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Gruber's HomePod review is up.
- Thread starter 8CoreWhore
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Finally a well written/structured review.
I am very excited about getting my pair.
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That and lack of native Spotify support seemingly tops the list.
I will subscribe to Apple Music tomorrow.
I was thinking about Amazon but with the pods it will be Apple Music
I am very excited about getting my pair.
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That and lack of native Spotify support seemingly tops the list.
I will subscribe to Apple Music tomorrow.
I was thinking about Amazon but with the pods it will be Apple Music
FYI... https://daringfireball.net/preferences/Thanks - really good review...even if the font is a little small
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For those of us who use Apple Music it’s not a negative, but anyone who mistakenly assumes it works with the same 3rd party music apps their iPhones support may be unhappy to find out it doesn’t work with them, so I think it’s good to point it out.
I do think that they will eventually add support to Siri for 3rd party streaming apps. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect Apple would make more money selling $349 HomePods to satisfied Spotify customers, versus convincing enough of them to switch to the $10/month Apple Music service and then buy a HomePod.
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I'm a bit tired of reading yet another variation of someone basically admitting out of the gate to not being a good judge of the speaker's audio quality:
Is there any review out there yet by someone who actually understands good audio and whose frame of reference isn't confined to those other terrible sounding smart speakers?
Does Echo support Apple Music? Does Google? If Spotify also made a speaker, would it support Apple Music? The Homepod will play others, just not as full featured. Isn't it the only one to play others' services? Yet, Apple is the only one being criticized. It's nutty.
Here's Spotify playing on HomePod, controlled by voice.
Here's Spotify playing on HomePod, controlled by voice.
But once again he only compares it to other smart speakers.
I don't find that hard to believe since smart speakers generally sound terrible. But how does HomePod compare to other small bookshelf/AirPlay speakers in the $500-$1000 range with known good audio quality? That's what I would be interested in. In other words, assuming I couldn't care less about the (limited) smarts of HomePod, should I still be interested in it. I'm guessing the answer is no, but it doesn't seem to be spelled out anywhere.
I think most people would assume that if Apple wanted Apple Music to be on those other smart speakers, Amazon and Google would not prevent them.
"But that means if you want HomePod in the same room with your TV (and want better audio than what you get out of your TV’s built-in speakers), you still need a separate speaker system for your TV. That seems inefficient."
Welp, he answered my question.
Welp, he answered my question.
The review is similar to others. If you're already established in Apple's ecosystem then the homepod is a good choice, if you're invested in Amazon, or are not invested in iOS, then other solutions may be better
There's even a diagram:
https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/06/should-i-buy-an-apple-homepod/
FWIW, it's the only review I've seen that came from someone with experience with good audio equipment ("having sold high end audio equipment for around 7 years about 15 years ago."), which is why I thought it might be interesting to someone with this complaint, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
That flowchart has at least one odd result. If I've got $349 to spend, I've got an iOS device and Apple Music, but I DON'T use a smart assistant, I shouldn't get HomePod? No. Whether or not I use a smart assistant should have no bearing on this. Just because I never used one before doesn't mean I can't start using. Furthermore, Siri in this instance is not just a smart assistant but is really the control interface for the device.
Or, seemingly, if you want more freedom of choice: Sonos
On a side note, I thought there was going to be more home control through HomePod, though. Wasn’t the simplification of the smart home going to be done by way of the smart speaker?
Related to 3rd party support within the Apple ecosystem, and to Gruber's circle of friends:
Is Marco Arment's review up yet?
Will Gruber have him on The Talk Show to "headphone jack" it?!
I can imagine Marco will be the first to break the ATP boycott on buying a HomePod, even though it's probably his boycott in the first place.
He's understandably peeved, due to having no means of initiating Overcast via HomePod. This makes Apple's Podcasts app the podcast player of choice for HomePod.
He could even lose podcast player market share. Despite being a first day Overcast buyer/subscriber/ad viewer, and having GBs of podcasts downloaded, and the orange Overcast icon in premium position in my iPhone dock, I know that I've toyed with returning to the built-in Apple Podcasts app if HomePod proves useful for listening to podcasts.
Despite this inevitable grudge, an audiophile like Marco, who contributes headphone reviews to The Wirecutter, simply won't be able to resist! He'll hear these reports of "stunning audio" and have to check it out for himself.
Of course, he could just return it within 14 days, and then spend the next 14 episodes talking about how it compares unfavourably with the Echo. It's the ATP way!
Come to think of it, I'd really like to hear Gruber and Marco go tête-à-tête over HomePod vs Echo. I might even listen to it in Overcast again.
Is Marco Arment's review up yet?
Will Gruber have him on The Talk Show to "headphone jack" it?!
I can imagine Marco will be the first to break the ATP boycott on buying a HomePod, even though it's probably his boycott in the first place.
He's understandably peeved, due to having no means of initiating Overcast via HomePod. This makes Apple's Podcasts app the podcast player of choice for HomePod.
He could even lose podcast player market share. Despite being a first day Overcast buyer/subscriber/ad viewer, and having GBs of podcasts downloaded, and the orange Overcast icon in premium position in my iPhone dock, I know that I've toyed with returning to the built-in Apple Podcasts app if HomePod proves useful for listening to podcasts.
Despite this inevitable grudge, an audiophile like Marco, who contributes headphone reviews to The Wirecutter, simply won't be able to resist! He'll hear these reports of "stunning audio" and have to check it out for himself.
Of course, he could just return it within 14 days, and then spend the next 14 episodes talking about how it compares unfavourably with the Echo. It's the ATP way!
Come to think of it, I'd really like to hear Gruber and Marco go tête-à-tête over HomePod vs Echo. I might even listen to it in Overcast again.
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Yep, that's what reviewers were saying, some more explicitly then otheres. I forget one reviewer but mentioned that the Sonos 1 (I think that's the one), was near the homepod in sound quality, but it gives you the Alexa platform to use.
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The verge's reviewer purports to be an audiophile, I have no reason to dispute or uphold that claim, I'm just stating what he said
Whaaaaat? Apple music is not supported on other devices because Apple don't develop in those platforms nor do they have public API's for third parties. Apple Music is a closed service and that is because of Apple.
Or, seemingly, if you want more freedom of choice: Sonos
On a side note, I thought there was going to be more home control through HomePod, though. Wasn’t the simplification of the smart home going to be done by way of the smart speaker?
I had a Sonos One, but sent it back. It sounded great, but Alexa, at the time...it just didn't work well. It was their implementation, and the wake word just didn't work unless you shouted at it from 2 feet away. I was already spoiled by a dot. Supposedly it's gotten better. But if you want to use Apple Music, you're in the same boat a non-Apple Music member is for a HomePod. You've got to stream it from a phone, either from Sonos's app, or from Airplay (for a HomePod).
Sonos makes great products. The HomePod is for a very particular customer, who falls into a few buckets (Apple Music, iOS, wants a great speaker, and don't care about lots of the 'skills'). FWIW a Sonos One is somewhat limited in what skills it supports.
Competition and choice is good. I could end up taking my HomePod back, but I'm excited at the prospect of what it does.
I too am frustrated so far that all the reviews compare it to smart speakers, as all the reviewers seem completely obsessed with determining it's role in the pecking order of "smart speakers".
I hadn't even considered getting a "smart speaker" until the HomePod came along because I was interested in a "premium speaker system", NOT a "smart assistant". I know a lot of potential customers are looking at it as a speaker first.
I want to know whether it (or a couple of them in the future) can replace a traditional receiver and pair of high quality passive speakers... and by "replace", I mean at a similar sound quality. Is the audio processing tech of the HomePod so good, that you can throw out that stereo system that used to cost a $1,000? Or equal to a $500 stereo system? or what? That's what a bunch of us what to know. I couldn't give a squat about how it compares to an Echo (well, that's interesting in its own right, but has nothing to do with whether I'd buy a HomePod).
I assume eventually those reviews will trickle out as well, but I'm not buying into I get a wider context of reviews.
Now, it's impossible to know what Apple's thinking... if they wanted it compared to high-fidelity stereo systems, they could have sent HomePods to traditional hi-fi equipment reviewers? But instead they sent them to all the usual suspects who these days are generally seem more interested in missing the point of any device in an attempt to separate themselves out from the rest of the reviewers?
I hadn't even considered getting a "smart speaker" until the HomePod came along because I was interested in a "premium speaker system", NOT a "smart assistant". I know a lot of potential customers are looking at it as a speaker first.
I want to know whether it (or a couple of them in the future) can replace a traditional receiver and pair of high quality passive speakers... and by "replace", I mean at a similar sound quality. Is the audio processing tech of the HomePod so good, that you can throw out that stereo system that used to cost a $1,000? Or equal to a $500 stereo system? or what? That's what a bunch of us what to know. I couldn't give a squat about how it compares to an Echo (well, that's interesting in its own right, but has nothing to do with whether I'd buy a HomePod).
I assume eventually those reviews will trickle out as well, but I'm not buying into I get a wider context of reviews.
Now, it's impossible to know what Apple's thinking... if they wanted it compared to high-fidelity stereo systems, they could have sent HomePods to traditional hi-fi equipment reviewers? But instead they sent them to all the usual suspects who these days are generally seem more interested in missing the point of any device in an attempt to separate themselves out from the rest of the reviewers?
I think one thing not being discussed in this comparison to high end systems, is that you also need to keep in mind the comparison of the quality of the MEDIA. Apple Music is going to be a 256 kbps AAC file.
There is already loss, and if you are an audiophile, and prefer FLAC, etc, you are already at a disadvantage. If you are a true audiophile, I don't see how you are going to be truly happy with this.
There is already loss, and if you are an audiophile, and prefer FLAC, etc, you are already at a disadvantage. If you are a true audiophile, I don't see how you are going to be truly happy with this.
By the way, with how cheap the Dot is, there's no reason you couldn't have a Dot alongside a HomePod. That's what I plan on doing anyway.
I've been looking for such reviews, too. This one from WhatHiFi is more from an audiophile perspective.
https://www.whathifi.com/apple/homepod/review