Remember, nobody is going to buy an iPad. Same story different product.
I’m excited about getting mine in the 9th
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Apple's Phil Schiller on HomePod: We Want to Create a New Kind of Music Experience in the Home That Sounds Incredible
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Remember, nobody is going to buy an iPad. Same story different product.
I’m excited about getting mine in the 9th
I'm constantly amazed by the unquestioning faith some people have in Apple products. One contributor states they have several on order, but then goes on to say they still don't know, 'what the hell it can do and how.' I once thought only religion could demand that sought of blind faith.
Here's the thing about "stereo." Two-channel stereo is artificial to begin with - two speakers trying to mimic a much more complex live musical environment. What Apple is doing here is not a mono speaker (which would take the sum of the left and right channel signals, resulting in a flat non-directional experience) - it's a multi-speaker array (single woofer, 7 separately-driven directional horn tweeters) that, with the help of tons of computer processing and direct/reflected sound from those tweeters, creates a complex sound field from a single box (well, cylinder). This takes both channels of a stereo signal and uses all of it. The addition of a second unit will allow for an even more complex sound field.
The principles behind this have been around for a very, very long time. We've seen many implementations come and (sometimes) go. Quadraphonic, 5-channel and 7-channel surround, sound bars, Bose Direct/Reflecting speakers, self-tuning sound systems... All these were done with cheap, passive speaker/amp arrays, with relatively little or no active signal processing. There's also nothing new about beam-forming tweeter arrays. A dual-HomePod array should produce the equivalent of super-stereo, accomplishing with two units what others may hope to accomplish with 5-speaker systems.
The main difference is that Apple is able to take these established principles, add their proprietary R&D, apply a ton of active digital signal processing, and execute it all in a mass-market product that sells for $350. What they're applying here has been learned giving iPhones, iPads, AirPods, and iMacs remarkably good sound (for what they are), and no doubt, what they've been learning for HomePod will also flow to Apple's/Beats other products.
Oh, and P.S., yes, HomePod will be controllable by multiple people (which is to say, more than one person can issue voice commands).
I would imagine there's some very clever EQ manipulation going on inside that little speaker.
You give far more background insight than most early Youtube reviewers do, but I am afraid I miss you here.
iDevice audio has proven terrible be because of phys. compromises and passive non-intelligent tech (maybe less for iPad Pro) and I have the impression that Apple got HomePod to escape from that.
I’ve been wondering about this. I think it’s reasonable to expect a shared device in a common living area to be able to respond to anyone’s voice, even visitors. Does that mean Siri will be able to tell who is talking?
For example, what happens when HomePod hears: “Hey Siri, tell my boss he can shove his lousy job. I quit!”
Will Siri know it’s your fourteen-year-old kid, talking about his temporary dog-walking job for an ungrateful neighbor? Or will it send the somewhat brusque message to your own permanent employer, or your spouse’s?
That might take some explaining.
This is pretty much the best comment on this thing, very succinct and understand that Apple's magic is in repurposing existing tech, adding its own special sw and hw magic and integrating it all in something that simplifies a person's life giving them an experience they haven't had before.
Absolutely, when proper reviewers get there hand on it they will sit it side by side with products from Amazon, Google and Sonos and compare features, quality etc... This is where the real analysis will come about and reviews will start to be helpful.
- Is the sound better than its peers, or are some of them better?
- How accurate is the AI at listening and understanding your commands
- How quick does the AI get you the stuff you want
- what third party content is available?
- Does it cause conflicts with your phone, apple tv and watch?
- How expandable is the system?
- Is it worth the price premium, or other solutions better value?
Can't help but think that with this analysis a proper picture will emerge, rather than the controlled apple based reviews so far, where they have seemingly only had one hour with the product and probably told to focus on the sound quality rather than any other feature, and no side by side comparisons.
What a joke. Apple coming to market late with a copycat product is so far away from actual innovation thats its not even close to the idea of the cutting edge company it used to be.
I think that is because most people are listening to music through sub optimal speakers and environment as well as headphones. I personally love tidal though the HEOS app of my Denon AVR 4300h receiver playing through my JBL Studio 590 tower speakers. Sounds phenomenal. I also listen to tidal through their iPhone app using my fidelio X2 headphones. Again amazing compared to Apple Music.
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You using Bose and think it is “good”. Yikes.
With Apple Watch I was initially excited, then let down quite a bit in actual use with the 1st gen. Then with software updates it became more of a device.
AirPods I was very skeptical of, but I bought them, and now I carry them with me all the time.j
I think HomePod will be more Apple Watch than AirPods - as in it will be a great speaker in the beginning, but it will really come into its own with future iOS/tvOS/macOS updates that integrate things into the HomePod experience.
That might be, but Siri is still subpar in comparison to Alexa and Google.
I know it's got seven tweeters, Apple won't let you forget that, but how is subscribing to Apple's compressed music service to be pushed through a mono system of speakers going to "sound incredible?
Apple is targeting the non techie users anyways. People who don't know much about tech and aren't price consenting. You can see it in all their hard- and software offerings these last 5 years. Most people without any tech knowledge think that when something is more expensive it must be better... Thats the target audience of Apple these last five years.
If I were you, I'd stick with a live orchestra strategically placed around your house.
I hope this is good, thinking of getting two for the office. Price puts me off a bit, so really want to try one in store.
Not sure if a Sonos or Bose Speaker would be better really
Not sure if a Sonos or Bose Speaker would be better really
What he means is it’s overpriced, and it doesn’t work how you want it to. This is my experience with Apple products outside of the Watch and iPhone.
i still think there will be times when you'd rather have it go to 11 instead of having beamforming.
To be honest, nothing. I have played around with some BT speakers like JBL and Beats and didn't think they are any good. Been waiting for HomePod to come out and see how it stacks against Google's offering and the Sonos (have seen a lot of reviews on YouTube on both) Ideally would have wanted to output my TV's sound occasionally. but mostly listen to music. So yeah, Bluetooth speakers just don't seem to great and they are a bit daft for me, and the super high quality ones produce what my ear would probably not be to the level of being able to appreciate it and if I am honest I would not be able to afford it anyway. But few hundred £ for a decent smart speaker that sounds much great with Siri integration (not that I prefer Siri over Alexa or Google assistant but I am into Apple's ecosystem) would be something I can afford.
That functionality will be available in a future SW update. There will also be a holographic volume knob made available with numbers 1-11.
I'm thinking that will be on HomePod version 2. They have to hold a few things back so people will upgrade every year.
Totally different scenario/story. There was no comparable product for the iPad to go up against, it was very revolutionary.
The Homepod has to go up against established competition from the likes of Sonos, Bose and Yamaha. The iPad had none of that, so it could afford to be a bit **** at launch, which it was (I still bought one though!).
You can buy two of the new Sonos one's for the same price as one HomePod, thats a huge consideration when you are creating/replacing high-end/decent audio experiences through a home.
The consumer is essentially buying a gadget into an ecosystem, but this time the HomePod has to compete for people like me. I am in essence Apple's ideal customer for Homepaod, I'm an Apple user for 20 years with lots of Apple Kit through my house, but (and it's a big but) I'm heavily invested already in Sonos (Playbase and Sub, 1's and 5's around the house), and there's no reason for me to switch, especially as Sonos have recent launched Alexa integration. That's their battle.
It's great to see competition, but the market is very busy/fragmented with Amazon, Apple and Google all competing. IMO the recent Alexa integration to Sonos is a huge barrier to the Homepods rapid growth. Apple's failure to get it launched before Sonos went with Alexa might be their downfall to mainstream adoption, as they will have a harder job getting their audience to switch.
Oh and people on here can talk about sound quality, but the sound quality is only as good as the source you are feeding it.