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Having second thoughts about the HomePod.

Newtons Apple said:
I do not think we have seen any sound comparisons at this point.
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well they have compared them to the sonos play:1, play:3, google home max, and normal canister amazon echo at the various apple events over the last 9-10 months and as recently as one week ago. all demos were done on apple properties, in apple setups, with apple chosen music. that said nearly all, or all reviews said the HomePod was "clearly better" than the Amazon Echo, and "better on almost all music" (and tied on the reset) over Play:1, Play:3 and even the Google Max. I have yet to see comparisons with the Play:5, any Bose etc. nor any comparisons in an uncontrolled review setting on music of the listeners choice.

Personally having never heard a thing I am predicting better than Play:1-Play:3 but sometimes outshined by Play:5. But Play:5 costs more, is way bigger, doesn't have the audio manipulation that HomePod does, and of course is not a smart speaker.
 
I too have Sonos; 2 Play:1’s and a Play:5. Absolutely love them. I love that they work with so many services, and that they just work well with great sound.

With that, initially I regarded the HomePod as a poor product -could still be argued it is- but the few reviews about the great sound quality, and the AirPlay connectivity have made me want to try it for the 14 days just to see how it compares with my Sonos. I primarily use Spotify for my music listening, (and sometimes Soundcloud for the odd song) but I know the HomePod doesn’t support those unless you AirPlay to it.

So I don’t think there’s much point in me getting it, but I sorta just want to try HomePod to satisfy my curiosity. I fully expect to return though. (Haven’t ordered yet btw)

Possible issue I can see is if the HomePod sound is really good and I don’t want to return, then I’m in the rough :D
 
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/david-pogues-sneak-preview-apple-homepod-190227102.html

Just saw this hands on review, posted today.

I was about 90% there to convincing myself I want the Homepod. I have one on preorder for 2/9.

But then I read this, and it essentially says the sound is only marginally better than a single Sonos 1.

I have plenty of time to return the Sonos 1...so I guess Ill just compare the two in my house, and go from there (assuming a review doesn't persuade me to cancel the order).

The Sonos 1's in stereo configuration sound amazing. Honestly, it made me want to decorate my house with various Sonos speakers.
 
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Apples return policies are one of the best, and they don't have restocking fees associated either. They truly want the customer to be satisfied with the product, and at times they even make exceptions with return periods Being just outside the timeframe.
 
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BlueGoldAce said:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/david-pogues-sneak-preview-apple-homepod-190227102.html

Just saw this hands on review, posted today.

I was about 90% there to convincing myself I want the Homepod. I have one on preorder for 2/9.

But then I read this, and it essentially says the sound is only marginally better than a single Sonos 1.

I have plenty of time to return the Sonos 1...so I guess Ill just compare the two in my house, and go from there (assuming a review doesn't persuade me to cancel the order).

The Sonos 1's in stereo configuration sound amazing. Honestly, it made me want to decorate my house with various Sonos speakers.
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David Pogue is a trusted technology reviewer, he's been a long time Mac enthusiast and author. The article is rather lacking in detals however. I understand it as the sitpulations by apple, I can't say that I got much out of reading that article other then the Sonos 1 is close to the HomePod.
 
Interesting article. Can not wait for the longer reviews come out in their own environment. Sounds like the Sonos One is close in sound, which if true, will make it hard to justify keeping the HomePod, especially if Siri is not that good either. Will know soon. :)

maflynn said:
David Pogue is a trusted technology reviewer, he's been a long time Mac enthusiast and author. The article is rather lacking in detals however. I understand it as the sitpulations by apple, I can't say that I got much out of reading that article other then the Sonos 1 is close to the HomePod.
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GDF said:
especially if Siri is not that good either.
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That's the wildcard, we know what Alexa can do, Amazon has continually updating its Echo, giving it more and more functionality, yet on the Apple side Siri hasn't really seen much love.
 
maflynn said:
That's the wildcard, we know what Alexa can do, Amazon has continually updating its Echo, giving it more and more functionality, yet on the Apple side Siri hasn't really seen much love.
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Due to Apple being a bit late on introducing it’s device, they got some catching up to do.

When I “cut the cord” at my house and get away from Comcast Xfinity, I will likely move to Apple TV as it will work nicely with my other Apple devices. Might be room for a HomePod in the future. Still think Apple will come out with a much cheaper device that has much of the functionality of the HomePod without the fancy speakers . . . I guess I am describing an Apple Dot?;) Time will tell.
 
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Agree - too bad though, since Siri started out as the "cool" leader.

maflynn said:
That's the wildcard, we know what Alexa can do, Amazon has continually updating its Echo, giving it more and more functionality, yet on the Apple side Siri hasn't really seen much love.
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AlliFlowers said:
I think Apple missed the bus on this one. Every home already had Alexa and even Google was late to this party, but they covered anything without Alexa.

The price of the Homepod is just silly.
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I know a lot of homes that don't have Alexa or Google Home due to privacy concerns with the companies. Now those same people are looking at the HomePod because they know Apple defends privacy rights.

I'm not saying if they are right or wrong but that is the perception of a lot of people I know and there have been stories about Alexa and Google picking up things when it shouldn't have been listening.
 
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The Martian said:
I know a lot of homes that don't have Alexa or Google Home due to privacy concerns with the companies. Now those same people are looking at the HomePod because they know Apple defends privacy rights.

I'm not saying if they are right or wrong but that is the perception of a lot of people I know and there have been stories about Alexa and Google picking up things when it shouldn't have been listening.
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This is literally me. Apple products are probably as "secure" as Amazon/Google but Apple's statements on privacy put me at ease.
 
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kdarling said:
Pogue’s hands on review:

https://finance.yahoo.com/video/pogue-reviews-apple-homepod-135157795.html
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What I find missing from his review is his thoughts on how the HomePod measures up against its competition, audibly speaking. He really didn't offer any remarks about how the HP sounds vs. Sonos or the Google Home.

I like his comment on how Siri was the first voice assistant and yet lost its lead Amazon and Google. I'd say they lost that lead fairly early on when Google and Microsoft (Cortana), rolled out their voice assistants that did more out of the gate, and even with that, Apple didn't do much to improve Siri. Heck, look how long it took for Apple to add Siri to OS X. I think people woke up at 1 infinite loop when Amazon rolled out a killer product no one saw coming, especially from Amazon. They caught both Apple and Google flat footed. Yet, it was apple that as looking to push into the home automation, so many years ago, and I will say largely failed. There's no reason why the Echo can cantrol more devices, alexia can is more robust and capable, but it is.


With all that said and done, I do like the homePod.
 
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Newtons Apple said:
There is nothing that Apple would have liked more than to be introduced before Amazon’s and Google’s devices.
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Yes, but Apple was asleep at the switch, this smart speaker stuff came out of left field, no one saw this coming (as from Jeff Bezos and crew)
 
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I must be the only person not excited about the Homepod at all - or any other smart speaker. I have several decent speakers for my iMac, my TV (where I stream my music with Airplay through my ATV) and a bluetooth speaker for my phone. Since my iPhone is never far I can always use Siri anywhere in my apartment. This seems really redundant at last IMHO.
 
If I had another brand smart speaker in my home, I wouldn’t have gotten the HomePod. No way does it make sense to trade a 5 speaker system for 1 or 2 speakers.
Apple is late to the party in your case. Me personally, I didn’t have any smart speakers in my home (or home theater system ☹️) so the buy was easy. I did debate the two Sonos deal when the HomePod orders dropped, but I knew I would be stuck with whatever brand I went with, so I went Apple.
 
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0014 said:
I’ve got two Sonos Play:5 Gen 2 and 3 Sonos Play:1’s at home. The play 5’s are in the lounge in stereo pair, the Play:1’s are a stereo pair in the kitchen and a single one in the bedroom.

At some point in the future I’ll get a Dolby Atmos System for the TV (Sonos current unwillingness to support Atmos is the reason I don’t have a Soundbar).

I may invest in a Sub to go with the Play:5’s but at the moment I’m not sure I’ll need it as the play:5’s are awesome.

Although I’m sure the HomePod is good. I can control my Sonos system with my Echo Dots (one in the kitchen and bedroom, although will get a spot for the bedroom and move a dot into the lounge). The other thing is the price. I have a fairly large lounge and before I got the Play:5’s I had 2 of the Play:1’s in a stereo pair. They did very good job of filling the room with sound.

So I’m not sure 1 HomePod could be as good as a stereo paired set of Play:1’s. But I’ll reserve judgement until I see some in-depth reviews once they’re out in the Wild.

The other thing though is that sound is so subjective. I’m sure that any number of audiophiles would come to my apartment and pick fault with my setup. But for my ears (using Spotify and iTunes Match) I’m really not sure much else will impress me.
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The sub is worth it got one for my wife for Christmas it makes a difference just wish it was not so expensive. But it fits in a smaller space then most subs with no cabinet vibration.
 
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steve knight said:
The sub is worth it got one for my wife for Christmas it makes a difference just wish it was not so expensive. But it fits in a smaller space then most subs with no cabinet vibration.
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I'm working on somehow getting the wife to agree I 'NEED' a Sub........ :rolleyes:
 
maflynn said:
That's my thinking, plus will it pass the wife test. It would be hard to convince her that spending 350 on the speaker when the Echo (at least for now) does more and can be purchased for a fraction of what the HomePod is going for.
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Mine passed the wife test really easily. I showed her the list of things my Echo had recorded us saying even on days when the trigger word wasn’t used. She was appalled and told me to “get that damn thing out of the house now”. Easiest debate I’ve ever won. Don’t know who she thinks is interested in the conversations we have...... Well, maybe some are best kept private :D

I’d been hummin and hawing over the HomePod anyway, I’ve never been completely happy with the Echo. The sound isn’t particularly great, privacy is a little bit of a concern, but the thing that peeves me off more than anything is having to shout at the top of my voice, several times, to get Alexa to hear me above music.

Maybe it’s the Scottish accent, god knows, but I don’t have that trouble with Siri or Google. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fine if the music is what I’d consider a background level. But at the volume I like to listen to music at, the Echo is hopeless. It can’t even hear me above the TV at night, so I end up resorting to Siri on my phone. Which makes the Echo a bit redundant anyway.

In the end I just decided what the hell, 99% of our devices are Apple. I use Apple Music, all of my lighting, heating, electrical sockets are all HomeKit. And thanks to homebridge my entertainment system (via Harmony Hub) kettle and coffee machine are all HomeKit too.

I guess I’m the target market. But at the end of the day, if it arrives (today) and doesn’t sound good enough, or can’t hear me above music. Then it’ll be going straight back. No point having it if it doesn’t fix the problems I already have with my Echo. God knows how I’ll convince the wife to keep the Echo if I have to though, she wasn’t having the, but I can delete the recordings from Amazon’s servers argument.
 
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