jlc1978
macrumors 603
I'd like them to offer a BT KB with NUMBER KEYS, touch bar and touch ID.
Here's How Apple's New HomePod Speaker and iMac Pro Look in Person
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tyr2
macrumors 6502a
The only thing I like about the new iMac Pro is the full sized with numeric pad wireless keyboard. I hope is it bluetooth and compatible with my mid 2011 iMac
You can order it now if you don't mind it being in white
jlc1978
macrumors 603
Is the power cord detachable; if so adding a DC power supply is trivial..
DakotaGuy
macrumors 601
I think this speaker is designed for music not movies. You'd be much better off with a Sonos playbar with sub or Bose SoundTouch 300 that allows you to pair a sub and wireless surround speakers with it. Granted those options will cost more, but give you a much better movie experience.
I screamed with joy when I saw that. Dam, I've been missing that num pad since FOREVER! Even more excited to see it's available as of today (in white). It took Apple waaaaaay too long.
Now, my only concern is that this new Magic Keyboard has the same keyboard as the Macbooks/Macbook Pros. The keys looked rather flat in that video during the presentation.
And still missing: illuminated keys. C'mon Apple, it really ain't that hard
Goaliegeek
macrumors 6502a
Swazaloo
Cancelled
Worth it if it sounds as good as they say it does. The Echo and Google Home sound like tin cans. I never cheap out when it comes to speakers.
vipergts2207
Suspended
Looking at some pictures, it does not seem like the power cord is detachable.
Or better yet, a receiver with some bookshelf speakers and a sub for a proper home theater that will sound reasonably better than the Sonos and a ton better than the crappy Bose system.
ctyrider
macrumors 65816
FFS, how many more of these "wahhh it's more than $149 Echo wahhh" posts do we have to read through???
Get this through your head - it costs more than Echo speaker, because it's NOT an Echo speaker. Good quality desktop speakers will easily cost upwards of $500. Apple positions this is a high quality audiophile speaker - so let's at least wait to hear how it sounds, before comparing it to junky tinny speakers like Echo.. shall we?
jlc1978
macrumors 603
If the sound as good as some early reviews it would be great for adding music to a basement bar / entertainment room, or outside. It also would be good as a portable speaker for conferences, etc. if it fills a room. Plug one in the back of the room and one in front and you have a cheap portable AV system that can pay for itself after a conference or two.
Mac 128
macrumors 603
You talking about the Soundsticks? The Aura is wireless ... I did wonder about dust getting into the port. Bottom line for any speaker is that any fabric grille has to be removable for cleaning. I wonder if the Aura comes apart to clean any accumulated dust descending via the port...
I forgot about the iSub -- when did they sell that? I know there was the Bose sub with the TAM, but I don't remember this one. Just looked it up ... interesting -- at least it was a 6" woofer. I wonder if this was a product of Beats engineers, or if they partnered with someone -- odd that Apple no longer carries the HK Aura ...
Thanks for posting!
DakotaGuy
macrumors 601
Have you even heard a Bose SoundTouch 300 paired with the 300 Sub? Didn't think so. It handily outperforms the Sonos.
vipergts2207
Suspended
I don't need to listen to it to know that those tiny drivers in the speakers and the boomy fart box they call a sub, isn't going to properly reproduce the entire range audible frequencies, making for a rather subpar home theater experience. You won't exactly see me singing the praises of Sonos either, but I'd still take them over Bose. In any case, a proper HT setup will blow both of them away.
And for the ripoff of $700 Bose is asking for it, someone could have a really nice 2.0 setup, ready to expand for surround sound.
You know, for some folks - especially those who require tons of computing power - design of the device isn't the major concern... especially since this general design of the iMac has been pretty successful and worked for a really really long time. Why exactly do you care about the bezel size on a desktop machine? Do they hurt you?
ErikGrim
macrumors 604
That’s because the Harmon Kardon speakers were originally designed in collaboration with Apple to match the iMacs in the early 2000s.The HK reminds me of an early 2000s-looking Apple design.
DakotaGuy
macrumors 601
If you're that concerned with movie audio quality you wouldn't be streaming movies on an Apple TV either. I'm just saying for the average person who just streams anymore the sound bars are good enough.
squirrellydw
macrumors regular
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AustinIllini
macrumors G5
Lack of expandability and no stereo pairing
It looks like an amazing home speaker, but Sonos with an echo dot will likely be able to achieve most of the goals you're trying to achieve with HomePod PLUS the expandability factor, room support, 50+ supported services, and various other compatibility tools
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Not to mention you can buy the playbar today, save up some more money, buy a sub, save up a little longer and buy a Play:1 for you bedroom or bathroom or whatever. If you like music you can't really beat Sonos.
That's what I did. I bought a Playbar, waited about 6 months bought a sub, added two rooms, then added surrounds. It took like 18 months or something like that, but it's totally fine in Sonos land. And it has the mesh wireless network if you plug in one of the devices to your router, which is awesome.
craig1410
macrumors 65816
You're comparing Apples with Lemons I'm afraid. The HomePod is (allegedly) a very high quality wireless speaker which also happens to contain an iPhone 6/6+ CPU with Siri and tight iOS/macOS integration. I'm a big Sonos fan and have a Playbar and two Play:1 speakers and if the HomePod can equal or better the sound quality of those and integrate tightly with Apple's ecosystem then it will be worth every penny!
Or maybe a touch bar would be prohibitively expensive on a standalone keyboard? Also, the focal distance between touch bar and screen on an iMac would potentially be a problem compared to the MacBook Pro.
Exactly! I can't wait to see (hear) these in person!
I'm afraid this was never going to be a battery powered product. It would probably have been possible to design this to last maybe 24 hours on a battery charge with a small increase in size but it would quickly become a pain if every time you wanted to use it, it needed recharged. It also needs WiFi so it's not the sort of thing you could expect to take (very far) outside. I think what you need is one of the many bluetooth speakers which are already available.
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I hate to say it but I suspect Sonos will suffer massively from the combination of Amazon and Google at the low end and Apple at the high end. I love my Playbar and Play:1's but if the HomePod works as well as expected then it's game over.
Two comments:
a.) Monophonic. Ick. The appropriate Apple Store page says "Put another HomePid in the same roiom, and the two automatically detect and balance each other -- for sound that's even more lifelike." But evidently still monophonic. Once more, ick. If they automatically detected each other and turned into left and right stereo speakers we might be getting somewhere. b.) Amazon already lapped Apple with their announcement that the Echo is going to be made useful as a hands-free phone. That's something I could actually use. Maybe eighteen months from now Apple will catch up?
a.) Monophonic. Ick. The appropriate Apple Store page says "Put another HomePid in the same roiom, and the two automatically detect and balance each other -- for sound that's even more lifelike." But evidently still monophonic. Once more, ick. If they automatically detected each other and turned into left and right stereo speakers we might be getting somewhere. b.) Amazon already lapped Apple with their announcement that the Echo is going to be made useful as a hands-free phone. That's something I could actually use. Maybe eighteen months from now Apple will catch up?
morcutt11
macrumors 6502
Why are you comparing it to the echo instead of a Sonos? The sound quality is meant to rival the Sonos - not the echo.
vipergts2207
Suspended
Even streaming audio codecs (dolby digital plus, etc.), which is 95% of what I do, greatly exceed the capabilities of almost all sound bars setup, especially ones without a subwoofer like the Soundtouch 300. (Though you can add a junk one on for another cool $700.) A chain is only as strong as the weakest link, and for most people that is the speaker quality, even for streamers.