by insane I mean from a price/performance standpoint. The sound of a $350 bookshelf speaker set up will be insane compared to a $350 homepod.
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's Early Version of HomePod Stood Three Feet Tall and Packed Dozens of Speakers
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
by insane I mean from a price/performance standpoint. The sound of a $350 bookshelf speaker set up will be insane compared to a $350 homepod.
I am not sure they will ever get market share in this market because of price (though, I am sure their profits will dwarf Amazon's profits in this market...typical of Apple). However, there are at least 30 million people using Apple Music. My guess is that a lot of them use the service because it works with Siri on the ever-popular iPhone (it is my main reason for using Apple Music). If those people want an Echo competitor that works natively with their music service of choice, they have to get a HomePod. Also, it does control smart devices (HomeKit) and that is one of the main uses of the Echo. Not to mention that it will work with Airplay 2 (AppleTV 4s with more devices to be announced later).
As you said, this is mainly for people that are in Apple's ecosystem. Lucky for Apple, that is a lot of people.
Honestly my dentist as an Echo ( the original tall one) and it sounded fine. The biggest fail with the home pod is that it needs to be plugged in and has no battery power. If it was attached to some Qi charger base but i can pick up and take it outside on my patio or move it to another room or take it to a friends pool etc i think it might be more successful.
You're missing the point if you think that this speaker is a better proposal than attaching an Echo Dot to a couple of versatile and high quality Harmon Kardon speakers for less money. It wouldn't cost that much more to buy two SonoS speakers, with Alexa built in. You could have multi room, stereo pairs, and expansion for the price it would cost you to put a homepod in the corner of your room.
The point is, that for the market this is aiming for there are better and at least equal options for less money that will be good enough for most users [typical of this market].
And no, I haven't heard the Homepod yet, but the set up I've got is incredible enough and it cost me less money. If Apple can't compete with or without Siri, then who exactly is this speaker for? What's the selling point? Better sound? Than two Sonos? Better design? Apple Design?
You've got to be kidding me.
It's $100 (at least) over priced. They should have made a hub, or used the Apple TV, or something. And they should be selling a competing Homepod Nano for the same price as an Echo Dot. No-one cares about Siri, and Alexa wins hands down, every time. Google Assistant is even better, but Amazon have the traction (and the Line out).
If, as you say, Apple aren't pushing Siri in the Homepod, they've completely miss-judged the market. They've got this wrong. Just like the Apple Hi-Fi thing disappeared, this will too.
So Apple is just going to go head to head with another company selling yesterday's technology? This is quite disappointing.
I have a multi-room setup using Echo Dots (My rooms and patio already had decent built in speakers and amps, so easy upgrade), and while Amazon flipping the multi-room audio switch this summer was absolutely amazing, there is more to Echo than just a music player. It controls all of my lighting, HVAC, and more.
Apple is really missing out on smart home, while Amazon becomes more and more entrenched. This is where its all going. Its like focusing on iPod only while everyone is well along the way making smart phones (which also happen to have music player apps).
I have a multi-room setup using Echo Dots (My rooms and patio already had decent built in speakers and amps, so easy upgrade), and while Amazon flipping the multi-room audio switch this summer was absolutely amazing, there is more to Echo than just a music player. It controls all of my lighting, HVAC, and more.
Apple is really missing out on smart home, while Amazon becomes more and more entrenched. This is where its all going. Its like focusing on iPod only while everyone is well along the way making smart phones (which also happen to have music player apps).
The article says that Apple wants to compete with companies like Bose who has been selling speakers (without Siri) for upwards of $350 for many years and still has a good reputation for producing great sounding devices. Apple’s last speaker was the iPod Hi-Fi which was a complete failure. Needless to say, they don’t have a good reputation for producing quality speakers. Let’s see what they produce this time around. HomePod is already delayed for whatever reason so we’ll have to wait to see how good it is.
Of course, 'nice' sound quality stretches waaay down to $50 levels, and I can guess which way Apple will go.
Wow, sounds amazing... If we're lucky, it might even be as intuitive as Siri...
So it's safe to assume the Homepod are using better quality drivers and amp's than what someone could buy separately for the same price? I would have to agree with @mattopotamus on his statement in this regard. And if someone is only trying to match the SPL levels of the homepod, they definitely don't need the biggest speakers/most powerful amp.
I bought an Echo Dot, and was thrilled to discover I could have it respond to "Computer". Then I won a full Echo, and found that "Computer" was not an option. Now I have to remember which one I'm talking to and it's name.
But they're also useful for checking the time, and the weather... and playing music... yeah, they don't do quite what I thought they would for me.
Well I can tell those engineers that my current Amazon Echo sounds better than the HomePod that I can’t buy. And the three new Echos I will buy this holiday (for $250 total) will sound even better. I’m all in on Apple ecosystem, but I think my home automation is going to end up being Amazon controlled. Apple is just too late. And while the HomePod may sound amazing. It won’t compare to two foot tall bookshelf speakers in my home entertainment center or the coffee table sized subwoofer.
There is probably still a ton of room in this space. But messing around with minutrizing a bunch of speakers for five years was not good planning. This should have been out at least a year ago.
There is probably still a ton of room in this space. But messing around with minutrizing a bunch of speakers for five years was not good planning. This should have been out at least a year ago.
Exactly. If you want one badly, and you are dead set against the other, this is not the one for you.
I agree with this. It's why people bought transistor radios, and Walkmans, and boom boxes, and bookshelf stereo systems, and CD players, and iPods.
Each of these brought a level of convenience or portability that they didn't have before. Audiophiles sneered (some of them at least), but the people buying didn't pay attention. Which is good for audiophiles. If everyone is an audiophile, then no one is.
Of course you would agree. Nothing like making claims about performance of an unreleased product that nobody has tried yet.
I think it is telling Apple is fixated on sound quality to hide the fact that as a home assistance service, Siri is the worst. I think HomePod's delay is 100% Apple trying to get Siri up to snuff on it.
I never bought an Echo or Google Home as a speaker itself expecting excellent sound quality. In fact I use ChromeCast Audio and connect that to a pair of BEOPlay speakers and another to my home theater system, both of which will sound better then HomePod. I don't play music ON Google Home, I request music through it.
If I had to put up with Siri on even a very high quality speaker product, what is the point? Google's service is so much better then Siri at the moment, I mean Siri you have to ask for the exact name of the album or artist or song to play, Google does a fuzzy search backed by their excellent online search that lets me say something like "hey Google, play that stupid fox song", and it knows I mean.
Audio quality is not what customers are demanding from these assistance products, its the services running on them that matter. At the end of the day you can connect Echo or Google Home to much better audio system then HomePod will offer anyways and continue to enjoy their excellent services as well.
But no doubt Apple will Trump up the idea that its all about sound quality, dismissing comparisons of Google or Amazon's voice services as sub-par just because their speakers don't sound as good and Siri will continue to suck and do far less in comparison, and then Time will tout HomePod as one of the best products of 2018.
I never bought an Echo or Google Home as a speaker itself expecting excellent sound quality. In fact I use ChromeCast Audio and connect that to a pair of BEOPlay speakers and another to my home theater system, both of which will sound better then HomePod. I don't play music ON Google Home, I request music through it.
If I had to put up with Siri on even a very high quality speaker product, what is the point? Google's service is so much better then Siri at the moment, I mean Siri you have to ask for the exact name of the album or artist or song to play, Google does a fuzzy search backed by their excellent online search that lets me say something like "hey Google, play that stupid fox song", and it knows I mean.
Audio quality is not what customers are demanding from these assistance products, its the services running on them that matter. At the end of the day you can connect Echo or Google Home to much better audio system then HomePod will offer anyways and continue to enjoy their excellent services as well.
But no doubt Apple will Trump up the idea that its all about sound quality, dismissing comparisons of Google or Amazon's voice services as sub-par just because their speakers don't sound as good and Siri will continue to suck and do far less in comparison, and then Time will tout HomePod as one of the best products of 2018.
And of course you would object to it. Since when has Apple released a product that wasn't heavily marked up in price compared to similar products from other companies? They always charge a high premium, which is no secret. They are the most profitable company. A $350 homepod or the $399 Google Max Home aren't going to be able to compete against living rooms speakers, or even a good set of bookshelf speakers in its price range. They aren't really meant to in the first place... Which is why I agree with @mattopotamus. You can only do but so much with a single 4" woofer and 7 tweets, opposed to selecting each component of your system.
Stereo sound will ALWAYS beat a Single source, regardless if they throw "360 sound" into the mix. There should not even be a debate about this. Music is recorded in stereo, not mono. You should know this...Don't you do production?
I don't think anyone's suggesting engineers should be setting the roadmap. Merely that they should be listened to, and their feedback factored in. Ignoring their input is a great way of demotivating the team and losing talent. Not to mention it's rejecting feedback from those in the company with the most technical knowledge.
Still, it'd be better than letting your competitors set your roadmap for you. That way you're always a day late and a dollar short.
