Putting any display on a speaker is ridiculous. What I would want is the ability to make a 5.1 (or Atmos) system from one (full size) Homepod plus 4 mini's. Or 2 Full size plus 2 or 3 minis. Then assign it to an AppleTV. Calibrating the sound could be done with an iPhone located where you sit. Maybe this could be done as a configuration within the Apple TV.
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Future HomePod Again Rumored to Add Curved LCD Display
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They need to make an Echo show competitor until then these rumours are not exciting to me.
Spoken like someone who does not actually own a HomePod...
I like my HomePod a lot but I am also looking forward to this rumored device.
Oh I like my HomePods, I have 8 of them. I'm just not interested in this rumoured silly screen. They either make it useful like the echo show or they shouldn't bother at all imo.
100%. I love mine, especially paired with the Apple TV. Granted, I only use Siri for timers
. I wish they could make them cheaper, mostly so that more people would buy them and they would keep on making them.I own an iPhone 15 Pro Max, 14 inch MacBook Pro, 11 inch M2 iPad Pro, AirPods 2, Apple MagSafe and Duo (travel) chargers, the Apple Watch Ultra, 5 HomePod Minis, 5 OG HomePods, and 2 current generation HomePods. Of all of those the HomePod is my favorite product. I could not have been happier when new ones were introduced after their apparent discontinuation. They work nearly perfectly for me, as does Siri. I love the sound, have integrated most of my household functions through them, and they have been trouble free the entire time I have owned them. Next year, when AppleGPT is added to Siri they will be even better, which is what is exciting about owning Apple products. My next purchase will be the Apple Vision Pro, perhaps that will give the HomePods a run for their money as my favorite Apple product.
This already exists with eARC. I'm currently using tv audio, Apple TV audio, PS5 audio, and Nintendo Switch audio out of a stereo pair of HomePods. When the content is in Dolby Atmos I get the Atmos audio. Unless I'm misunderstanding something the HomePods already do this.
Sonos has terrible quality too. So being better than a ‘cheap’ Sonos and even worse than an expensive one is really not much of an achievement. Quite the opposite: it confirms the audio quality is embarrassing.
The latest HomePod update has surprisingly largely improved the Siri experience on the HomePod that many users here are complaining about. I highly recommend you update if you haven't. Now problems innate to Siri itself still exist, but that's a different conversation.
In regards to the rumored screen, uh... okay? I could not be less interested. I mean that, I do not want to pay for this. The benefit to this screen is in particular situations where you are using the HomePod and do not have your watch or phone with you. In other words, it's practically never useful. Provided that future iterations of HomePods have the updated UW chip, it should be easier to accurately provide a user the details of what's playing on the HomePod when a user brings their watch near.
So, with that being said, drop the screen entirely, and the current screen that shows when Siri is listening it's just as useless and adds to the cost of the device. Take the amount saved on the bill of materials and shift it towards things that actually have practical value. I'm talking about PoE, WiFi 7, better audio tech, better microphone, on-device Siri, up-firing speakers, and hell spend it on R&D for things like an integrated router, an Apple TV replacement, or smaller size without loss of functionality.
Also, here's a better rumor, you heard it here first: the next HomePod and mini will have on-device Siri because the Apple Watch series 9 chip has on-device Siri, and HomePods currently use Apple Watch chips. Bonus rumor, the next HomePod will continue to not have modern WiFi because the Apple Watch chip still has **** WiFi. Another rumor! It will also have the new UW chip because the Apple Watch has it. If only MacRumors would talk more about these obvious outcomes, then we could have more interesting discussions about what's next for the HomePod.
In regards to the rumored screen, uh... okay? I could not be less interested. I mean that, I do not want to pay for this. The benefit to this screen is in particular situations where you are using the HomePod and do not have your watch or phone with you. In other words, it's practically never useful. Provided that future iterations of HomePods have the updated UW chip, it should be easier to accurately provide a user the details of what's playing on the HomePod when a user brings their watch near.
So, with that being said, drop the screen entirely, and the current screen that shows when Siri is listening it's just as useless and adds to the cost of the device. Take the amount saved on the bill of materials and shift it towards things that actually have practical value. I'm talking about PoE, WiFi 7, better audio tech, better microphone, on-device Siri, up-firing speakers, and hell spend it on R&D for things like an integrated router, an Apple TV replacement, or smaller size without loss of functionality.
Also, here's a better rumor, you heard it here first: the next HomePod and mini will have on-device Siri because the Apple Watch series 9 chip has on-device Siri, and HomePods currently use Apple Watch chips. Bonus rumor, the next HomePod will continue to not have modern WiFi because the Apple Watch chip still has **** WiFi. Another rumor! It will also have the new UW chip because the Apple Watch has it. If only MacRumors would talk more about these obvious outcomes, then we could have more interesting discussions about what's next for the HomePod.
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Just came to say the same thing. Just needs a short-throw projector with the same functionality as that StandBy feature they added to iPhones. I feel people would love that - I certainly would. And I'd make me want to put one in every room.
more interested in a stable connection and not having to restart or repair constantly.
Yeah, my homepods got *worse* with the last couple rounds of updates, I’m confused as to what Apple is doing. They used to be pretty reliable, now not anywhere near the same
I desperately wish they would give the homepod an option for wired networking, I suspect a lot if reliability issues would be solved without relying on the cruddy wifi chips they seem to really like throwing in the hps
I still have two of them if you’re interested hahahah. Seriously it was just awkward tho.
Holy smokes! Are you kidding?
You've just crossed a red line expressing happiness with your Apple products. No forum cred for you today.
That cred can be restored if you take a swing at TC or Apple within the next 24 hours.
Yup... the current "display" is enough.
I would buy a new HomePod with:
- more internal directional speakers, as the original, for better room adjustments.
- way better synchronisation with the other HomePod's - current mini's often keep on phase shifting when in stereo-pair.
- full wifi 6 or 7 support, so it wont hog the wifi as much as the wifi 4 models do when using airplay to 4 or more HomePod's. Also better for more precise timing.
- Surround support!
- Or maybe a ethernet model with PoE (power over ethernet) ? That I would buy immediately.
Or just HomePad OS for any (older) iPad? Just suggestions
