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HomePod Availability is Tightening Ahead of Friday's Launch
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I thought that if the person who set up the home pod is not there that some of the features won't work? for example, I have an apple music subscription and I want that to work when I am not home. not to mention adding things to lists etc... does all of that work when the one who configured the home pod is not there?
guess an easy way to test would be that the person who configured it, put their phone into airplane mode and see what works and what doesn't.
To be fair, the reviews I've read so far all praise the sound quality and most of the criticism is aimed at the limitations due to Siri and the walled garden, which realistically has been expected since the HomePod was announced.
If you are camped entirely in Apple's ecosystem it sounds like it could be a great addition to your home, if you use products and services from other companies then you will probably be better served going elsewhere.
I was referring the the "smart" capabilities, like adding Reminders or sending messages. I saw in one review that you can set the Homepod up so that songs it play doesn't influence recommendations etc. I don't care about people being able to access their Playlist. I just want people to be able to tell it to read a message and Siri be smart enough to read one from their phone instead of mine.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Nutshell highlights from these reviews seem to be:
Basically, they seem to group chorus: standout speaker (sound) that is not so smart, burdened by the heavy Apple lock-in. Overall, the reviews seem favorable but one will have to judge for themselves if the collective pros (and finally) cons justify the price.
- good-to-great(-to-best) sounding "smart" speaker, but lacking-to-(near) last on the "smarts" side.
- ideal for the single, living-alone buyer deeply entrenched (and happy almost entirely) within the Apple ecosystem.
- much of that (hundreds of posts about) home theater/stereo (as one speaker)/surround sound spin was generally misplaced or outright wishful thinking/fan spin. It's generally NOT that kind of speaker, nor even seems to be aspiring to become that kind of speaker.
Basically, they seem to group chorus: standout speaker (sound) that is not so smart, burdened by the heavy Apple lock-in. Overall, the reviews seem favorable but one will have to judge for themselves if the collective pros (and finally) cons justify the price.
Well Alexa for us does it very well. She understands my wife, my self and even our 6 year old without issues. I love my Apple products but but this is the one product I’m passing on and I actually picked up a pair of Sonos One speakers and a pair of Sonos Play 1’s they do so much more than the HomePod.
I don’t see myself needing every speaker in the house listening to everything I say. The Sonos have worked out wonderfully and sound great as well.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
I agree. Hopefully, that post doesn't come off much different. I'm simply noting that what was generally pretty heavy praise from some of these same players post demo, now comes with their cons comments in their official review. "We" were referencing & quoting their praise but I bet "we" generally turn on them (or perhaps just their crits) now that they are writing down tangible cons too.
Let me guess how it will go: only negative or less than positive reviews will be considered real reviews. Everything else will be discounted as the person being an Apple shill not wanting to lose their early access to Apple products.
Though, almost to a review, they praised the sound quality. And this is after using the HP in their own environments. I suppose Apple could have given them units with different speakers inside, but why, really?
The reviews just confirm what Apple has advertised, and what the demos demoed: That the HomePod produces excellent sound. They also confirm that Siri isn't better on the HomePod than it is on other Apple devices (but it isn't worse, so if you are satisfied with Siri that's not a negative). Finally, they point out that the HP only supports Apple Music as a built-in service, which is how Apple designed it. Nevada is not Vermont, so if you want Vermont, you probably won't like Nevada. But if you're looking for Nevada, there's no better one than Nevada. Pointing out that it isn't Vermont is only a negative to those who want it to be Vermont. I don't use Spotify, so I don't care if HomePod supports it.
I’m scratching my head why this would be surprising to anyone. Apple makes products that play nicely with other Apple products. iTunes on Windows was because most people owned a Windows PC and iTunes on the desktop was the only way to sync music to an iPod or buy music from the iTunes store. Seems to me the only reason Apple Music exists for Android is because Beats Music was already there. One can disagree with Apple’s thinking and wish Apple was more cross platform but it shouldn’t surprise anyone that they’re not.
Aside from having the Apple Brand it appears to be no different to all the other devices in this already flooded market.
Apple are very late to the show releasing the HomePod but will no doubt succeed as it will appeal to the brainwashed consumers that are convinced that anything with the Apple Logo equals high quality.
The Apple Logo is not the automatic stamp of high quality it once was but many of the faithful have not woken up to that fact.
Apple are very late to the show releasing the HomePod but will no doubt succeed as it will appeal to the brainwashed consumers that are convinced that anything with the Apple Logo equals high quality.
The Apple Logo is not the automatic stamp of high quality it once was but many of the faithful have not woken up to that fact.
Or more precisely, this is for playing Apple Music.
It has airplay, and soon airplay 2, so it will play anything, but yes, it seem to shock some, works best with Apple Music.
"Apple Store pickup is now unavailable for the HomePod in all three countries" Must mean that's a total flop! /s
For all you naysayers and all the bad reviews out there. Remember it's main function is to be a speaker! Who cares if it is limited in functionality! Do you have an Apple Music account? Great! The music will sound amazing!
Not subscribed to the Apple Ecosystem? This product is not for you, fair and square, move on and purchase something else that fits your needs but for many (as apparent by the sellouts!) this thing is going to be incredibly popular.
For all you naysayers and all the bad reviews out there. Remember it's main function is to be a speaker! Who cares if it is limited in functionality! Do you have an Apple Music account? Great! The music will sound amazing!
Not subscribed to the Apple Ecosystem? This product is not for you, fair and square, move on and purchase something else that fits your needs but for many (as apparent by the sellouts!) this thing is going to be incredibly popular.
I don’t get writing a review based on what you wanted something to be vs what it was designed to be. Apple pitched the HomePod as high quality speaker first, minimal smart assistant second and cross platform never. So yeah if you have an Android phone and Spotify account HomePod isn’t for you. Apple never said it would be. if you’re reviewing HomePod based on things Apple never promised you’re doing it wrong.
It's not surprising to us as we spend a lot of time talking about Apple and it's products but the reviewers have to make it clear for everyone else.
Yes and no. This product is clearly audio focused. But a number of people would welcome a home assistant with a screen similar to amazons.
Having said that I agree that a stand alone iPad can serve many of those same functions.
I agree with you about Apple never promising x and y. But a review is for potential buyers, not for Apple, and potential buyers are likely to be looking at HomePod vs Amazon Echo vs Sonos vs Google Home. Pointing out where Apple is weak compared to other smart speakers is not doing it wrong. Nor is pointing out where Apple is strong doing it wrong, even if it's something the competition isn't currently striving for.
No, you're confusing two different distribution chains--Best Buy and Apple Stores. You can't pick up at any Apple stores because their initial supply is sold out.