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 HomePod Plans: What's in the Works for 2023 and Beyond
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Basic amps don’t need them because they are not designed for multi-room audio. D’uh. What’s your point?
If you want a multi-room audio system, you need some way to connect them. Maybe you prefer living in the 80s and carrying your CDs from room to room, and that’s fine. But that’s hardly a knock on Sonos (or any other multi-room system). With Sonos, you can buy whatever basic amp you want, whatever speakers you want, and use the Port to add Sonos functionality. You aren’t locked in to their powered speakers or even their amp.
If I'm that desperate for multi room audio, I could always dig out my old airport expresses or use some other pre-amp gizmo.
Last edited by a moderator:
Lol. In other words, you have no point. But I think we already knew that.
Last edited by a moderator:
Oh you’re talking about a battery dock I thought you meant like an entirely different speaker. Got you.
I really like my HomePod Mini but I’m holding off on getting more in case there is a refresh in the new year.
I wish I had your luck. The last time I struggled getting the surround to work the tech suggested I try some different power outlets. Everything is in the same room so it isn't the network and has happened with at least the last 4 routers I have had.
And it isn't disconnected so much as the system just no longer knows the surrounds are there (LS?+RS?). So manually reset them. Add them back. Attempt to add them as surrounds, watch them fail. Reset them, try to add them. Reset them again. Reboot my phone and my router. Add them back, try to add them as surrounds, when that failed start over. Eventually through sheer luck they will be back and work fine for weeks or months. Then one day the system will not know they are there and I have start over again.
Edit: And I forgot that Sonos uses so many trackers I have to add exceptions to my pihole or they won't work at all.
True... but the one hardware flaw that the mini has, is its wifi. Why did they go for 802.11n in single channel mode (72Mbps)? Apple should have used 802.11ac or better 802.11ax for more stable connection and less channel hogging.
We have eight mini's in the house, two stereo sets and four mono. It is possible to play something on each set individually at the same time. But not with Airplay. Then it is limited to sets of four Homepod mini's. If you try five or more, it will fail. For some reason the utilisation of the wifi channel is always maxed out.
I hope Apple will correct this in newer models.
sigh
You can lead a horse to water.... but you cant make it drink.
Google it!
You'll find HomePod mini battery docks!!
Im not doing all the work for you!
p.s. happy new year
Mission Battery Base for HomePod Mini (Black)
Mission Battery Base for HomePod mini holds the HomePod mini secure. The integrated rechargable battery holds a charge for play-time of between 5-7 hours, depending upon use and conditions. Many users just leave their HomePod mini in the Battery Base permantently, sometimes using the HomePod mini...
www.amazon.co.uk
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Go right ahead and feel frustrated all you want, but I never asked either to be led or to drink. I don't really get the point of providing a link to a non-relevant item and saying "these have been available for a long time now" when you could have just said, "such things already exist, try google" in the first place. From here it feels kinda like you grabbed the wrong link by mistake and now you're using bluster to cover that up. Whatever makes you happy, I suppose.
Happy new year to you too.
I know, right!
Some people eh. Quick to aggression for some reason.
Clearly my link was a little slip of the keyboard whilst I was kindly searching for a link for the HomePod version in Amazon I clicked on the echo one instead and posted that link.
Still, that should have been enough to prove the point that such devices exist and do exactly what the person wanted.
... hence my lead a horse to water comment
Last edited:
Your experience is interesting. I am an old audiophile who treats the HomePod originals with a great deal of care because they are essentially impossible to replace. I totally use Siri and Apple Music, and never exceed 50% volume (per Siri) because if I need more volume, by definition I need more than a stereo pair of 7" bookshelf enclosures each with 8 small speakers, 7 of which are tweeters.
Looking at the spectacular performing uber-complex original HP speakers assembly I assume that overdriving to the point of damage will be a weakness consequent to the amazing self-balancing capabilities of the original HPs. I use the HPs in a space that includes a 16' wide brick wall, two heavy wood floor-to-ceiling bookcases, a fish tank, a pair of HPs on fixed platform; then three 4K displays on a heavy 3'x5' stand-up desk with a glass wall contiguous on one side and a plaster wall contiguous on the other side. I considered the space impossible to configure a pair of speakers to achieve good sound to my trained ears at any price.
The original HPs promptly self-configured to provide very good sound. I remain amazed by the the good self-configured sound to this day.
P.S. Reports of firmware updates bricking HPs mean I will not be updating firmware...
P.P.S. If new sound-competent HPs do come out I hope that Apple provides a mechanism to add a powered subwoofer into the system without disrupting the self-balancing capability of the setup. Heck, Apple could sell their own optional subwoofer; I would pay the Apple Tax.
Last edited:
I LOVE my 3 OG homepods and 5 minis. BUT they seem to have gotten dumber! I mean I used to be able to ask VERY basic questions, and now the response is "I do not have that information"
Apple seems to be testing multiple different ideas for future feature additions for the HomePod smart speaker, so we thought we'd highlight all of the different speaker rumors that we've heard so far.
At least one HomePod update is expected in 2023, though we may be waiting longer for some of the more fantastical functionality that we've seen rumored.
Larger-Sized HomePod (2023)
Apple in 2021 discontinued the original full-sized HomePod in order to focus on the more popular HomePod mini, but rumors suggest that Apple is once again ready to try selling a larger HomePod speaker.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said in 2020 that Apple is working on a HomePod that would be larger than the HomePod mini and closer in size to the original HomePod. It could be between the HomePod and HomePod mini in size, sound quality, and cost, offering an option for those who want something bigger than the mini but not as expensive as the first HomePod.
Such a speaker could be priced somewhere around $150 to $200, which would exceed the price of the $99 HomePod mini, but would be more affordable than the $299 HomePod.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in May 2022 said that Apple is designing a new HomePod, but he did not provide specifics on sizing and he said there "may not be much innovation in hardware design" for the new HomePod. It's possible that he was talking about the same middle-tier HomePod that Gurman has mentioned, but with a design similar to the HomePod.
The new HomePod could feature a multi-touch display on the top for physical control purposes, along with an S8 processor, the same processor that's in the Apple Watch Series 8.
Kuo said that the new HomePod could come out in late 2022 or early 2023, while Gurman says the larger HomePod is on track for a 2023 launch.
With 2022 out now that the year is close to over, it's sounding like we could see some kind of new HomePod option in the first quarter of the year, if the rumors are accurate. Apple could, perhaps, pair a new speaker announcement with the launch of Apple Music Classical, a new Apple Music feature that was slated for 2022 but did not come out.
New HomePod Mini (2023)
Alongside the larger HomePod that's in the works, Apple could do a simple refresh of the HomePod mini. New features are not expected, nor are design changes, but updated colors would be easy enough for Apple to debut. If a new HomePod is slated for 2023, it's likely that a minor refresh to the HomePod mini would come at the same time.
Apple TV and HomePod Hybrid
Apple in the future could combine the Apple TV and the HomePod into one device, creating a set-top box with high-end audio capabilities, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
This HomePod and Apple TV hybrid device could feature a camera for video calls, with a connected TV serving as the screen. It would function like an Apple TV, offering gaming, support for streaming content, and music playback.
The project was described as being in the early stages in 2021, and it is not yet clear if Apple will move forward with it, but it is a design idea that makes a lot of sense because the HomePod mini and the Apple TV both run the same operating system and are often used for some of the same purposes.
iPad and HomePod Hybrid
Apple has been experimenting with future HomePod designs that could include a screen of some kind, akin to the Google Nest Hub Max, the Echo Show, and the Facebook Portal.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has described the device that Apple is working on as a high-end HomePod speaker connected to an iPad using a robotic arm. The arm would be able to rotate and move, following a user around the room when on a video call, for a more advanced version of the Center Stage video feature that Apple has added to some of its products.
The iPad/HomePod hybrid has been described as a device that is in the conceptualization stages, so there is a good chance that this one might never see the light of day. If it does come out, it could launch in the form of deeper integration between a future HomePod and iPad, along with an optional accessory arm to connect the two.
Apple has experimented with deeper integration between products for the past few years. The iPad and the Mac can link together to be controlled with one mouse or trackpad and one keyboard, for example, and the iPhone can link to a Mac to serve as its camera, so it would not be out of the question for Apple to pair the HomePod and iPad in new ways in the future.
Article Link: Apple's HomePod Plans: What's in the Works for 2023 and Beyond
OR "I can send that information to your iPhone if you ask in a different app". I mean seriously, WTAF!?!?!
I am expecting a little bit bigger homepod than the original and better sound quality.