While I agree with the above, I continue to suspect that part of the reason for that is Siri's multi-lingual capabilities. Common sense dictates that building in speech intelligibility for multiple languages has got to be more complicated.
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.
Canalys Predicts 2018 Will Be 'Defining Year' for Smart Speaker Growth
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Get one of these and find out why folks like them. Yes it is neat that I can turn on lights just by talking out loud. But you need to also buy those connected lights. But a connected home isn't necessary to get value out of these. You can buy an echo dot for $49 and it should last for years and get upgrades during that time. So you don't need to get much value out of it to justify the expense. But I think you will like it. It really is a neat glimpse into the future to have these in your home. Maybe you only do a few things like asking for a weather update. But the ease of simply wondering what the weather is and then asking out loud is actually just better than taking your phone out of your pocket and looking at its screen.
The HomePod will be more than a decent bluetooth speaker. It will be a very good one. But so is the $99 Echo. Except that the Echo isn't pricey. I really recommend trying these things out. They are fun.
Had an Echo since late 2014 and now several Google Homes. The two are very different. The Echo you have to memorize the commands to use the device as it requires rigid language. The Google Home you can just say things however it pops up in your head.
I think of the Echo as having a command line interface and the Google Home a GUI.
Then the GH is just a lot smarter. Was watching TV the other day with wife and a year recap show with a video of Trump and Billy Bush. Wife asks if Billy Bush is related to George Bush. Just say "hey google is billy related to george" without last names and get a detailed explanation on the relationship. Just not possible with the Echo.
But the best part about the Google Home is it just integrates much better with the iphone than the Echo. My wife clicks her shutter button on her iPhone and without touching an additional button later walks into our family room and ask for fine details in photos and the TV turns itself on, input sets itself and the iPhone photo appears in 4k on the largest screen in our house. We also have a 4k Chromecast and my wife already used Google Photos on her iPhone.
The kicker is how easy to make all of this work. Just buy, plug in and log in and that is it. Google wires it all together for you without you needing to do anything.
I think of the Echo as having a command line interface and the Google Home a GUI.
Then the GH is just a lot smarter. Was watching TV the other day with wife and a year recap show with a video of Trump and Billy Bush. Wife asks if Billy Bush is related to George Bush. Just say "hey google is billy related to george" without last names and get a detailed explanation on the relationship. Just not possible with the Echo.
But the best part about the Google Home is it just integrates much better with the iphone than the Echo. My wife clicks her shutter button on her iPhone and without touching an additional button later walks into our family room and ask for fine details in photos and the TV turns itself on, input sets itself and the iPhone photo appears in 4k on the largest screen in our house. We also have a 4k Chromecast and my wife already used Google Photos on her iPhone.
The kicker is how easy to make all of this work. Just buy, plug in and log in and that is it. Google wires it all together for you without you needing to do anything.
Its more than $300, but otherwise I think this may be what you are looking for...
https://www.jibo.com/
[doublepost=1515164910][/doublepost]
I don't think Apple missed the point, as I don't think they wanted an Echo or Dot alternative. They don't appear to be travelling the same inroads that google and amazon are. Seems to me that they didn't want to start by selling a "smart speaker", not yet anyway. Right now they want to differentiate themselves from everyone else, so instead they want to sell a really great speaker, that can spatially tune itself and sound great, that just so happens to have some smart attributes such as voice control. Later they may come out with some HomePod Minis that are less capable in the audio reproduction arena and can take over where Echos and Dots started.
As for Siri vs Alexa or Cortana, etc, it's interesting to see some with such dislike of Siri. I can say that in my own experience, Apple's voice recognition Pre-Siri, was awful, I don't think it was ever correct wen I would ask it to call someone or play a song. It was literally wrong every single time. But, since Siri came on the scene, I have had great success. I use siri daily in dictating text messages while I drive and looking up info. No issues here with Siri understanding me. Occasionally I rush what I am saying or mumble and she misunderstands, but mostly my fault.
While most people are willing to spend under $100 for a smart speaker, spending $350 for one that many people aren't even sure they need is a stretch. The only reason I bought a Google Home Mini was because it was $30. I could buy 10 Minis for the price of the overpriced Apple one that they can't even get out the door.
These devices seem redundant. It's like paying for a stand-alone GPS when it's already built into your phone which does much more. For the equivalent price to a Google Home Mini or Amazon Echo Dot a $40 Moto E4 smartphone is much more versatile, useful and less clutter.
This thread is going back and forth between people saying "a smart speaker is stupid, I don't see a need for it, I can do that on my phone" and people who actually have an Echo or Google Home saying "I do this, that and the other thing with it... its great.". I haven't heard anyone say they bought one (not gifted) and find it useless. And then sprinkled in are the "they are listening to everything!!!".
I have nothing to say for the conspiracy people... put yourself in a bubble or something because your information is being mined every where you go.
For those that claim its the same as your phone, that is simply not the case. I thought smart speakers / assistants were kind of stupid and never really ever used Siri for much, other than with CarPlay. Part of the reason is that Siri can't do much, and what it does do it doesn't do well. But through a series of home automation type things over the last few months I ended up buying an Echo Dot... still thinking that its probably stupid. After a few weeks I started finding great value in it and now have added two Echo 2s and plan to add more when they go on sale again.
Its not the same as using your phone and its not as convenient as getting up and doing things manually. I'm finding there are many things I do with it and the list is growing. Being able to do things with no hands is the value. One simple thing I did was setup my office desk light to turn red if I miss a call because my phone ringer is muted. With the Echo and can just tell it to change the color back without opening an app. Another one is its nice to just tell Alexa to pause the TV or Spotify music that is playing if the phone is ringing and I need to answer it. Otherwise I'm looking for the remote or walking to hit a mute button on something. Another is my wife and I now have an any.do shopping list synced with the Echo Shopping List. So when we think of something we need to get while in the kitchen, we can just tell Alexa to add it... and then whenever either of us is in the store we'd know what is needed.
These things reduce life's friction and the list is endless of things they can do. But honestly, at the $30 sale price just having one to do something as simple as controlling lights is worth it.
Apple has really missed the boat on this one I thing, but they will sell a lot to Apple fans and they will make a huge margin on them.
I have nothing to say for the conspiracy people... put yourself in a bubble or something because your information is being mined every where you go.
For those that claim its the same as your phone, that is simply not the case. I thought smart speakers / assistants were kind of stupid and never really ever used Siri for much, other than with CarPlay. Part of the reason is that Siri can't do much, and what it does do it doesn't do well. But through a series of home automation type things over the last few months I ended up buying an Echo Dot... still thinking that its probably stupid. After a few weeks I started finding great value in it and now have added two Echo 2s and plan to add more when they go on sale again.
Its not the same as using your phone and its not as convenient as getting up and doing things manually. I'm finding there are many things I do with it and the list is growing. Being able to do things with no hands is the value. One simple thing I did was setup my office desk light to turn red if I miss a call because my phone ringer is muted. With the Echo and can just tell it to change the color back without opening an app. Another one is its nice to just tell Alexa to pause the TV or Spotify music that is playing if the phone is ringing and I need to answer it. Otherwise I'm looking for the remote or walking to hit a mute button on something. Another is my wife and I now have an any.do shopping list synced with the Echo Shopping List. So when we think of something we need to get while in the kitchen, we can just tell Alexa to add it... and then whenever either of us is in the store we'd know what is needed.
These things reduce life's friction and the list is endless of things they can do. But honestly, at the $30 sale price just having one to do something as simple as controlling lights is worth it.
Apple has really missed the boat on this one I thing, but they will sell a lot to Apple fans and they will make a huge margin on them.
They are very good
I got a free echo dot from my phone carrier and gave it to my parents and they love it.
Even those who aren’t tech mad love them. Very useful when in the kitchen.
Any internet connected device with a microphone is theoretically capable of listening to everything you say. Apple says that it isn't doing so, but so does Amazon. You can either trust the makers of these devices or turn on airplane mode on everything. I find it easier to trust Amazon (and Apple) on this one.
I love my three Echos. We have about 10 lights throughout the house connected to smart plugs or switches or with smart bulbs. We can control all of them from the Echos and we have them in groups, so when I'm going up to bed at night, a single "Alexa, turn off the lights" takes care of turning off all of the typically on first floor and outside lights. That, and using the one in the kitchen for cooking timers, are my most frequent uses of the devices. Just being able to set a timer when my hands are wet and I don't want to touch my phone or get it out of my pocket is incredibly convenient.
I love my three Echos. We have about 10 lights throughout the house connected to smart plugs or switches or with smart bulbs. We can control all of them from the Echos and we have them in groups, so when I'm going up to bed at night, a single "Alexa, turn off the lights" takes care of turning off all of the typically on first floor and outside lights. That, and using the one in the kitchen for cooking timers, are my most frequent uses of the devices. Just being able to set a timer when my hands are wet and I don't want to touch my phone or get it out of my pocket is incredibly convenient.
I'm sure you just sold me on GH. I have been going back and forth in trying to decide which smart speaker to purchase and was favoring the GH. My wife doesn't really matter one way or the other, but we both enjoy Google Services even though all our devices are Apple.
TBH I think the HomePod is overpriced. I originally was going to hold out to buy that, but when I can purchase a brand new GH for almost a third of the price the HomePod would cost me, I liked that idea more. Especially since if we enjoy the GH, we'll purchase a GH Mini for the bedroom and it won't cost an arm and a leg.
A screen on a base isn’t a droid. I was intrigued by you using that word.
I suspect you’ll be waiting quite some time to get what you’re looking for for $300.
Oh noes. Here's Phil Schiller reacting to losing out on sub-$100 sales:
As long as they can still make 10-ish% market share with a $350 device, they couldn't care less if the competition kills each other in yet another race to the bottom.
The JIBO is basically it. If it was Alexa based and cheaper then it would sell like crazy. I mean, sell like crazzzzzzy.
I’m surprised how **** the new AIBO is. Sony could have integrated Alexa into it instead of something so useless. People have been waiting for talking animals for years.
Oh noes. Here's Phil Schiller reacting to losing out on sub-$100 sales:
As long as they can still make 10-ish% market share with a $350 device, they couldn't care less if the competition kills each other in yet another race to the bottom.
Race to the bottom isn't a bad thing, if function and quality are maintained. Amazon and Google are neither companies that don't care about function and quality. Its called competition.
That’s kind of a tautology. If all good aspects are retained, you haven’t really ended up at the bottom.
They’re not in it for the hardware revenues. Apple is.
So in a surprising twist, you’re making a personal decision that is different from some else’s personal decision?
Many people are going to buy the Honepod for ecosystem integration and sound quality.
I don’t understand your post/question, but yes those would be reasons to buy a HomePod.
I believe I read it here on the HomePod roundup post.
[doublepost=1515261047][/doublepost]
Perhaps I misunderstood what was written in the HomePod roundup post on this site.