First Impressions From New HomePod Owners: Siri's Voice Detection is 'Phenomenal,' Audio Quality is 'Immediately Evident'

[Piggie]

I am loving the overbearing focus on sound quality; while it's certainly important to have decent audio quality, it's not the main motive for getting a smart speaker.

Things like "is it useful?" or "has Siri been improved" answered by "who cares, it sounds amazing!" do nothing to convince me I should get one.

I know.
It's like a car maker, going, ohhh, look at the number of layers of paint we put on the bodywork.
The real Austrian hand cured beaver skin leather around the steering wheel, and the higher than industry standard optical glass on the windows.

Excuse me... is it much good as being.... you know... a car to transport people around.

Shhhhh, let's ignore that.... So, moving on, Have you seen the unique rubber composite that we have used to line the glovebox etc etc etc.....

 

[mrzz]

I really hope we will see the same articles storm about Macbooks

 

[TheHammer]

Siri won’t improve unless you complain to the right people... Apple.com/feedback

 

[Gigster]

Apple is first and foremost a marketing company. Actual products and everything else come later.

Um yeah about that. As a marketing executive I want to point out that ‘Product’ is considered one of the four P’s of marketing (others being Promotion, Price and Place), so your statement makes no sense.

Creating products and services that meet the needs and wants of its intended target market is very much a marketing activity. One that Apple performs very well.

 

[MrX8503]

I am loving the overbearing focus on sound quality; while it's certainly important to have decent audio quality, it's not the main motive for getting a smart speaker.

Things like "is it useful?" or "has Siri been improved" answered by "who cares, it sounds amazing!" do nothing to convince me I should get one.

It’s a speaker.... so why wouldn’t people focus on its sound quality?

My main motive for buying a HomePod is to get excellent sound quality.

 

[Abazigal]

I really hope we will see the same articles storm about Macbooks

The Mac is slowly becoming a niche product. iOS and wearables is where it’s at these days.

 

[ezdj]

We've seen quite a few HomePod reviews from media sites that Apple invited to test the speaker, but now that the HomePod has officially launched in Australia, HomePod first impressions from regular Apple customers are now available.

New HomePod owners on reddit, Twitter, and the MacRumors forums have been sharing their opinions on the device, and for those awaiting a HomePod of their own or considering purchasing, these comments from average consumers provide interesting insight.

MacRumors reader ApeBot was one of the first to receive a new HomePod in Australia, and he said setting it up was "incredibly fast and easy with an iPhone." As for sound quality, it's "impressive" and "fills the room beautifully."

When using "Hey Siri" with other compatible iOS devices around, the HomePod is the device that responds first, something that future owners HomePod have been wondering about. Since iOS 10, with multiple devices around, when you say "Hey Siri" your devices intelligently decide which one should respond, and it's no different with HomePod.

Reddit user ghostinthelatrine offered to answer questions about the new HomePod, leading to some insightful discussion. He says the HomePod's sound "blows the [Sonos] Play 3 out of the water," and that Siri's voice detection is "phenomenal."

Image via reddit user ghostinthelatrine​

Using the HomePod as a speaker for the Apple TV was "surprisingly quiet," even at a high volume level, though the sound itself was described as "crystal clear." You can also use the HomePod with a Mac as an AirPlay destination from iTunes and it appears as an output device in the Sound settings.

Another redditor shared a detailed list of initial impressions, and he too praised the HomePod's sound quality and the ease of activating Siri on the device.
AirPlay also worked well from both iOS devices and the Mac, with the exception being AirPlaying content from the Overcast app. His other comments focused on the HomePod's design. The "size and heft" of the device were surprising, and the outer fabric is "soft, but firm."

Image via Reddit user eats_midgets​

The top of the HomePod, where the touch controls are located, is glossy and smooth, and in a separate tweet, another new HomePod owner said this area is something of a fingerprint magnet.

​

Multiple Twitter users also had thoughts to share on the HomePod, weighing in on everything from the device's sound to Siri to its power cable.

​

On the MacRumors forums, upcoming HomePod owners have also listed some songs they'll be using to test out the HomePod's capabilities when it arrives, including "Hotel California" from The Eagles, "Prelude and Kiara" from Bonobo, "Hits and Exit Wounds" from Alabama 3, "Core" from Stone Temple Pilots, "Your Latest Trick" by Dire Straits, and "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen.

Once the HomePod launches in the UK and the United States, our forums will be filled with HomePod users sharing their opinions and tips and tricks for using the new speaker. Make sure to check out our HomePod forum to share your thoughts on the new speaker, or post them here in this thread, and stay tuned to MacRumors because we'll have plenty of HomePod coverage both tomorrow and next week.

Article Link: First Impressions From New HomePod Owners: Siri's Voice Detection is 'Phenomenal,' Audio Quality is 'Immediately Evident'

[doublepost=1518173177][/doublepost]...yep, I dropped it...packaging issue...lucky I was on me bed...lol...easy set up with my iPhone SE, though I need to turn on two-factor authentication...played a wide variety of music and tested Siri out...Siri is great, even at high volume...had to turn off hey Siri on other devices...sound has a little too much bass and/or lacked a bit of mid range but over all ok...I was more impressed with a boom 2 I bought for me misses...be nice if I could adjust the EQ to my liking...future software updates will address my issues perhaps...as A postal worker @ $30/hr this is worth $500 here...rather expensive...

 

[tywebb13]

I have the Japanese version of the complete DG recordings - 240 CDs - of Herbert von Karajan - all ripped onto my iphone - and don't ask me how long that took me!. The international version only has 101 CDs so I didn't bother with that.

I have already listened to the first 239 CDs on my airpods and delayed listening to the last one till I got the homepod.

I have now listened to the 240th CD on the homepod whilst reading this thread and I am tempted to go back and listen to the rest again on the homepod because it sounded great.

However I am a bit concerned about too much focus on how good the homepod sounds. It really should be about how the music sounds in the room. And as good as a homepod sounds - and as good as my recent experience of hearing the 240th Karajan CD via a single homepod - I must confess that if I were to again listen to the other 239 CDs via homepod I would rather there be 2 homepods in stereo. That feature is not yet available however will come later in an update. So I might delay that epic thing till that happens.

So the stereo thing has to happen in order for the focus to be more on how the music sounds - and not on how the device sounds.

 

[tkermit]

I know.
It's like a car maker, going, ohhh, look at the number of layers of paint we put on the bodywork.
The real Austrian hand cured beaver skin leather around the steering wheel, and the higher than industry standard optical glass on the windows.

Excuse me... is it much good as being.... you know... a car to transport people around.

Shhhhh, let's ignore that.... So, moving on, Have you seen the unique rubber composite that we have used to line the glovebox etc etc etc.....

It's a freaking speaker – it should be judged by its sound quality first and foremost. That's what a speaker is all about. Just like I would judge a car primarily by its handling, before considering the built-in entertainment, navigation and autopilot system, however great that may be.

 

[BMcCoy]

Software can be improved and updated over time. Siri will get better.
Hardware can't. The device you buy is the device you have. If you want an updated hardware, you have to buy a new device...

I'd rather have the best sounding speaker on the market, with software that can be improved.
Than the best software in a poorer quality speaker, that can't be improved!

 

[tevion5]

When you think about it, this is a high-end speaker featuring a smart assistant that hasn't been touched in 7 years. Now that's what I call half baked.

I had an iPhone 4s on release. To say Siri hasn't changed since then is beyond laughable.

 

[iPhonefan200]

Siri is shockingly good! While she’s basic for now she’s a lot better and understanding you and she can pick you up speaking normal while the volume is full.

Iv had mine for about 1 hour and the sound is unreal ! You can really feel the power and the benifits of the spatial awareness. My woofer is yet to warm up and loosen ( as they say ) and it’s powerful, some songs it’s chestthrobbung some it isn’t , Apple have really designed this to tune to the individual song. My library is very mixed so that’s ideal but one it was impressive was beyonce formation ! The lows were chest throbbing as intended but her voice is not drowned out by it and with other systems I find they pick one or the other

 

[gyllis]

Can it do other languages than English? (I.e. will it work for me in Sweden if I buy it abroad, although it hasn't been released yet here?)

 

[Duncan-UK]

Bought one from Argos this morning. Have set it up - which was very easy, but Siri doesn't seem to be aware of my iTunes Match/icloud music library playlists. Sound quality seems ok - but not three times as good as my old Airplay speaker (Azatom Stealth)

Eg - I have a playlist called "Queen" - I've asked it to play the Queen playlist (and variations upon this) but it just says "you don't have that in your music". Any ideas as to how to get it to work?

I still HATE having to say "Hey Siri" to trigger it - this is most embarrassing and un-English. Oh how I'd love to be able to use the word "Orac" to trigger it. Nerds will understand what I mean by this...

 

[xxray]

It’s such a shame it only supports Apple Music and AirPlay, and not Spotify and Bluetooth.

 

[ErikGrim]

Thanks for the kind words on my playlist everyone. I’ve had it now for a few hours playing music, podcasts, phone calls and TV. And it is shockingly good for all of it. It really is a miracle that something of that size can sound so good.

I will say that for my use, two speakers are needed. It’s still fairly directional and having just one next to my 65” TV you could still feel the lack of a balance from the other side.

As soon as a beta enabling it becomes available I’ll get my second one.

Other than that, top marks!

 

[OllyW]

It sounds like an interesting product, I'd like to get to hear one properly but I don't think any of my friends or family will be rushing out to get one.

 

[Duncan-UK]

Had a bit more success with playlists - but it completely failed when I asked it to play "The Beatles - 1" - after about three attempts it played "Money" which of course isn't on 1 at all. Amusingly it did play Uncle ****er from South Park and censored the word ****er as no doubt this forum will do when I post this.

 

[gnipgnop]

It does look like the quality/sensitivity of the microphone array is just as much of a benefit to the use of Siri as it is to the home audio features. I think that's something that was being underestimated as a selling point in some of the early demo style reviews.

 

[ErikGrim]

It does look like the quality/sensitivity of the microphone array is just as much of a benefit to the use of Siri as it is to the home audio features. I think that's something that was being underestimated as a selling point in some of the early demo style reviews.

Absolutely. It’s kind of mental that you can rock this at 100% volume, speak to Siri at normal speaking volume and have her fully recognise exactly what you said.

It’s the same effect as the first time you use Face ID in the dark. You know the science behind it but it still feels magical somehow.

 

[mattopotamus]

for me personally, I have no doubt that Siri voice detection is phenomenal. "hey Siri" works better for me than google and Alexa, but this has to be an actual smart speaker before I am willing to dish out $350.

 

[ErikGrim]

for me personally, I have no doubt that Siri voice detection is phenomenal. "hey Siri" works better for me than google and Alexa, but this has to be an actual smart speaker before I am willing to dish out $350.

What’s an “actual smart speaker” to you?

 

[Dave245]

I'm still waiting for mine to arrive, i'm working from the home office today waiting for the HomePod to arrive trying to get some work done but every time i try and write something i keep thinking i'm hearing the door when in fact it's the wind outside to be fair tho it is REALLY windy here in the U.K today!

 

[Rogifan]

Bluetooth support is there and I don’t honk it’s restricted to iOS devices. Siri is an assistant not an AI.

Bluetooth is there but it’s like NFC on iPhones, only for a specific reason. HomePod can’t be used as a BT speaker.

 

[mattopotamus]

What’s an “actual smart speaker” to you?

can control my lights, thermostat, security system, and harmony hub at the very least. My issues it not a restriction of the HomePod, but of HomeKit and apple's approach to smart devices. Basically I want the 3rd party integration I get with Alexa or google home, but from Siri.

As it stands, Siri can only control my lights out of all of the smart devices I have. At $350 I feel like it should be a central smart hub. I can outfit my entire home with google home or Alexa devices for the cost of a single HomePod. Then again, Apple appears to have shifted completely away from it being a smart device in their adds and focus solely on music.