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Apple Unveils $349 HomePod Smart Speaker to be Available in December
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They can have my blood sample, bank account info, etc. as long as I don't have to deal with a stupid AI.
I'm claiming it...
* HomePod 2 will contain AppleTV
Let's see if that will be the actual future.
* HomePod 2 will contain AppleTV
Let's see if that will be the actual future.
bc you could use google play music on your phone and make it stream via airplay, but why would someone do that? makes no sense to me....
Not comparing it personally to Sonos. Comparing to Amazon Alexia and Google Home. Both have a direction of AI and skills. This HomePod is mostly focused on Music. In this regard is a miss IMO.
It's how we watch Netflix in our chrimecast in the bedroom lol. But I wouldn't buy a smart
Speaker for just this functionality. I guess we will have to see how this pans out. Apple TV was a major letdown and went nowhere too.
The Echo does a lot of cool stuff but it does not produce good sound. Likewise for the Google Home.
That is the issue here. People need to stop comparing this to the Home and Alexia. Geesh, the ignorance is high on MR.
But can it stream music from my MacBook Pro's iTunes library over Wi-Fi? I'm old school and don't care for streaming music.
Really? I have the problem that if I raise my watch and say "Hey Siri" with my phone nearby, they both try to listen to my command and muddle it all up. So my first thought on seeing this new speaker was how useless Hey Siri would be because it'd be across the room trying to steal my watch/phone commands when I'm talking to them and not the speaker.
yeah and that's totally different as the device is only $35, i get that. But we are in an age with voice control, to not take advantage of it makes no sense to me. Sadly, i agree. I recently switched over to google for music as i've grown tired of apple's restrictions and playing their waiting game. I now have 4 google homes, 2 chromecast audios and 3 chromecasts. I used to be all Apple, but things have changed. Sold our iPad's and next computer will prob not be apple either.
This might be a good product for that person who will only buy the Apple brand and only subscribe to Apple's Music Service, but it's a poor choice for anyone else.
They will never sell that many because since it's a subscription only speaker and subscription only to one service they have really limited it's appeal.
It would be a pointless purchase if you don't subscribe to Apple Music.
Isn't this something one could check? Monitoring packets during regular conversation, if the device is sending information, people should be able to identify it.
And THIS is my biggest problem with apple. They tell you what you should want. There wouldn't be this many comments if they would have made this product in, say, three different price points. Entry - $200, Good - $350, Better - $700. But offering one and saying, this is all there is, makes it a tough sell.
i totally agree. they are limiting themselves, but it doesn't surprise me. However, I was surprised at the price this time. I was thinking $229, but they outdid themselves again and said $349. It won't go anywhere, just like Apple TV and homekit. Sadly.
<sarcasm>This is so awesome! I have been impatiently waiting for yet another device from which Siri can fail to understand me or execute even simple commands without asking me to "hang on." Now I can put one HomePoddy in every room and be surrounded by Siri's incompetence. Even more amazing is I can ask Siri on my watch, phone and HomePoddy!</sarcasm>.
I like the idea of great sound quality, and I'm sure it sounds way better than the Echo.
But buy a cheap Echo Dot, and plug it into some nice speakers and you can get something amazing.
I'm sure it will sell well to those deep into the Apple echosystem
For me, I have Amazon prime anyway, which gives many things, so it's hard and expensive to go with this.
But buy a cheap Echo Dot, and plug it into some nice speakers and you can get something amazing.
I'm sure it will sell well to those deep into the Apple echosystem
For me, I have Amazon prime anyway, which gives many things, so it's hard and expensive to go with this.
Yeah, I mean I don't think I have audiophile standards I guess. I don't think a serious audiophile would be satisfied with one Sonos though, and similarly one HomePod speaker. It may have more powerful drivers and it may claim to tune itself to your room but I would venture to guess at minimum having two physical speakers of high quality to provide true stereo will always be better.
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No I think you are not using the correct math there. If I'm going to pair an Echo with Play1, why would I use the full Echo device? I would not. I would use the Echo Dot.
So $50 + $200 = $250
As you know (after this announcement), most Mac users (who are also MacRumors users) are serious audiophiles, and an Echo cannot compete with the HomePod on audio quality. This is why the real comparison should be to the Sonos.
Google can't find fix for Home Outage. Hahahaha.
http://bgr.com/2017/06/05/google-home-outage-2017-assistant/
http://bgr.com/2017/06/05/google-home-outage-2017-assistant/
Flabbergasted? I never even commented on the audio of the HomePod. I think you are conflating two different things here. Nor am I disparaging against the quality of it. My point was, for $350, that's a fairly steep price point for something that better deliver exceptional results. Granted, Apple usually has more expensive price points starting wise, it is offputting how expensive this was going to be. I was thinking somewhere around the $250 range. The price point won't stop the HomePod from selling, but only the true results will be unveiled once this actually debuts.
Too high priced? LOL...quality wireless speakers for your home with any type of power are easily within that price range, and they don't include the their own SoC's and Siri/home hub capability. Anyone who thinks this is comparable to Amazon's speakers hasn't looked at the product description. It blows away those speakers for quality and capability. You need to compare it to speakers like the Bose SoundLink series.
Excellent post. I'm not excited at all about these speakers but I will say that although the HomePod doesn't have those capabilities now, doesn't mean it can't come later right? The Apple early adopters will subsidize the addition of later investment in services by Apple.