Wow thats a great price, I love the homepods I use my on holidays etc the way you would a Bluetooth speaker no WiFi or internet required just airplay no hassle plugging it in Hotel rooms etc and mains power required isnt a problem I wouldn’t ever take A speaker to a beach or a park and dictate what people relaxing have to listen too, small foot print for a speaker that sounds like this its weighty but total perfection! I cant understand why this still isnt a massive hit, I own 5 and I sold a whole bunch of sonos gear after buying the first homepod, 200 bucks is the deal of the century, try one you can always return it but you won’t trust me! I’m not utilising these for Siri just sound, appletv, Mac iPads phone in stereo pairs and as a single for holidays and .... I love these things so much! I had a Bose Soundlink and a UE mega boom and I just cant travel with those things they just don’t satisfy, homepod = 10/10 incredible! If you dislike this Really think you’ve never tried it.
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Deals: Get a New HomePod for $199.99 in Best Buy's Latest Sale
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True, but the past month or so when I check my data by device my 3 Echo's are using a medium amount of data when nobody is using them. My Sony Google powered TV does the same thing. When I pause connections on my devices everything but my Sony TV and Echo's stop using data. Both companies have figured a way to get around device blocking with Xfinity. My HomePods go to sleep after sometime of non-use and drop off the network using no data. I unplug the TV and thinking of dropping the Echos, because it pisses me off.
Seems a silly statement, echo is no where near the standard in terms of a quality speaker and I think most reasonable people would conclude that if you are going to buy a HomePod that Siri isn't the driving purchase decision, sound quality and privacy are driving that choice.
They are really almost polar opposites in terms of what they excel at, Alexa/Echo seem to have the lead as far as an assistant goes but HomePod/Siri are hands down the leader from quality of sound. I wish people would stop judging HomePod based on Siri and Echo based on Alexa.
Care to elaborate? Because you don't think Siri is a good value? You think the speaker sucks? What? Have you heard one? Do you just prefer the sound of a $29 speaker?
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If you want them for TV don’t bother. Stereo pairs have limited support so you’ll only be able to use with an AppleTV. There are a lot of better options in the $300-400 price point.
Apple's HomePod has returned to the price of $199.99 today at Best Buy. This sale is a solid $99 discount on the original $299.00 price of the HomePod, and it's one that Best Buy has offered a few times throughout 2020.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
This price also represents one of the lowest we've ever tracked for a new HomePod. Best Buy offers free next-day delivery for select qualifying items in the United States, and there are also options to pick up devices at a local store. Both the White and Space Gray color options are on sale at Best Buy.
We track the best deals on HomePod every week, so be sure to bookmark our guide if you're on the hunt for solid HomePod discounts.
Article Link: Deals: Get a New HomePod for $199.99 in Best Buy's Latest Sale
The HomePod was a troubled purchase for me. I kept hearing about the sound and how great it was. I finally got one last month when BB had the $199 sale. I’ve been quite underwhelmed by the sound quality. I tend to keep it on the kitchen island, but it often goes outside when we’re swimming. It’s got quantity, I just don’t hear the quality. I’ve tried the whole “shaking” thing to try and get it to reconfigure the sound algorithm, but it’s just pretty blah with unnatural sounding bass. My plan was to get a second and pair them, but now I’m just not convinced these are a $400 pair of speakers (on sale). I’m tempted to get a second on sale again and see if I have a “dud”, or if I just bought into overhyped sound.
I wish Apple would've priced them at $199.99 from the beginning. Imo, the original price point deflated the public's hype for the device. Obviously we're ok for paying a little more for apple quality and integration with the Apple ecosystem but when the Echo goes for $100 your only competitor can't be triple the price. Even if they had to make another SKU that could go for $149 to compete with the standard Echo.
Anyways, at $199 I have been tempted but refreshing some of my other Apple products has taken priority (just replaced my AirPods with the AirPods Pro and just upgraded to the new Macbook Airs).
Anyways, at $199 I have been tempted but refreshing some of my other Apple products has taken priority (just replaced my AirPods with the AirPods Pro and just upgraded to the new Macbook Airs).
Doesn't sound like you are giving the homepod enough time to adapt its sound profile to the location. Could just be me, but it felt like mine took at least a week (if not two) before their sound was optimal in their locations.
such as? how many do you own? For those of us that DO use AppleTV they work fine. I own both the Sonos Beam and a pair of these. Thats an equivalent price point.. I prefer these with my TV.
The cord is 6 feet. To use the smart features you need wifi, BUT, you can also use it as a bluetooth airplay speaker (no network required) if you move it off your network. These are the steps you need to take:
How To Quickly Set Up Apple HomePod? – Setapp
Find out how to set up HomePod in no time and learn all the ins and outs of this great Apple Siri speaker.
setapp.com
IMHO if you are looking to really blast sound outside these may not be the best option, but if you go much louder the neighbors might complain.. so... should do the job if you are sitting within 20 feet.
Your question about using with AppleTV confuses me, any selection you make is temporary. Move the speaker back in the house and it will reconnect with your network. You will have to reselect it from AppleTv, but no, moving it outside won't block you from re-adding it later.
Hope this helps
I find its quite stable as long as you have a decent network signal. As in never drops out. In the two years I have been using them the only time I have trouble is if I have a network problem (wifi sucks at work, and once a node drop out at home). In both cases with a weak signal they would drop off the network and Siri would complain.
I have 2, but like I said they only work for AppleTV. Want to watch a bluray or play PS4? Not possible. Because of this I use them in my office for basically just iTunes since stereo pairs don't work with the OS - so youtube, zoom calls, PLEX or VLC all either work with one Homepod, or need to play to something else. Maybe they work in your limited use case, but they don't in mine.
Equivalent price will get you a Vizio SB36512-F6 - 5.1.2 sound bar with Atmos support. I have a few friends with them and they sound great for the money. I decided to spend more and got a real receiver and speaker setup but won't compare what I have since it's an order of magnitude more expensive.