Apple's HomePod Estimated to Have Just 5% of Smart Speaker Market Share in U.S.

[Rocwurst]

I just found the answer: No, except if you share your account with the other users: https://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/sharing-itunes-match-among-family-members

so, it is still limited for what I need it.

My family and I share the same Apple ID for iTunes purchases so that we share the same playlists, purchased music, TV shows and movies and as mentioned, the one iTunes Match subscription across all our devices.

We still have separate Apple IDs for our iCloud accounts so that everything else like Safari bookmarks, iMessage accounts, Keychains, Find Friend IDs, Notes, Calendars, iCloud drives etc are still separate.

It works great for us.

 

[rdowty]

Apple needs to make something like the Google Home Hub or the Amazon Echo Dot.

 

[Rocwurst]

Apple needs to make something like the Google Home Hub or the Amazon Echo Dot.

Apple do effectively make an equivalent of the Google Home hub or Echo Show - it's called the iPad and Apple sells 45 million of them every year.

And yes, it can sit propped up on your kitchen bench and respond to Hey Siri commands like the Google Home Hub with Assistant and run Apple's Homekit Home App plus run all those millions of other iPad apps that have made the iPad the best selling tablet in the world. The iPad is also available in multiple screen sizes and price points.

The iPad (or an Apple TV) also automatically works as a hub for HomeKit allowing you to securely bridge all of your smart home devices out to the rest of the world.

With iOS 13, you can use Siri to control everything with your voice including all your apps on the iPad with amazing precision.

In fact the $199 iPod touch also does most of that as well though with a smaller screen.

 

[Timemaster]

Apple do effectively make an equivalent of the Google Home hub or Echo Show - it's called the iPad and Apple sells 45 million of them every year.

Come on this is a massive stretch even for Apple fan argument. Even you have to admit that.

You are paying 4-5x the cost for LESS functionality in the job you want it to do.
Yes over all the iPad can do more but in the area that you are comparing it with it does a hell of a lot less with a worse speaker, worse reactions on the screen ect.

They are 2 complete different playing fields and you are trying to argue they are the same thing.

To get the set up you are talking about there you are paying a lot more money and jumping threw a lot more hoops for a very basic thing......
Please just stop.

 

[Rocwurst]

Come on this is a massive stretch even for Apple fan argument. Even you have to admit that.

I thought that at first as well but then looked at all the things the Google Home Hub does and all of them can be done quite elegantly on the iPad - possibly not all in the one app, but with the new iOS 13's Voice Control features that isn't much of a problem. For example:

use your voice to view your latest events and reminders, and control compatible smart devices from a single dashboard. Ask questions, and get visual, immersive answers from Google, and helpful videos from YouTube. Plus, play your favorite songs on a crystal-clear speaker, and relive your memories with Google Photos.​

It's true that the iPad speakers no doubt wouldn't be as good as the Google Nest Home hub (though reviews say the Hub's speakers aren't brilliant for music - more for voice and youtube playback), but everyone on this forum doesn't seem to think the speakers on Echo Dots and the like are a disadvantage compared to the Apple HomePod. ;-). Bluetooth or Plug in a couple of speakers and you've got your choice of higher quality audio.

Price-wise, at $199, the 7" Google Nest home Hub is actually the same price as the 4" iPod touch or half the price of the 7" iPad mini at $399 (not 4-5x cheaper) but that's to be expected with Apple kit (particularly since the iPad can do so much more than the google device). :-D

 

[rdowty]

The 7" Google Home hub is $129 MSRP but I've picked up mine brand new for about $79 on sales and eBay.

 

[Rocwurst]

The 7" Google Home hub is $129 MSRP but I've picked up mine brand new for about $79 on sales and eBay.

Yes and you can get the iOS 13 compatible iPad mini 4 for $179 on Amazon or no doubt even cheaper on eBay as well.

(The Google Nest Home Hub MSRP is $199 on the Google online store though currently with a $50 off special)

 

[Timemaster]

I thought that at first as well but then looked at all the things the Google Home Hub does and all of them can be done quite elegantly on the iPad - possibly not all in the one app, but with the new iOS 13's Voice Control features that isn't much of a problem. For example:

use your voice to view your latest events and reminders, and control compatible smart devices from a single dashboard. Ask questions, and get visual, immersive answers from Google, and helpful videos from YouTube. Plus, play your favorite songs on a crystal-clear speaker, and relive your memories with Google Photos.​

It's true that the iPad speakers no doubt wouldn't be as good as the Google Nest Home hub (though reviews say the Hub's speakers aren't brilliant for music - more for voice and youtube playback), but everyone on this forum doesn't seem to think the speakers on Echo Dots and the like are a disadvantage compared to the Apple HomePod. ;-). Bluetooth or Plug in a couple of speakers and you've got your choice of higher quality audio.

Price-wise, at $199, the 7" Google Nest home Hub is actually the same price as the 4" iPod touch or half the price of the 7" iPad mini at $399 (not 4-5x cheaper) but that's to be expected with Apple kit (particularly since the iPad can do so much more than the google device). :-D

So in that case double the price for a massive reduction in functionality and quality of the job it is supposed to do.
I am not arguing that the iPad can do more. That is not the point. I am pointing in in the Job it is supposed to do the iPad does a much WORSE job at it.
In your case the iPad would be SLIGHTLY better compared to the basic google mini but fail compared to the Nest home hub.
Instead you have to pay a lot of money for all those extra which at this point are useless.

Apple really could used one of them and yes a cheaper speaker if they honestly want to play in this world.

 

[Rocwurst]

So in that case double the price for a massive reduction in functionality and quality of the job it is supposed to do.
I am not arguing that the iPad can do more. That is not the point. I am pointing in in the Job it is supposed to do the iPad does a much WORSE job at it.
In your case the iPad would be SLIGHTLY better compared to the basic google mini but fail compared to the Nest home hub.
Instead you have to pay a lot of money for all those extra which at this point are useless.

Apple really could used one of them and yes a cheaper speaker if they honestly want to play in this world.

What exactly is this "massive reduction in functionality" that you speak of? It is pretty obvious that the dumbed down Google Home Hub is the device that matches that description not the iPad, being based on ChromeCast hardware and software which means it can't just run any of the millions of Android apps out there and its hardware and GPU performance is anaemic.

You can't run your favourite Recipes app or Photos app or Music app or games - the list goes on. You're restricted to just those that have been written specifically for the Hub's limited Chromecast platform - it isn't even compatible with Google's Android Things platform which was supposed to be what smart display devices used. No camera for video calls, etc etc.

As one reviewer put it:

"Why pay $129 for a device that is less capable than an Android phone?"​

or as one Ars Technica commentator said in relation to not using the Android Things platform:

"Sounds like typical Google to me. Create two entirely different but competing products, release them both, and kill one a few years down the road." ​

No it is patently obvious that this dumbed down, locked down, privacy invading, slow, cheap piece of hardware is the thing that is having a hard time justifying its existence.

 

[burgman]

Yeah, because being able to stream from you iPhone is the same as being able to play content natively. If you were right, why would Apple add native Spotify support so quickly. Even Apple understands the difference and has changed their system. Why is it so important to your emotional center to pretend that Apple is always right about everything, even when Apple themselves back-pedals?

Why is it so important to your emotional center to use passive aggressive attacks against strangers on the internet that you disagree with?

 

[Sasha-1]

The HomePod is better for music and not just the sound quality. Even with Apple Music set on my echos Alexa has no clue what it’s doing when I request music playback. Siri on the HomePod knows what it’s doing and plays songs I like or songs I would actually listen to. It usually sticks to the same genre of music and even if it does mix things up it works.

However Alexa with Apple Music and the google assistant on my google home devices (google play music) just get it terribly wrong all the time. Most of the time playing things I’d never listen to and randomly mixing genres. It’s better for me to just request specific songs.

The HomePod has always been spot on for me since day one. Siri is lacking in other areas but nails music playback.

You make an excellent point. I had enabled Apple Music on through Alexa on my Sonos. And Alexa routinely lost it and could’t Play back Apple Music. I was never a fan of Alexa which is why the first devices I ever gave away were the Echo’s And this after writing one of the first positive reviews on Amazon for the first Echo. Echo as a music device is awful. And Echo Show was a complete disaster.

The thing with the Echo is that it was purchased as an AI device first and a music device LAST. The whole point of it was as an AI. Music came after. As an AI, it missed plenty because it doesn’t know about your tasks or messages.

HomePod is a Music device, first, and it is easily the best in class. As an AI, it’s not horrible. It’s simply not best in class. I asked Siri when kids go back to school. Siri said it couldn’t answer on HomePod. This happens too often. And so I say Siri needs improvement. iOS 13 is bringing more features to HomePod, like phone call hand off when you come home. Apple is clearly working on the features of HomePod and what we see now is just the beginning. Amazon is clueless in my opinion. I think Apple is well on the way to improvements that we users will actually use and find considerable value in.