You really want that sort of vibration for your phone? I think it’s a really bad idea to have a wireless charger on a speaker.
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Gurman: Apple Not Working on New HomePod Mini
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The 2021 Apple TV 4K no longer supports all features of TV OS, for example Apple Music Sing is apparently too much for it and only works with the 2022 model. That’s a year - a single year.
I don’t want that kind of obsolescence coming to a soundbar.
If they go down the soundbar route, it will need to be significantly overpowered to ensure some level of future proofing
'And the main way is that you control it, is with Siri!'
Whenever Apple uses this phrase in a product launch, it's an instant 'no' from me.
I can't think of any other Apple product/feature that has barely improved in the last 10 or so years.
(OK, Siri may have improved, but from 'unusable' to 'usable but mostly useless').
Whenever Apple uses this phrase in a product launch, it's an instant 'no' from me.
I can't think of any other Apple product/feature that has barely improved in the last 10 or so years.
(OK, Siri may have improved, but from 'unusable' to 'usable but mostly useless').
I agree with all your well-made points. Whilst understanding that Apple needs to be pragmatic It interests me that they talk about visionary devices but are always careful to restrict them in some way. If we take the Mac Mini, it would be straightforward to give all models 4 TB ports but, no, the lower models must have 2. It’s the same with laptops - the offer is carefully managed to force users who don’t necessarily need the more expensive devices to have to spend more just to acquire something that should be standard or a minimally priced option. Best example lately? The height adjustable cost of the Apple Studio Display.
I got sick of it listening to me and interrupting conversations
It was quite frankly spooky 👻
It was quite frankly spooky 👻
Turned of Siri everywhere, life is much much better without her.
If Apple ditch these Mini's?
Just bought 1, not very impressed, but I might buy another to get the stereo before they are gone anyway though.
If this Gurman boy have got it right, whose is doubtful?, I won’t suffer anyway ☺️
If Apple ditch these Mini's?
Just bought 1, not very impressed, but I might buy another to get the stereo before they are gone anyway though.
If this Gurman boy have got it right, whose is doubtful?, I won’t suffer anyway ☺️
If Apple wants people to use a HomePod to control matter devices in the future it needs to have a proper screen that can display info like an Echo Show
I did too. Blue. Arriving Tuesday. Buying a second one with the next check. The primary use is as a home theater setup. I have a smallish living room so hopefully these fit the bill.That’s great to hear. Bought my first HomePod mini after reading this.
Yep. You're right. They won't do it though.
....Which is pretty short sighted. If the HP mini was around £50 (or less on a deal) I would dump a whole house of Amazon Echo Dots, and carry on with my life. Currently, there is literally zero incentive to buy Apple speakers of any kind for me.
That would be a fun product IMO - basically a Sonos Roam competitor. Could increase the MSRP of the “HomePod Go” to $150/$199, it comes with a magsafe puck and power brick. Has a few hours of battery and just “magically” works with iOS devices as a portable speaker and voice assistant.
On the original article topic - I’m hoping this means they are focused fully on software upgrades. HomePod’s are great as speakers, but severely lacking on smart features. Every request that is not “what is the weather” ends up with a “Look at your iPhone for search results” - If I wanted to look at my phone, I wouldn’t be asking a voice assistant. Also Apple TV control has definitely improved, but can still be pretty flakey for anything more than turn on/turn off.
Shareholder growth expectations will never ever allow for that.
No...Apple's required GPM along with inflation will not allow for that.
This is one reason it should be wireless. We could have it on the coffee table instead of on an end table chained to an outlet.
She stopped recognizing our AM sub even after reboots. Then she said we had no accessories, even though they were in the Home App and worked fine there. The Google Minis we replaced the HMs with work better with AM than an Apple Product
They literally just put the price up outside the US. 😂
You make request to control matter devices to the Homepod but you can still use your phone/iPad to do the same. The Matter/HomeKit hub in the HomePod just handles the inter-device communications. It doesn’t need to provide feedback. Requests can go from your phone to the HomePod to your matter devices.
Amazon has lost billions of dollars on Alexa and those Echo dots. They sold them at less than cost hoping that people would use them to buy things. It turns out, people don’t like to use a virtual assistant to make purchases.
I don’t think Apple wants to price their HP Minis at below cost. The HP Minis have better, more expensive components and sound better than the dots. They aren’t going to be as cheap as those throwaway Amazon devices.
I mean, the second generation HomePod has entirely redesigned internals. Did you want a laser light show?
Right? They could market and increase the rechargeable battery life every few years.
And the full size HomePod has nothing on the Sonos Arc with sub or a proper Atmos home theater or a Sonos 5, for that matter. The mini is a great speaker for its size. How is this hard to understand?
You're missing the point. Apple introduced the OG HomePod as a multi room audio smart speaker solution. It had amazing sound quality. Many started to invest with the confidence that over time they could expand to additional rooms. Apple then unceremoniously discontinues the OG and state that their focus is now the Mini. The Mini as an alternative is quite frankly pathetic, and I for one am glad the OG is back.
The Mini is nothing but Apple's answer to the Echo Dot. All of this hyperbole about the Mini offering room-filling sound is a nonsense.
Sonos Roam for example wipes the floor with the Mini.
For its size yeah sure it's not a bad speaker - but as (it was positioned as) an OG replacement, it was woefully inadequate. How hard is that to understand?
QuarterSwede said:
And the full size HomePod has nothing on the Sonos Arc with sub or a proper Atmos home theater or a Sonos 5, for that matter. The mini is a great speaker for its size. How is this hard to understand?
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It sounds like you are both agreeing with each other.