Yeah, 60K seems about right. LOL...were you making these thoughtful predictions when Watch was released too?
Just wait for HomePod to pick up steam.
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 Sold an Estimated 600,000 HomePod Speakers During the First Quarter of 2018
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Just wait for HomePod to pick up steam.
So what? The feedback is mediocre... A lot of die hard Apple fans are not really impressed. And that says a lot.
Additionally, Apple -for whatever reason- is holding back sales in a lot of countries. When they start selling there, people won't care anymore if Apple by then didn't fix the HP's problems. Frankly, I dout they will. Probably they make it for the release of the HomePod2. At least that was the destiny of the Apple TV 4. Only around the release of the 4K successor this device became "final". That said, there's still no SIRI on that in a lot of countries. If Apple is treating the HomePod the same way... my recommendation: at least wait for 2nd gen.
Bottom Line: They are not a "static system". May sound different over time, as firmware/settings change. That's one of the reasons I don't like smart speakers for music. A decent HiFi system by definition should have a linear output, no smart AI that "improves" sound quality by bass boost, stereo widening or whatever... I'm not saying they sound bad, but if one is seriously into music, a smart-speaker (set) IMHO isn't the natural choice.
Additionally, Apple -for whatever reason- is holding back sales in a lot of countries. When they start selling there, people won't care anymore if Apple by then didn't fix the HP's problems. Frankly, I dout they will. Probably they make it for the release of the HomePod2. At least that was the destiny of the Apple TV 4. Only around the release of the 4K successor this device became "final". That said, there's still no SIRI on that in a lot of countries. If Apple is treating the HomePod the same way... my recommendation: at least wait for 2nd gen.
https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-homepod-vs-sonos-one-sound-quality-face-off/ pretty much sums it up...
Same for some other speakers. Since the only reason they actually sound good is DSP, which is software, that can easily be changed by a firmware update or device "AI". It may sound different depending on the source. I observed Echos adjusting the EQ based on the genre when playing from Amazon Music, but not for Spotify.
Bottom Line: They are not a "static system". May sound different over time, as firmware/settings change. That's one of the reasons I don't like smart speakers for music. A decent HiFi system by definition should have a linear output, no smart AI that "improves" sound quality by bass boost, stereo widening or whatever... I'm not saying they sound bad, but if one is seriously into music, a smart-speaker (set) IMHO isn't the natural choice.
Last edited:
I know that you are covering up for the HomePod's flaws at this point. I am an Apple users with multiple iPad's and iPhone's and devices. HomePod is not worth the money at all in comparison to Amazon Echo. The problem with HomePod is that you can't build no skills to make it a smartspeaker. #2. No Bluetooth.
Apple wants to sell you two HomePod's for $700. At that price you can have an Echo, two nice Edifier powered bookshelfs and two Polk PSW10's. It will clearly will blow away two HomePod's in fidelity and tonal quality.
The arguement isn't just the sound quality of HomePod, but its the lack of features for the price. Based on HomePod's value it should be closer to $149-$179.
Mileage may vary.. but i dont know ONE person who has or is intending to - buy the HomePod.
I'm not very interested in focus groups of 1.
People here said that about the iPhone X, A LOT and it was proven wrong 2 quarters in a row with actual data.
HomePod is a new product. AppleMusic saw nice gains in subscriptions after its release. These things take time. You know iPhone sold like 1.4M units its first year?
Imagine how many they'd have sold if it had a 3.5mm audio input.
Cook’s first dud. Apple’s made several mistakes here. First and foremost was the cost to benefit ratio. If I’m spending over $300 on a smart speaker it better be pretty smart in addition to sounding good. The speaker is smart in terms of what it can do to process sound and figure out the best way to play it given its placement in the room but not nearly as smart as Amazon and other competitors when it comes to the personal assistant.
Siri sucks. Using Siri as the primary way to interact with the device was a bad decision given the state of Siri. Further limiting the device such that it only works with Apple Music was also a bad decision. Failing to deliver on Airplay 2 so the devices could pair and play music in stereo has also hurt sales. With such limitations this thing should’ve been priced no higher than $250 bucks.
I would’ve dropped $250 on one. As it stands now I’m treating this like the Apple Watch. I may consider buying a used or refurbished model at a better price point at some point in the future but the software has to get better for that to happen. I wouldn’t consider buying it retail at full price until rev 3 of the hardware and software are released.
Whenever Apple releases a new device it always seems to be rev 2 or 3 of the hardware and software before the device feels complete is terms of getting your money’s worth out of it.
Siri sucks. Using Siri as the primary way to interact with the device was a bad decision given the state of Siri. Further limiting the device such that it only works with Apple Music was also a bad decision. Failing to deliver on Airplay 2 so the devices could pair and play music in stereo has also hurt sales. With such limitations this thing should’ve been priced no higher than $250 bucks.
I would’ve dropped $250 on one. As it stands now I’m treating this like the Apple Watch. I may consider buying a used or refurbished model at a better price point at some point in the future but the software has to get better for that to happen. I wouldn’t consider buying it retail at full price until rev 3 of the hardware and software are released.
Whenever Apple releases a new device it always seems to be rev 2 or 3 of the hardware and software before the device feels complete is terms of getting your money’s worth out of it.
I owned an echo well before I owned the HomePod. Sound of homePod is much better but it's just a speaker and it's a single speaker. Doesn't work with the sonos my home is all wired for. Got it as a gift but just sits there more of the time. Hopefully with some updates it will be more useful. Can't even be used for useful things when my iPhone isn't at home. My wife and kids complain its worthless when I'm at work away from that network.
More than half a million people have disagreed, myself included. And that's even before AirPlay 2.
I didn't buy it to be a cheap-ass counterpart to Alexa. I bought a high-quality digital speaker with a nice flat frequency response that also functions as a HomeKit hub. The fact that I can use Siri to control my lighting and get weather updates is just a bonus.
LOL then I’m not very interested in your focus group of 1 opinion either. Haha bye
If you’re really fussy about sound quality, you’re probably better off hooking up an Echo Dot to your existing HiFi system. I don’t think anyone who is into music doesn’t already own at least some decent bookshelf speakers.
Literally made an account to comment on this.
I have 15+ Apple devices, ranging from iMac to AirPort to Apple TV.
For the price of one HomePod, I've bought 3 Amazon Echo's, and an Echo Dot.
Couple that with Amazon's price drops, (sometimes $89 for Echo, and $39 for Dot) I've covered my entire home, for less than the price of a single HomePod.
I have 15+ Apple devices, ranging from iMac to AirPort to Apple TV.
For the price of one HomePod, I've bought 3 Amazon Echo's, and an Echo Dot.
Couple that with Amazon's price drops, (sometimes $89 for Echo, and $39 for Dot) I've covered my entire home, for less than the price of a single HomePod.
Ditto here not knowing anyone with an Amazon or Google speaker. Is that significant? Of course not.
[doublepost=1526597129][/doublepost]
Does that work well streaming a YouTube video from a Mac? How about handling Apple Music?
My set up is: playing a lossless rip of a CD, transmitted losslessly via Airplay, to a digital speaker digitally soundshaping using an A8 processor.
But if I ever wanted phone-quality sound, what you suggest would work.
Which is why Amazon needs to be reduced or stopped. They are buying up businesses left and right, online and offline, and are killing off local shops and even chains (look no further than Toys-R-Us).
Right now it's just a better-sounding version of an Echo or whatever, but with a worse assistant. So where's the ecosystem? Even the Apple TV has an App Store now -- why isn't there an SDK and third-party apps for the HomePod?
It doesn't really seem to be a dud. It didn't have the full quarter and managed to sell quite a bit it seems.
I bought 15 netbooks for the price of one Macbook Pro.
Like what's your actual point? Low quality speakers cost less?
You're misreading that. He's saying that someone who is really super into high quality music reproduction probably already has a good amp/receiver and some good speakers (yes, believe it or not some people already own much better speakers than the HomePod, "digital soundshaping" notwithstanding).
If they want to add voice control they'd just hook up a cheap Echo Dot or whatever and continue to listen to their music on their existing equipment -- versus blowing $350 on a mono speaker that is superfluous to their setup.
Last edited:
Apple keeps saying it's not a smart speaker and it's not trying to compete with Alexa and Google. I said at the release that even if that is 100% true and it never was intended to compete against a Dot or whatever that because Apple was so late to the market and because Siri is part of the product that it was going to be grouped in with smart speakers whether they intended it to be or not.
i see lots of commercials now for tv's and other products advertising that they can be controlled by Alexa. Apple should have had a lead in this field, but they don't, and it isn't close. Alexa may not be all that smart really -I keep seeing articles saying that none of the smart assistants are really good- but of the 3 big names Apple's Siri is last in performance and reliablility. Why did they buy out Siri if they were going to ignore it for years?
Have you listened to an Amazon Echo?
If you're an audiophile, you have audiophile speakers, I.e. Magenepan with a McIntosh amp, or if you're a frugal audiophile, you still have some stellar equipment.
My point isn't that low quality speakers cost less, its that Amazon Alexa/Echo, offers more value, functionality, and gets you to the same place, for less money than Siri and HomePod.