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Gurman: Apple Still Working on Combined HomePod and Apple TV With FaceTime Camera

seatton said:
A pair of my HomePods mini is connected to Apple TV and Siri keeps saying she does not know where I am when I ask her about the weather. Do you have that issue?
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No, I don’t have that issue. Try making sure that you have the correct address set on your iPhone for the weather app and make sure location services are turned on (for weather) as that may be the problem as well.

If that doesn’t work, try calling Apple as they could probably walk you through more troubleshooting steps on your HomePod mini, to get that fixed.
 
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goobot said:
They’re basically making a smart soundbar. Sounds cool, hopefully it isn’t priced in an insane fashion.
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Assuming Gurman isn’t simply full of moo-poo as usual, and they do make an Apple soundbar, you know two things about it are inevitable:
  1. It will be insanely expensive.
  2. It won’t have traditional sound system ports like HDMI, so it will only connect via Wi-Fi with the ATV.
That would equal a big MEH…
 
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I love my OG HomePods not only for surround sound, but because with both of them, I can actually hear shows on HBO Max without having to blast the volume through the roof.

They're also great for playing music on my phone while I"m working. I do NOT want to have to continually turn my TV off because some app on my phone decided to auto-play while I'm listening to music (and no, I don't use streaming services; a LOT of my music isn't available streaming - nor am I signing up for multiple services).

Having a FaceTime camera attached to it? Forge it. I can't imagine how that'd work with privacy settings (which the Facebook phone app seems to be able to get around).
 
syklee26 said:
All Apple had to do with Homepod was to make it a bluetooth speaker and, with its outstanding sound quality, they would’ve sold a bunch of them. Why don’t they realize that it is the limitation of Homepod that made it an unsuccessful product?
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100%

I know they're all about streaming, services, and modern age, but everything old is new again, and given the resurgence of vinyl, not being able to connect the really nice speakers up to a Bluetooth record player is an oversight.
 
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I love my pair of OG HomePods. We use them everyday. My wife loves them too. Siri controls our HomeKit scenes and we listen to more music because it is so easy to request it. I'm thrilled we don't have Alexa in our home. I don't trust Amazon, and I know too many people that purchased Echos and they barely use them now. I think Sonos is Apple's real competition in this space.

That said, I would love a HomePod "Soundbar" that sits under the TV. Dolby Atmos, tons of speaker drivers, FaceTime camera (with a physical cover for privacy). I could see the HomePod Mini's being used as a Rear Channel stereo pair for an amazing home theater setup.
 
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Sounds awesome and I’d most likely buy this. I already have several Apple TV’s and have been using them since 2010. I’ve had the OG HomePod since launch and now have two in a stereo pair that I use as speakers for my Apple TV. What isn’t there for me to like about this product.
 
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I would want a mega DSPed/Virtualised "Atmos" setup -- with as few as 2 and as many as 9 Homepods "connected" to their Apple TV for said experience.
 
JustinCymbal said:
No, I don’t have that issue. Try making sure that you have the correct address set on your iPhone for the weather app and make sure location services are turned on (for weather) as that may be the problem as well.

If that doesn’t work, try calling Apple as they could probably walk you through more troubleshooting steps on your HomePod mini, to get that fixed.
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You can easily fix this by unchecking location services for Siri and rechecking the box. Must be a bug.
 
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This seems an unlikely device to me. I've no need for a mono speaker or a camera where I plug in my AppleTV.

An external camera might be useful to an AppleTV, but the speaker would still be pretty useless.
 
Not the product I want. I have a giant screen TV connected to a really good sound system. I don't need a speaker. I need just a camera/microphone combo that will interact with my Apple TV and an Apple TV Version of Facetime to allow me to Facetime from the comfort of my sofa.
 
The biggest piece is going to be price. It is what pretty much killed the HomePod.
If Apple doesn't get that right ... poof!

The general consumer would rather pay less and get decent than pay more and get good. Or even more and get great.
 
Blue Nova said:
The only way a HomePod mini will succeed is to work on Siri, if this will become the center of communication there is lots of room for a Siri improvement. Now that I have had the HomePod mini for few months I find the communication with Siri is very limited to what the programmers have including to respond to.

Also, there should be a better control of the audio, the speakers seem to have a lot of base, even if it was turned off.

Hey Siri, could you turn off the base? The response will be…. “the base is already turned off”.

Hope they’ll come out with a better HomePod.
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The HomePod mini is 200% too much bass for my taste. Why can't they use the speakers of the MacBook Pro or iMac as a starting point? Surely they can reach a lower price point in making a smaller speaker that doesn't sound like a subwoofer by going that route.

Also, as others have said, put an aux input as well as bluetooth support and a detachable power cord, thank you very much. Having built-in cables is completely insane.
 
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Apple should've made the HomePod mini as Airport mesh network capable. Seems logical to me. Then the AppleTV can be the main Airport base or sort.
 
I love my HomePods. However to rely solely on HomePod mini as the audio experience is pretty lame, just makes no sense. This sounds like one device so you wouldn't get two of them to pair for better sound.... IDK Apple is better off keeping Apple TV box with FaceTime and making new bigger HomePods that are cheaper for them to make but louder. Add a screen to the top for interactions. other than that an Apple TV with speakers and FaceTime just doesn't sound like it's going to work. Again home pod
 
Our large room the main TV viewing. Currently have the PlayBar from Sonos. Really like the ability to have very good TV sound and full access to streaming music in one box. Carries the center sound of the house. Much like the rack stereo systems did in the old days. This rumor gets my attention. Plus Apple needs to produce a HomePod portable and one with a clock face. If so all my sound problems solved. Go get it done Apple.
 
Seriously, I’m using a pair of HomePods, and when they die, I need a replacement that’s at least as good as the originals were. The mini is a different product category altogether. Geez, Apple. Stop letting products languish and then discontinuing them because you let them languish.
 
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Relentless Power said:
The OG HomePod was one of my favorite devices Apple has ever released in terms of an accessory product, next to the Apple Watch. They failed to market it properly and they were ‘late to the game’ per se for the release, but it’s an outstanding device that has loads of potential.
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Was, is.

I just opened up two that I’ve had in storage since the discontinuation announcement.

I refuse to let go.
 
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