Says HomePod is Delayed Until Early 2018
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
When I said speaker system I didn’t mean a Sonos but a proper receiver and speakers. For most people that is obviously too much they rather buy something cheap with decent quality - which the HomePod is neither
And how much do those speakers cost? If the HomePod costs a little more than Sonos with better sound quality, how is that inappropriately priced? Seems pretty decent for what you get.
Sonos is half the price. I think of it this way though. If you belong to any of these categories you won’t likely buy the HomePod.
1. You don’t care about sound quality too much (go with echo or google)
2. You do care about sound quality a lot. Chances are then that you have an awesome sound system already. If you want to have a voice assistant you can’t connect the HomePod to your sound system.
3. You have any other music subscription other than Apple Music.
4. You buy it for the voice assistant but know how Siri works compared to others.
5. You already got an echo/google in your home (maybe even connected to your Spotify and sound system).
So in conclusion that leaves all Apple Music subscribers/people who will sign up for it that don’t have a good stereo at home, care enough about music to get it but not enough to get something better and/or love Siri. Even if that amounts to half the Apple Music subscribers which I highly doubt that would make only 15m sales.... not a very profitable niche.
You clearly have no knowledge of audio production if you think doing ANYTHING on an ipad is productive in the audio world. Use some real equipment and come back when you do. Night and day difference. More people do production on an iMac than an iPad. Guess what, NO TOUCH INTERFACE on the screen. Ever wonder why this is the same on PC side of things?
You have yet to respond to my questions.
The P99RS will blow away the homepod. Plain and simple. My current deck, 80PRS will also blow away the homepod. I cannot take you serious right now if you think something that can play around 80hz to maybe 16k will beat any possible combination of audio components, that can play 5hz to 20k, with a flat response. You would be the laughing stock of the SQ guys if you mentioned this anywhere outside of MacRumors. I am more of a SQL kinda guy. I enjoy quality, but I am a basshead at heart. Kinda crazy that you can have best of both worlds at over 150db on music
. You obviously don't know much about audio production or car audio either. Look up Rockford fosgate 360.3, Audison bit ten, JBL-ms8. There are Mosconi lineup, JBL- CROWN amps, MMAT's hifi lineup which I currently use for my mids. With that comparison of homepod vs a quality deck, the same could be said about home audio as well. Hook up whatever your heart desires to any of the other multitude of low-mid-high-audiophile quality devices/speakers
1. Lots of people want decent sound alongside convenience.
2. Those with awesome systems will be able to use this for Airplay2 and for putting great sound where there currently is none.
3. People can always switch to Apple Music. It is growing at about a million new subscribers per month now, so this may be the device that gets even more people to change to AM.
4. Many will prefer Siri because they prefer Apple’s approach to privacy over their competitors.
5. I have an Echo and am still in the HomePod market. The HomePod has features like AirPlay 2 that their competitors don’t have. I won’t be throwing out my Dots, though. I already have a Spot on preorder. In other words, your assumption is wrong.
Picked up a SONOS ONE this morning from amazon for $156....it’s back up to $175, still on sale. Going to play with it and see. Knowing that it will get AirPlay 2 support once Apple ships the HomePod means they will work together whenever that is. Shame Apple missed the Christmas season, but oh well. Going to enjoy the Sonos for now.
I think that AirPlay 2 (future) feature will sell a lot of these speakers to people still waiting on the Homepod. Very smart for Sonos to mention that this feature is coming.
How is the delay of the Amazon Prime Apple TV app Apple’s problem? They are not writing it Amazon is...
At this point, I’m pretty sure it’s been written, updated, and written again. Just don’t get onstage in June and tell me it’s coming out later this year and have me waiting for it after thanksgiving. Later this year, and Winter, and for the holidays, etc... are all ways of clueing customers into what’s up. Later this year was an insult based on where we are in the year.
Apple announced it, not Amazon. I like Apple, Amazon not so much. In this case it’s the announcement of it coming that was the tease that went too far.
sadly i think for apple, my experience will be fairly common.
im an apple lover, mac plus iPhone plus iPad plus apple watch plus iTunes match plus paid storage for photos.....and hadn't got a smart speaker, so home pod was right up my street.
even knowing it was far more expensive than google or amazon, i was intending to buy for christmas, mainly for general siri stuff and control of philips hue bulbs which i was going to buy also.
home pod gets delayed, and google and echo are both on sale during black friday, and importantly, philips hue stuff cheap as chips so i have to buy them but what use are they without a permanent voice control for them.
spring for a google home, telling myself its cheap enough that i could still buy an apple home pod after if i want.
the philips lights havent even arrived yet and already im happy with the google home. the sound quality is fine and google assistant blows siri out of the water.
realistically im struggling to see why id buy the home pod now. i mean if i just want a better speaker ill buy a sonos or something.
not only has apple lost my €350 speaker money, but i would have signed up for apple music for €7 a month. instead ive taken the 2 months free trial of google music and it works fine and is the same price so why swap? at the same time as signing up for it, i also notice that whether i keep it or not, google will store 50k tracks for free, so why am i keeping iTunes match? the only issue is i have to download 200 gigs and reupload to google but i have 4 months until my iTunes match sub runs out.
and while im at it, im paying a euro a month for my pics, and google will store them for free. id never really looked at google until i bought the google home but now....
im an apple lover, mac plus iPhone plus iPad plus apple watch plus iTunes match plus paid storage for photos.....and hadn't got a smart speaker, so home pod was right up my street.
even knowing it was far more expensive than google or amazon, i was intending to buy for christmas, mainly for general siri stuff and control of philips hue bulbs which i was going to buy also.
home pod gets delayed, and google and echo are both on sale during black friday, and importantly, philips hue stuff cheap as chips so i have to buy them but what use are they without a permanent voice control for them.
spring for a google home, telling myself its cheap enough that i could still buy an apple home pod after if i want.
the philips lights havent even arrived yet and already im happy with the google home. the sound quality is fine and google assistant blows siri out of the water.
realistically im struggling to see why id buy the home pod now. i mean if i just want a better speaker ill buy a sonos or something.
not only has apple lost my €350 speaker money, but i would have signed up for apple music for €7 a month. instead ive taken the 2 months free trial of google music and it works fine and is the same price so why swap? at the same time as signing up for it, i also notice that whether i keep it or not, google will store 50k tracks for free, so why am i keeping iTunes match? the only issue is i have to download 200 gigs and reupload to google but i have 4 months until my iTunes match sub runs out.
and while im at it, im paying a euro a month for my pics, and google will store them for free. id never really looked at google until i bought the google home but now....
I am curious about your thoughts on the comparison of both services, interfaces, etc. Phillips hue + Google home is a life saver for me. I can't tell you the amount of times i have been too tired to get up to turn off the lights, or to set an alarm, all without having to open my eyes, or getting out of bed! Hope you enjoy a glimpse of Google's ecosystem. Also, check out the Google home app from time to time, there's plenty of tips and tricks, coupons, deals, etc.
Last edited by a moderator:
Only dipping my toe in, in part because the stuff was selling out as I tried to buy it. Two starter kits which will cover lounge and give me two dimmer switches. Plus a fancy command unit and a motion sensor. Eventually hope to do the whole house
It sounds like you have a lot of Apple devices, but you don't appear to use Apple Music or Airplay, so that limits what the HomePod can do for you if you don't care about the sound quality.
Google and Amazon have their advantages in this area. However, a lot of people trust Apple with an always listening device in their home more than they trust Apple's competitors.
I have Dots around the house and will keep them, but I will most likely get the Homepod for the area that can serve the living room and kitchen. It isn't because I don't like the Echoes, but I want to be able to use Siri with Apple Music and send the audio by voice to my main system with Airplay2...the other systems can't do that. Siri already works great with Hue lights, so that will fit in just as well in the living room.
That isn't to say they Google isn't right for you and Alexa isn't right for others. However, Apple is leveraging their ecosystem which has always worked for them in the past. Whether it works here remains to be seen.
Last edited:
It almost sounds as if the homepod is the only option if you explicitly use Apple Music. If someone uses literally any other streaming services, it would be better on other platforms like Google/Alexa. Out of curiosity, how is Google and Amazon at a disadvantage when it comes to sound quality? They have devices that range from $29 to $399, so you literally have plenty of options in that regard. Plus Google has not been afraid to demo the Google Home Max. People have heard them, seen them, and touch them. There has literally been no coverage on the Homepod, so no one can claim "sound quality".
It is the only option for Apple Music users unless you want to live with Bluetooth from phone to device. None of these other devices work with Apple Music natively. Google doesn't have Google Play Music on the Echo and Amazon doesn't have Amazon Prime Music on Google Home. None of them currently support Tidal. So Apple Music isn't the only service available only on their own platform.
People that use Apple products get to use Siri with Apple Music. This is why it is the preferred service for millions of people.
As for sound quality, I was responding to the person that said:
"the philips lights havent even arrived yet and already im happy with the google home. the sound quality is fine and google assistant blows siri out of the water."
If they think the Google Home sounds fine, then the sound quality of the HomePod would not affect their purchasing decisions. However, it could have an affect on purchasing decisions for those that need decent sound with a small footprint.
As a side note, there were people that compared the HomePod to the Sonos Play 3 and preferred the HomePod. I haven't heard it, but we will see how it compares when it is eventually available. I am fairly sure that it sounds a lot better than the Google Home, though.
Last edited:
On the contrary, there are many Apple users who would rather use Spotify over Apple Music. Spotify works with Alexa and Google. Last I checked, it was not going to work (at least initially) with the HomePods.
I live in a Manhattan studio, and this would ideally fit my description. However, for me the biggest turn off is Apple's reliance on Siri. It is by far subjectively the worst of the 3 for me. I even turned off Siri on all my devices due to its inaccuracies. If miraculously they improve Siri's functionality, it would change my mind. Side note.. whenever I say to a client, "Are you serious", Siri activates. Great name
Sonos has native integration with Apple Music - currently its only voice recognition service is Alexa, though, and that won't let you control AM. It does not require Bluetooth from an Apple device, however.
Last edited:
Apple Music has thirty million subscribers. I accurately said that Apple Music was preferred by millions. My statement had nothing to do with Spotify users.
I wasn’t including Sonos in that quote. Sonos doesn’t have their own Assistant....which was the context of the post. However, you are correct that it will handle a (non-Bluetooth) stream from Apple Music. So does my Yamaha music streaming device, my Denon, my Onkyo, Phillips speaker, etc. In fairness, you can cast Apple Music to the Google Home by using a computer with Airfoil installed. You can also use an Android device as an AirPlay receiver using Airfoil Satellite and a computer.
As a side note, the HomePod works with every music service that I am aware of. It has Airplay receiving built in.
Personally, I like the AirPlay feature, but I am referring to walking up to the speaker and telling it to play an album from Apple Music without help from a seperate device. No one else does that.
Then tell the speaker to send the audio stream to the Apple TV 4s in zone one and having them play the stream. No one else does that, either.
Last edited:
There's a big difference between having Airplay and having Apple Music built-in. Airplay can't currently do multi-room audio without macOS, you can only control it from one device (and that device has to have iOS or iTunes), and it's prone to skipping and connection quality issues.
Sonos has real built-in support for AM, and that's a pretty serious distinction. As far as I know they are working on some sort of voice control for other music services as well. I'm not a huge fan of Sonos' ecosystem (and I'll be buying a HomePod personally) but to say HomePod is the only option for Apple Music users is incorrect.
No one does those things for Apple Music, except the homepod. But Google/Amazon not only do those things for pretty much every major music service in existence, but have been doing it for years. The examples you have used can be done with many other services as well as controlling all home automation if someone wants to. Only difference is, the user does not have to walk up to the speaker to make commands, nor have a separate device. Many TV's have casting built in, so they can just use their phone. Or a smart speaker. Both are not required.
The homepod only natively supports Apple Music. If other services can be casted to it, it will still need to be running on the iphone/mac. Unless airplay 2 changed this, this is a big downside.
AirPlay multiroom works with the WHAALE app. Airplay can do it, but Apple hasn’t put the feature directly into the OS. They are adding multiroom to AirPlay 2, so it will be a nonissue when the HomePod is released. The AirPlay issues you describe are typically wireless router issues or multiple devices using the same IP address. I have used AirPlay for years with no problems on multiple devices. In other words, I have first hand experience that contradicts both of your points. It isn’t as plug and play as Sonos mesh networking for many, nor did I make the claim that it was.
I think we have a different idea of what is “built in” to the hardware. Sonos doesn’t build Apple Music into the speaker’s hardware or the speaker’s software. A service can be added or removed by Sonos via software from the web without ever accessing the software or hardware on the speaker. They have to have permission from the music service because they are using their software on the web side of the equation. The iPhone or other third party controller is essentially accessing Apple Music via Sonos on the web and sending it directly to the Sonos speaker from the web. If you are using an iPhone, it takes less bandwidth than AirPlay ( which sends the stream to the device then takes that stream from the device and sends it out via Airplay), but it also means that apps like a Overcast don’t work with it. However, if Overcast made itself available tomorrow as a Sonos service, it could be added without a Sonos ever accessing the hardware or software on your speaker.
AirPlay is a protocol that allows signals to be sent over a network. It doesn’t require Apple to make a deal with anyone to use it because it works with the audio/video stream. Therefore, it works with pretty much any app. They put AirPlay 2 receiving and voice control features into the HomePod, so by doing so they have given HomePod users access to any audio app they want to use. AirPlay 2 should also help those with old WiFi routers because it is rumored to increase the buffer.
Sonos is putting AirPlay 2 into their new speaker for a reason. It gives the speaker access to any audio service rather than just the Sonos catalog of current services.
In any case, you can’t control Apple Music with the Sonos speaker via voice. This specific feature will be built into the HomePod ( voice control of Apple Music from the speaker).
[doublepost=1511849062][/doublepost]
That was my main point.
Last edited:
Multi room airplay has been built into iTunes for years, and no once you use more than four or so speakers simultaneously you will experience problems with dropouts in AirPlay 1, regardless of how well constructed your network is. It's just the nature of the protocol. Apple themselves have said the maximum supported speakers are between 3 and 6.
I'm not really sure what this very specific definition of "built in" has to do with anything, but for all intents and purposes Apple Music IS "built in" to Sonos. You don't need iOS/macOS/third party software to use it, it operates independently of any other device in your house, it will continue playing even if every other device you have is out of range or has no connection, and you can currently control playback (play/pause/skip) with your voice via Alexa. Whether the speaker needs a firmware update to support a new service isn't relevant (which it actually has in the past). At the moment you don't have full control over searching Apple Music's catalog via voice, but there is every indication that this will be supported in the future.
A more accurate statement would be the HomePod will be the only way to get SIRI on a speaker, and with all the hate Siri gets here that isn't exactly a major selling point.
You said "It is the only option for Apple Music users unless you want to live with Bluetooth from phone to device." which is incorrect, people do have options.
Last edited:
If memory serves me correct, people have pretty much said the same thing with regards to just about every Apple product prior to its release.
This is a very niche product. It's not your typical Apple. Remember the iPod Hi Fi? It was actually a solid and useful product. The Homepod is nowhere near as functional. Siri is unreliable, and a pain to use. I'm sure nobody is dying to have a Siri Speaker, not even Sheeple.
Last edited: