Exactly. For $100 less, I bought a new 7.1 receiver with Airplay and Chromecast, as well as 1000 Watts of power. With my existing NHT speakers, it blows away the HomePod.
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HomePod Estimated to Have Just 4% Market Share Worldwide Despite 45% Sales Growth Last Quarter
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Exactly. For $100 less, I bought a new 7.1 receiver with Airplay and Chromecast, as well as 1000 Watts of power. With my existing NHT speakers, it blows away the HomePod.
Not at all actually.
I fundamentally disagree with buying any tech based upon future updates or promises.
That doesn't mean a particular thing won't be purchased, but I always wait until the promised update or feature is released so the product can actually be evaluated at that time for what it offers (in reality - not in the future)
There are too many tech examples of "sorry that update or new feature will only be coming to our latest hardware models" for me. This is just me though. Obviously you do what you want with your money. It's all good.
Absolutely no snark here - I just look at this situation differently.
I have family who have the Echo and I have both Google home and mini and I really liked Alexa. seems like so much easier to say Alexa than hey Google and she is very responsive. I don't know if it'd make sense to get the Echo with Google home and mini.
Hey Siri what time is 11 am PST time in GMT. Just an example of a question Siri can’t answer. Or what’s the maximum daily dose of haloperidol. Another question the HomePod can’t answer.
I own all 3. Alexa isn’t that much smarter its the skills that make it better overall. Google Assistant is light years ahead of them both. The test only focus on the basics like answer questions and carrying out commands. It didn’t tap into any of the skills of Alexa or the advanced capabilities of the google assistant.
MR referenced that test back in Dec. https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...rrectly-vs-just-52-earlier-this-year.2161484/
Siri was much improved. Problem is, generally speaking, the perception of Siri isn't much improved. Siri had a well earned reputation for being less than stellar. That reputation was earned over time. Changing that reputation will probably take more time... and more improvement. In the interim, people are still going to rag on Siri. Just like people still rag on Samsung for copying Apple. We had an article on MR the other day and commenters were claiming Samsung was copying Apple. Only the things they claimed Samsung copied, they actually came out with before Apple. In the case of the smart watch it was years and multiple iterations before Apple. But the reputation persists. Just like Siri's reputation.
You posted almost the exact same quote in the article I linked above. Apple's privacy policy didn't affect Siri's performance in that test. I'll post something similar to what I posted then. You can't lean on privacy as a crutch to excuse Siri's performance. Siri did really well in the category most affect by privacy.
It's fair to criticize aspects that are repeatable, but I still say Siri's "command" ability is easily on par with the competition, if not better.
Siri does resort to web search on super complex questions that are more "meaning of life" sounding, but again, who asks their voice assistant these kinds of questions consistently?
"Give me directions home."
"Text John."
"Set an Appt for me tomorrow at 3pm."
"Set a timer for 30 seconds."
"Wake me up tomorrow at 7am."
These are the functions we use every day. I still don't consistently hear specific examples of Siri failing at these items, which is the entire point of a virtual assistant.
What the heck do Google and Alexa do that's so awesome?
To be honest, that overpowering bass is what Apple wants to show you. Such a "huge bass" coming from such a small package. Any clueless buyer would be impressed immediately. I miss midrange frequency of my HomePod, but that's okay since I don't do critical listening on it.
HomePod is excellent for casual listening when you just want to tell Siri to play something in the living room. If I want more enjoyable audio, I already have my Apple TV connected to my AV receiver and floorstanding stereo (for music) and surround (for movies).
Lots of hate around here. Yeesh.
I love mine. I got a second one around the holidays when they were around $249. Awesome sound, easy to use with my Apple TV, and plenty smart enough for what I use them for. I have one white one, and one black one to make to add some zing to my rather spartan house. Zero complaints.
I love mine. I got a second one around the holidays when they were around $249. Awesome sound, easy to use with my Apple TV, and plenty smart enough for what I use them for. I have one white one, and one black one to make to add some zing to my rather spartan house. Zero complaints.
Because market share has been historically crucial to Apple's success. 
I don't really see much "hate" (maybe the wrong word choice)
Many are just frustrated with what a limited feature set and narrow scope they took when designing them.
There's no real great reason to not have a wired input and/or normal bluetooth optionality - both of which would dramatically up the potential market and usages for the product. Flexibility like that is really nice to have and increases options and longevity, especially on a $300+ speaker.
That $249 is probably where the product should be priced all the time honestly.
I think it's fairly priced there.
"Hey siri, turn off the kitchen lights and lock the front door."
Because market share has been historically crucial to Apple's success.
Market share is becoming increasingly relevant now that they are trying to be a services company
What if not weather or reminders are THE usecase for a speaker
I got 4 HomePods in 1 room.
The sound carpet is intoxicating. Their acoustic link and DSP-coalescing effect is simply ingenious.
I've never heard anything so good before (and I have very attentive ears).
Only 15 years ago you had to invest 5000 dollars in equip for a similar sound experience.
Huge speakers and complex amplifiers were necessary, room measurements and special interior.
If you whine about the costs for HomePods, you will always whine and never celebrate and enjoy your life.
If you want to save money everywhere, you will only get third-rate theatre. That is a truism.
If you have little money, you must save money. Everybody knows that, me too.
But to accuse the life and the costs for good living is unworthy.
The sound carpet is intoxicating. Their acoustic link and DSP-coalescing effect is simply ingenious.
I've never heard anything so good before (and I have very attentive ears).
Only 15 years ago you had to invest 5000 dollars in equip for a similar sound experience.
Huge speakers and complex amplifiers were necessary, room measurements and special interior.
If you whine about the costs for HomePods, you will always whine and never celebrate and enjoy your life.
If you want to save money everywhere, you will only get third-rate theatre. That is a truism.
If you have little money, you must save money. Everybody knows that, me too.
But to accuse the life and the costs for good living is unworthy.
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Could be true. Especially if you're not fussy about sound and a $50 speaker makes you happy.
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Yup, same here. There's no way I'd ever have a google open microphone in my home.
It’s not a dud but Siri isn’t as a good a personal assistant as her counterparts. However having said that the HomePod isn’t a bad product. I find it useful for music, podcasts and audiobooks, as well as getting the news, weather updates, dictating messages, making and receiving calls, using it as a speaker for my Apple TV, setting timers, making shopping lists and setting reminders. I do use it for some general knowledge questions and getting information about store opening times.
I have to sit down and really explore Siri shortcuts. I have a few set up at the moment and they work well.
Just two Maxes would sound much better and have a much better UI. They understand what you want with their far superior inference. Then the obvious being a lot smarter.
But it is the UI where the biggest advantage is at.
Because of sound quality. How good is your TV going to sound unless it’s connected up to a speaker system. The speakers on my Xs max are good but they can’t beat a dedicated speaker.
Maximum dosage is what your doctor prescribed. wtf?
It should be more like $149 compared to the competition like Amazon Echo Show 2nd Edition.
I agree with this. Alexa and the google assistant don’t execute commands as well as my homepods do. However I wonder if the google home would work better with an android phone? I have an iPhone so integration is somewhat limited. I still haven’t successfully gotten Alexa or my google home minis to send a text message without requiring me to authorise it on the phone which defeats the object and neither play with what’sapp which is what I use on my iphone. HomePod can dictate and send whats’app messages with ease. Again I’m not sure how the google home mini plays with an android phone but I appreciate that the HomePod has nailed the basics such as sending messages and making and receiving calls which the other two whilst more advanced haven’t.
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No a Dr can’t just prescribe whatever they want. There limits and if they go over the limit they have to justify it. Also you might want to know what the maximum limit is, even not for prescribing purposes. You might want to know how a patient is responding to a certain medication taking into the account the dosage in relation to the maximum.
Well no Echo speakers have 7 tweeters and 7 mics working in tandem to analyze your surrounding and sounding good while doing it.
Say what you want about Siri on HomePod, it is pale in comparison with Alexa or Google. But HomePod is one of the best sounding speaker for that size. If you look at it as a whole package, nothing compares. The competition is either sounds great but dumb (no built in assistant), or really smart but sucks at playing music.
The only one comes close is Home Max but I don't think it's a popular product. Especially at $399.
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