Any idea whether it will be possible to stream Spotify or non-Apple services to a pair of HomePods connected in stereo? Would they show up as a single device in the AirPlay interface?
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HomePod Early Hands-On Reviews: 'Seamless' Siri Commands and Audio Quality 'Feels Like You're at a Live Performance'
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Any idea whether it will be possible to stream Spotify or non-Apple services to a pair of HomePods connected in stereo? Would they show up as a single device in the AirPlay interface?
Exactly, and there has never, I mean never, been a great speaker made with a plastic enclosure.
All this hype about this being a great sounding speaker is really grating. It may be one of the better of a bad bunch of voice activated speakers (on par with Google Max and Sonos) but it will never be a great value speaker. For the same amount of money one can buy great stereo speakers from brands with decades of experience in building just speakers.
Will it sell, probably because people will buy into the hype and pay over the odds for this cheap tweeter plastic speaker...
Are you now trying to compare cell phone signal use to a speaker to justify the use of a tech and it’s impact to be similar? You my friend are buying into the hype. I hope you enjoy it. I predict the market will not find the value.
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Yet you can’t tell the HomePod to play your Spotify or pandora playlist, doesn’t seem so smart compared to other offerings does it when the focus is on music.
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Siri is a Luddite compared to Alexa. That’s not really even up for debate....
Other offerings support stereo, linking, multiple Bluetooth connections, multiple services......not the HomePod
So yes, simpler and more capable devices exist.
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But but but beamforming!
Nope. If you understood the technology, you would understand the analogy and know that it is apt.
As one who has designed beamformed systems, your comments clearly show you don't understand the technology at all. Yet you insist on calling the technology and benefits hype, having zero knowledge about the subject.
Stay uninformed...
I understand it believe me. I question the value....in a speaker........that is limited as is....and is still mono
Also, The comparison is not even applicable. Very very different use cases.
And of course you do, it’s not the internet unless everyone is an expert!
Nope yet you don’t need to have designed them to understand the concept...otherwise if that were the case using your logic, you would have knowledge of nothing but supposably beam forming...
And I doubt you do or have any expertise in the matter based on you believing that beamforming is transformative to consumer speaker technology. It isn’t.
"otherwise if that were the case using your logic, you would have knowledge of nothing but supposably beam forming.."
That's hilarious. Are you a systems or electrical engineer? Any experience in signal processing? Advanced mathematics? You might be unaware that those who are and work in the field have a wide range of expertise.
What's your background?
Yes indeed, Alexa is very advanced especially when it comes to keeping a constant open channel back to home base. I hope you keep your conversations to a whisper or use sign language. Let me put it this way, I trust Siri whereas Alexa, GA, Bix, Cort will never be allowed anywhere near my networks.
So name your devices... or is the list so long that it will exceed the limits of this forum?
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I don't use Android. Pretty much everything I have is Apple, but I use Alexa to front my home automation because back to the original problem (wait for it.......) Siri and Homekit just are grossly subpar compared to other products on the market.
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Yeah typical elitist, apologist answer. You poor thing, I don't know how you take the abuse. "Pretty much" is a typical lame response from someone who appears to loathe Apple products. How do you stand using them on a daily basis. Have you considered another platform considering your unabated admiration of all things Alexa? You apparently don't seem at all concerned about the open channel Alexa keeps open back to home base? No matter, I much prefer "dumb" Siri that is discreet and not selling my soul to online marketers and heaven knows who else. And guess what, I have a rather complex environment run on HomeKit. Works very very well. The two HomePods that are on the way will make nice additions. But of course that's a product line you already have premature disdain for sight unseen. Cheer up, I hear Echo Maximus is on the way!
What abuse? And I don't care about the HomePods. They don't meet my needs. Glad you like them. I am sure they are wonderful hardware. Online services and a few of the API's is where Apple is lacking which is kind of what I was talking about. And no, I am not waiting with baited breath for the Echo whatever is next. I'm waiting for Apple to fix Siri to be something more than a last-gen AI and assistant. I'm waiting for Homekit to be more than a hobby project and get some more attention. But once again, you assume so much and know very little about me. Alexa worked fantastically well with most things I wanted to integrate to in comparison to my experience with Siri and Homekit. It reminded me very much of Apple's own slogan of "it just works". My point is that I wish Apple would step up. Go ahead and embarrass yourself some more by typing. You come off as an over the top Apple zealot honestly. I just happen to be a consumer that likes the ecosystem and wants it to be better.
Low end Mac user here... still using an old 4.1 desktop speaker system hooked up to Bluetooth. It’s all packed in a toolbox I drag out for special occasions. Wish o could afford to live in the current Apple world as far as the watch, AirPod, and this speaker, but I am confident the technologies being developed will benefit lower tiered devices in the near future. All of it looks really cool, just can’t afford it myself.
I need a video demonstration. How can I think something’s good without tht
Although longer and more in-depth reviews for Apple's smart speaker, the HomePod, have not yet been published, a few websites have gotten the chance to spend an hour or so with the speaker and have been sharing their experiences this week.
At Digital Trends, Julian Chokkattu liked the unassuming design of the HomePod, noting that "it's easy to miss... because it makes no effort at standing out." This should make it easier for the HomePod to blend in with any room's decor, according to Chokkattu.
In terms of sound, he got to listen to upwards of five songs from various genres at a volume of about 65 percent, and concluded that it "sounds great" no matter where you are in the room. He also called his brief encounters with Siri on HomePod "fast and seamless," explaining that Siri is smart enough to realize when you're meaning to activate it on your iPhone ("when your phone is in your hand") so that the HomePod does not answer.
Tech journalist Lance Ulanoff shared his thoughts on HomePod in a post on Medium, and noted that when the sound quality was compared to the Google Home Max and Sonos One, HomePod was "astonishing." Ulanoff echoed a sentiment stated by Chokkattu, detailing a listening experience that felt as if he was hearing the music "in a small café for an audience of me" and equating HomePod's sound quality to a live performance.
Although stereo pairing won't be ready at launch, Ulanoff got to experience this as well and said that "two HomePods playing just about anything is incredible." Ultimately, he called HomePod an "ultra-high-quality" speaker that doubles as an "excellent Siri ambassador."
Pete Pachal with Mashable was also impressed by the HomePod's sound quality, which he described as an "aural triumph," but was more skeptical on the device and questioned whether or not Apple is too late to the smart speaker market.
Those interested in HomePod can pre-order the speaker on Apple.com in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia beginning today, January 26, and then the device will launch on February 9. For those on the fence about Apple's entry into the smart speaker market, Sonos today is launching a sale aimed at competing with Apple where you can get two Sonos One speakers for the same price of one HomePod.
Article Link: HomePod Early Hands-On Reviews: 'Seamless' Siri Commands and Audio Quality 'Feels Like You're at a Live Performance'
So far no wireless speaker has blown me away including Sonos' offerings. I would also wait until I get to read the small print...
Will it play any source wirelessly without limitation? Likely not. I have an AirPlay adapter lying around unused for years since it won't play anything else but iTunes - pretty useless that way. Same goes for Sonos - requires paid subscriptions of anything you want to play on it - forget it.
Will it sound better than an equally priced larger, dedicated shelf speaker? No, because physics.
Is Siri useful? No (for me), it's switched off on all my devices because it fails to deliver. It's as about as useful as "Apple Maps". If you know the limitations you can make it work - but why - when there are products that don't have the limitations.
Does it look like. It sure does!
Will it play any source wirelessly without limitation? Likely not. I have an AirPlay adapter lying around unused for years since it won't play anything else but iTunes - pretty useless that way. Same goes for Sonos - requires paid subscriptions of anything you want to play on it - forget it.
Will it sound better than an equally priced larger, dedicated shelf speaker? No, because physics.
Is Siri useful? No (for me), it's switched off on all my devices because it fails to deliver. It's as about as useful as "Apple Maps". If you know the limitations you can make it work - but why - when there are products that don't have the limitations.
Does it look like. It sure does!
Kind of fits with what's going on here on this thread. People assuming it will be the greatest, assuming it will be better than everything else, etc. You get the idea. So this thread is nothing but fake news or is it false hopes?
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Last year when the headphone jack disappeared I did complain. I was told to change with the times, that I was refusing to move forward with technology, you know the usual stuff. I was told the headphone jack is ancient, and I was refusing to change. I argued that the headphones I use would blow way any bluetooth offering, that asking a user to replace all their equipment and then have to pretty much buy a new car so I could use bluetooth, did not get much sympathy.
And now we have a speaker that like you says is a mono speaker with some sound processing, playing compressed data wirelessly. We first read all the fanboy hype and comments, and then we read all the negative comments about other products further hyping a speaker no one has heard let alone seen in person. Call me cynical, and I understand this is a Mac website, but still it's hard not to respond to some of this nonsense.
I too look forward to hearing the speaker and making a decision, until then I will refrain from judgment.
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I mean a review without even actually having one to review is over the top bad.
Most people here are the same way. Haven’t even seen it, heard it or tested it and declare it overpriced and dead on arrival. No wonder they enjoyed the Sound and Vision review...lol.
Don't forget to include those who think its the best, greatest, and blows everything else away, and then go one to bash all the other offerings. Only fair to include both sides.
I see the other side much more here, but it’s true we need to see it before saying it’s good or bad. My only point was that it’s not a “me too” voice assistant and the differentiator will be sound.
You know this works both ways right? Those saying it will be the worst speaker since the dawn of music or a waste of money, etc, etc are as equally uninformed as those that are stating the opposite. So if we’re to ignore their comments, guess we better ignore yours too?
Sounds reasonable. I guess you have already done a pretty good job of ignoring my comments. If you go back and look at my comments, I don't recall saying anything about the HomePod being bad, that it sucks, or otherwise put it down. In fact several times I said it will most likely be a fine speaker.
I think I have spent a fair amount of time here arguing about something none of us have even used yet. Im going to look elsewhere for conversation, So carry on...
I don' think they don't sound bad. Especially for the purpose to which most of us use them for: which is for voice command / assistance, or to play low volume background music in a single room.
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Heck, anyone who wants much better speakers already has them.
That's why I think that, with HomePod, Apple is appealing mostly to people who previously had never felt the need to get even relatively inexpensive nicer speakers.
Which is pretty smart.
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