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Everything That's Changed in the New 2023 HomePod

DblHelix said:
Forgot to add only 802.11n instead of 802.11ac. This should have wifi6e. This choice has me skipping this and I was really looking forward to it.
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Why does it need Wifi 6e? If .11n is enough for it to do what it needs to do, why is it a problem? We still support even older standards, and are likely to continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Maybe it having .11n instead of .11ac is how it's $299 and not $319.
 
stocklen said:
`seriously though, and back to non shouty lower case like civilised people....

Of all the requests/faults/enhancements.... how on earth is saying 'hey siri' a problem - and why would the ability to change it to 'hey dave' or suchlike be of any material benefit?

The only thing I can think of is if parents have been cruel enough to name their child Siri (I mean who would) then its a bit awkward but join the line behind all those named Alexa which was a common name before Amazon monopolised it!
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See my previous comment...but try saying "Hey Sherry" and see what happens. And I happen to have married a Sherry!
 
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dragoon2745 said:
Did not realize until now the latest Apple Watch only supports 802.11n and not ac or x. The fact that the both the new homepod and mini uses an S series chip like on the Watch has got to be the reason it's limited to n.
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That does make sense so thank you for that. Still inexcusable.
 
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Unggoy Murderer said:
Don't forget the second and third generation Apple TV 4K support ARC back to your HomePods (all versions), so this can give you additional flexibility with audio sources. Lets me use them for PS5 and Xbox Series S audio.
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I currently use the original HomePods for ps5 audio very compatible
 
I honestly feel like most of the problems I have with my HomePod mini's (in stereo mode) is due to WIFI (or AirPlay, OR BOTH) but I consistently find that that they crackle unnecessarily or cut out the audio momentarily before getting it back. There is so many problems that don't make it fluid and I always felt like it was due to the WIFI standard they are using.
My router is WIFI 6e about 2meters away in a large lounge yet the HomePods still struggle getting CLEAN signal or whatever the problem is.
I thought once they added the latest standard to the new HomePod that it would be PERFECT, since WIFI 6e is designed with the IOT in mind, for this very purpose, no?
 
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jayryco said:
I honestly feel like most of the problems I have with my HomePod mini's (in stereo mode) is due to WIFI (or AirPlay, OR BOTH) but I consistently find that that they crackle unnecessarily or cut out the audio momentarily before getting it back. There is so many problems that don't make it fluid and I always felt like it was due to the WIFI standard they are using.
My router is WIFI 6e about 2meters away in a large lounge yet the HomePods still struggle getting CLEAN signal or whatever the problem is.
I thought once they added the latest standard to the new HomePod that it would be PERFECT, since WIFI 6e is designed with the IOT in mind, for this very purpose, no?
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Unfortunately that seems like a version 3 plan. Using the Apple Watch chip might not be the right move here if one is being honest. Thats why the wifi only supports 802.11n. Maybe Matter has made smart gadgets default at 802.11n? Kinda disappointed in this release.
 
Stiksi said:
Is going from a phone processor to a newer WATCH processor really an upgrade? Has this been tested or is it based solely on Apple’s marketing spin?
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That's a valid question. The S7 uses the Thunder cores, the efficiency cores from the A13. Working the Geekbench numbers they don't look like an improvement over the A8's Typhoon but that's not the best method for measuring. Does anybody have some good numbers to compare these CPU cores? (Btw, clock speed is not it.)
 
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Unggoy Murderer said:
Why does it need Wifi 6e? If .11n is enough for it to do what it needs to do, why is it a problem? We still support even older standards, and are likely to continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
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And the only reason that's remotely feasible is because you can segregate older devices to 2.4GHz and keep your 5Ghz band free. A single 802.11a device can saturate your 1200Mbps Wifi with just a single 50Mbps download.
 
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timber said:
Seems like a miss, they didn't really make it properly priced or took the other way of making it really full featured.

It's a still an expensive very Apple limited device. Some people will say "I'm extremely OK with that" and you really can't argue with that but so was the first and look how it went.

In the end the worst is probably the feeling nobody at Apple learned anything from the original Homepod.
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And worst part is that they took 2 extra years to get it right. What the hell were they doing over that time?

Kebabselector said:
I found the original too bass heavy for me, it would be nice if there was a way to control it.
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Wait until you hear it with 2 less tweeters! 😉

IbisDoc said:
This product is a complete fail.
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That’s a bit harsh. I have a pair and they sound great connected to my AppleTV. Is it the best sounding system I could put together? No, but for the money ($600) and the time it took to setup (very little) it works great.

Dylan33x said:
It’s really inexcusable. The 2013 MacBook Pro had AC. Putting Wifi4 in a product ten years after that is a new level of corporate greed. Especially when it can be used as a “home hub”
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Using the cheaper processor definitely handcuffed them.

Unggoy Murderer said:
Why does it need Wifi 6e? If .11n is enough for it to do what it needs to do, why is it a problem? We still support even older standards, and are likely to continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Maybe it having .11n instead of .11ac is how it's $299 and not $319.
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We don’t know how long it will continue to be supported. I’m sure Apple will force us all to purchase the new third generation speaker in 3-4 years because the 2nd generation won’t support the newest AppleTV because of {insert performance limitation here}.
 
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stocklen said:
`seriously though, and back to non shouty lower case like civilised people....

Of all the requests/faults/enhancements.... how on earth is saying 'hey siri' a problem - and why would the ability to change it to 'hey dave' or suchlike be of any material benefit?

The only thing I can think of is if parents have been cruel enough to name their child Siri (I mean who would) then its a bit awkward but join the line behind all those named Alexa which was a common name before Amazon monopolised it!
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What if you have HomePods in adjacent rooms and you only want one to play something and not both. But because of the same stupid trigger they all start up. I also loathe saying “hey”. I’m not an American…
 
Duncan-UK said:
What if you have HomePods in adjacent rooms and you only want one to play something and not both. But because of the same stupid trigger they all start up. I also loathe saying “hey”. I’m not an American…
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ummmm.....
I know and understand the exact issue you have however....

'hey Siri, play blah blah blah IN HERE'.

or, if you think 'in here' will be heard from the other room...

'hey Siri play blah blah blah IN THE living room'. i.e. append the room name - works perfectly.


alternate wake words are a solution to a problem that simply doesnt exist.



NOW... if you are in the same room as your Mac, a HomePod, your iPhone, and an Apple Watch...... THEN we have a problem - "hey Siri' is in my experience almost always answered by, and acted on, the least appropriate device that heard you! - .... but thats a whole different problem.
 
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Duncan-UK said:
What if you have HomePods in adjacent rooms and you only want one to play something and not both. But because of the same stupid trigger they all start up. I also loathe saying “hey”. I’m not an American…
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sell one of the HomePods. problem solved. lol.
 
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I don't get why people didn't expect a similar price and design. It is a HomePod. It wasn't going to fall far from the HomePod mini tree which didn't fall far from the original HomePod tree. And for a similar sized speaker, the costs were never going to go down dramatically.

That being said, I'm sure this will see up to 20% off at Costco etc in the next year. HomePod minis hit 20% or $80 a few times a year it seems. I think they reengineered it to allow retailers to give it the Mini sale price treatment once in awhile. Costco probably will have it at $289 regular price. Put it on sale in the next 6 months at $270. And once in awhile it will hit $250 maybe $240.
 
Razorpit said:
That’s a bit harsh. I have a pair and they sound great connected to my AppleTV. Is it the best sounding system I could put together? No, but for the money ($600) and the time it took to setup (very little) it works great.
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I have 6 generation 1 HomePods. I didn’t say THAT product was a complete fail. I said THIS product is a complete fail.
 
I can’t understand how it is possible that this device’s price is 2 times that of the latest Apple TV. The price should have been much less. HomePod Mini is a good device but this is not.
 
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Duncan-UK said:
Until the fart of death claims them. I’ve lost two originals to that. Not buying any more.
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I think I've got an OG on the way out as it intermittently passes gas. I seem to remember reading on here or reddit about a guy that does repairs on them. It's basically the chip for the amp itself is fried and he solders on a new one and can even wash the netting on it so that it looks brand new.

edit: the capacitor....here's the website

Nic's Fix for HomePods

HomePod Repair Info, Service, and Parts, by Nic's Fix
track44.moe
 
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DeftwillP said:
I think I've got an OG on the way out as it intermittently passes gas. I seem to remember reading on here or reddit about a guy that does repairs on them. It's basically the chip for the amp itself is fried and he solders on a new one and can even wash the netting on it so that it looks brand new.

edit: the capacitor....here's the website

Nic's Fix for HomePods

HomePod Repair Info, Service, and Parts, by Nic's Fix
track44.moe
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Thanks - that's interesting. I disposed of the pods sometime last year though.
 
I'm bewildered that Apple hasn't been more aggressive in entering the home theater market. Sure, you can feed audio from an AppleTV to Home Pods and get a sorta okay three-dimensional effect, but compare this with the Sony HT-A9 system which features four interacting speakers plus a subwoofer. There's no comparison (and doubly so when it comes to handling Atmos). At very minimum a home theater system without a subwoofer is doomed to be half-assed, without one the Home Pod can't give a full theatrical experience. Apple should have taken one look at the Sony system and said "hey, here's the real future of the Home Pod." and tried to put out an better one. Anything less than that is never going to be more than second-rate.
 
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To people complaining about Wi-Fi 4/802.11n: How much bandwidth do you need to stream music? Even in the most congested ares, I think you can manage to squeeze through the few hundres of kbit/s consumed by Apple Music/AirPlay..? Living in an old apartment with more than 50 visible SSIDs, I never experienced dropouts playing 5 speaker multiroom over 802.11n (5 GHz) 😅
 
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