BEST HOPE
- Separate the "Smarts" from the "Dumb" (the speaker) part, so the smarts can be upgraded over time without having to "throw baby- the whole baby- out with the bathwater." Maybe the "smarts" can be magnetically attached to the top or screwed/latched down to the "dumb" part and then future "smarts" upgrades involves buying only the "smarts" top... NOT an entire speaker again.
- AUX port so that it isn't so married (locked down) to the walled garden, and can survive the point when Apple decides to vintage the "smarts" (I'm looking at you Gen 1, not much further down the road).
- Since people seem to want an Apple surround sound setup, focus some energy on building the missing pieces: great center speaker, surround speakers, subwoofer, true ATMOS (overhead) speakers and get the system software working flawlessly with all of that.
(IMMEDIATE ACTIONABLE) REALITY
If you want #1, use the "smarts" you already have in your iDevice, Mac and AppleTV with a "dumb" speaker setup with Receiver as hub. You're going to be regularly updating that kind of Apple "smarts" anyway (new iPhone every few years for example), so no need marrying more of the same to the speaker such that when those smarts fail or are made obsolete, you have to trash the speaker too. Bonus: great dumb speakers will still sound just as great 20 or 30 years from now... unlike current HPs which will be trashed not long after Apple decides to vintage their smarts, if not before because the smarts fail and/or owner wants pairing with new generations and Apple doesn't support it to sell more units of the new version.
If you want #2, do what was just suggested. The Receiver will have every kind of input and thus work with every kind of thing that can generate audio... not just things you can connect via only HDMI and/or stream (which is actually a LOT of audio things). A Receiver + dumb speakers is nearly the opposite of HPs: about as
OPEN as possible.
If you want #3, it has existed with the "just suggested" since about 1991. If you want true ATMOS, buy a true ATMOS Receiver and put some
actual speakers in the ceiling so you have the
real thing... not a (marketing spin) faux version.
If you want #3 and also "smarts" as some kind of hybrid option, look to Sonos, who
already has full surround sound setups with
already debugged & refined software and
already compatible with about all sources of audio. Sonos has
airplay 2, works with
Apple Music (as well as over
a hundred other services too) and you can
use Siri to control it via the Siri in your AppleTV or iDevice or Mac. It "just works"
NOW- today- instead of hoping that Apple may get around to making additional HP products and building out similar software to work like that.
While I strongly endorse the Receiver + "dumb" speakers as the ultimate for very best home theater setup, I have helped a few people who really wanted soundbar-based surround go with the
Sonos Ultimate Immersive (top rated Arc soundbar + top Rated 300s as surrounds + their full-sized Subwoofer) in typical sized living rooms and it sounds very, very good. They have cheaper setups using some of their lessor speakers but that one is basically their BEST setup.
Anyone wanting to make the leap to full surround today in a "smart" speaker setup should go in this direction. If doing it in one (purchase) hop is too dear, one could start with perhaps a
refurbed Arc (for the price of < 3 HPs) and then add the other pieces over time.
IMO, HPs best use is their originally-intended use: music in rooms where you don't typically have speakers for sound. If you
already have HPs and hunger for a real surround sound system, you could jump there as soon as
today with Receiver + dumb speakers or Sonos (or similar) and move the HPs to other rooms where you don't have audio.
Can you "whole home audio" some mix of Receiver + Dumbs
AND/OR Sonos
AND HPs?
Yes you can. Be sure the Receiver has Airplay- most of them do these days. Then you can airplay pair any combination of them to play audio wherever you have any combination of speakers placed, included throughout the entire home.
Use the Home app to bundle speakers in rooms together.
Here's a pretty good, recent description of how to do it with mixed brands of speakers. Then use the Group feature in the same app to bundle rooms for a "whole home" group. Then in
one Siri command you can ask it to play your favorite Music/iTunes playlist throughout the entire home... or in 1+ individual rooms, etc... and it will magically sync the speakers- even if they are different brands- so they are all playing at the exact same time. It "just works," even if there is no HPs involved at all. I do this frequently with a mix of dumb speakers + Sonos in a few rooms + a few more (a separate speaker brand)
outside on the deck.
You can have whatever you want right now if you want it. You just have to "think different" by embracing some great speakers beyond the wall. There are
PLENTY of fantastic speakers out there by companies entirely focused on making speakers and only speakers. Sneak outside when the guards aren't looking and "listen around" with your own ears.
