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First Impressions From New HomePod Owners: Siri's Voice Detection is 'Phenomenal,' Audio Quality is 'Immediately Evident'
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I agree... people don't talk about all the times Alexa just craps out. They're all pretty frustrating to use as general assistants IMO, and apparently the majority of smart speaker owners agree, which is why most people use smart speakers for music and a handful of other requests, like weather, timers and alarms and some home automation which Siri handles very well.
Where did you learn this? Does Apple Analytics also know the acoustics of your room and your taste?
While I have already invested in Amazon Echo for my home, as an avid Apple user I could be persuaded to convert... with a couple of functional improvements. To my mind, the following things are missing and should be obvious.
1. Like the TV, this is a community/shared device. Also like the TV, it doesn't understand multiple users without jumping through hoops. iPhones, iPads and Mac could be considered 'personal' devices, but the HomePod is most definitely not. It absolutely must distinguish between multiple users and respond accordingly.
2. Given the quality versus price-point, investing in a pair of HomePods for a living room is probably in line with a 'decent' receiver and surround speaker system. HOWEVER, Apple is not the only source for entertainment, so there absolutely must be a way to leverage that investment for playing content from non-Apple sources. I'm specifically thinking disc players (BluRay) and television (whether Cable or OTA), but can easily see other sources. Even a line-in for karaoke at home!
3. Apple has traditionally started with a very limited feature set then expanded over time. In the past that worked well and has resulted in some incredible technologies. HOWEVER, given the number of good competitors in the market this approach has already put Apple behind the curve, at least when comparing feature sets. If we wait a year between incremental improvements Apple will never catch up. There needs to be a robust, open ecosystem for integration with the HomePod.
1. Like the TV, this is a community/shared device. Also like the TV, it doesn't understand multiple users without jumping through hoops. iPhones, iPads and Mac could be considered 'personal' devices, but the HomePod is most definitely not. It absolutely must distinguish between multiple users and respond accordingly.
2. Given the quality versus price-point, investing in a pair of HomePods for a living room is probably in line with a 'decent' receiver and surround speaker system. HOWEVER, Apple is not the only source for entertainment, so there absolutely must be a way to leverage that investment for playing content from non-Apple sources. I'm specifically thinking disc players (BluRay) and television (whether Cable or OTA), but can easily see other sources. Even a line-in for karaoke at home!
3. Apple has traditionally started with a very limited feature set then expanded over time. In the past that worked well and has resulted in some incredible technologies. HOWEVER, given the number of good competitors in the market this approach has already put Apple behind the curve, at least when comparing feature sets. If we wait a year between incremental improvements Apple will never catch up. There needs to be a robust, open ecosystem for integration with the HomePod.
It's from something Eddy Cue said in an interview: https://9to5mac.com/2018/02/07/eddy-cue-pollstar-conference/
But @deanthedev may be right in that it's just a quote taken out of context.
I am not surprised at all as I was not expecting a tiny speaker to perform well (not my experience). It looks like people might have been misled by the early reviewers (perhaps inadvertently) about the sound quality. All the praise (if genuine) was not put in the context properly. It appears that they all were just comparing the sound quality to the one for Home Assistants (Echo, Google Home) which is a very low standard. Many first customers seems to be happy though. This probably has to do with the fact that by now we have a couple of generations of people who grew up on "mobile" music and have not been exposed to a good quality audio.
On the HomePod it has been rather flawless for all basic tasks
lights
reminders
playing music
podcasts
changing the sound %
so it does all basic tasks very well.
Using Youtube to test sound quality is dumb.
You can use Apple Music (streamed) then download the song to your phone and using Airplay from there. I think that would work.
Interesting. Obviously they can use something to figure out the music genre and go with the appropriate presets (those available in the typical in-app EQs). This could be an OK convenience feature but only if it is optional. Apple trying to pretend that they know what's best for everybody is becoming too annoying though. And this definitely does not explain why they could not accommodate other sources. Simple flat EQ would do for foreign sources (and providing custom EQ would be even better).
why are you even on macrumors
Apple's last speaker system garnered similar positive reviews - a company I used to work for had one in their art department and it sounded great. It's crazy that there is an active market for them still today, although I'm guessing the HomePod may have an effect on it. I'm considering getting a couple of HomePods, even if it means effectively walking away from the multi-thousand dollar 10 speaker, multi-room system I already have. I love the idea of a couple of small, fairly inconspicuous HomePods simplifying our music listening, adding in some basic Siri functionality on top of it.
Apple just doesn't understand why you would want to use such a crappy device. Your bad choices aren't conceivable in sane peoples minds.
I just returned from the Apple store, ready to buy one of these bad boys. I'm very glad I went and listened to it first. The sound is good, no doubt; but it isn't great. I'm no audiophile, by the way. While the bass sounded very clear and not muddy at all, it was the most prominent thing coming out of this speaker. I listened through a few tracks. Mids and highs also very clear, along with vocals, but they get lost very, very easily behind that bass. Considering where Siri is, the sound of this thing, and the cost, I'm a solid 'no' for the HomePod. Obviously, everyone's ears and use case is different, but if you can listen before you buy, it might be worth it. If bass is your thing, you will like it. It is impressive how much they are pumping out from such a small package.
I love it when people say, "Apple is X years behind"
Apple doesn't need to be first to market when it comes to it's product line. Nor does it have to be feature rich right off the bat.
I’ve got a good feeling about your avatar
I nearly threw away my original cassette of Radio Sessions the other day.
Say what? It has been compared to many other speakers in its price range (Sonos comes to mind as well as the Google Home Max) and almost everyone says it's better than anything at its price (or even higher priced). How is that misleading people?
What's misleading is when people compare the HomePod to much more expensive discrete home audio gear, and conclude that it sounds lousy. Or you claiming it was only tested against cheap devices (Echo or Google Home).
I can't understand why you wouldn't listen in your home, not an Apple Store? Isn't that the way to get a realistic appraisal?
My HomePod arrived a couple of hours ago and my overall impression is that I’m impressed: The sound is brilliant, crisp clear no distortion at high or low volumes. Siri is VERY fast and I’ve had no problems with it carrying out tasks such as setting alarms, answering questions about the weather and so on. The build quality is also brilliant as ever for an Apple product.
Personally I couldn’t be more happy and will be buying another one for my home office in due course.
Personally I couldn’t be more happy and will be buying another one for my home office in due course.
Well, after hearing mine, two others in my office ordered one. And one guy got one as a wedding gift for his daughter. Delivery next Wednesday.
Some may think they don't sound good, but we were all amazed. I guess there aren't any audiophiles in my office.
Some may think they don't sound good, but we were all amazed. I guess there aren't any audiophiles in my office.