HomePod Features 272 x 340 Display and 1GB RAM

[thekeyring]

Isn't the screen there just so the Siri waveform will be visible?

 

[Dave245]

Isn't the screen there just so the Siri waveform will be visible?

I believe so yes, it's so people know when Siri is listening, also they may add other features at a later date.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

Siri is becoming an universal assistant for your ecosystem starting with ios11+macOS high sierra, and siri becomes must faster in response , these things alone could create a beautiful experience for the user

It needs to reside on the device itself, and not rely on transmission to Apple for decoding. Microsoft Voice Command resided on the device in 2004, recognized your voice, and could find your contacts/calendar events/music even when you didn't have Internet access. It's 13 years later, and Siri needs to contact the mother ship to find something that is on your phone?

Why?

 

[recoil80]

It needs to reside on the device itself, and not rely on transmission to Apple for decoding. Microsoft Voice Command resided on the device in 2004, recognized your voice, and could find your contacts/calendar events/music even when you didn't have Internet access. It's 13 years later, and Siri needs to contact the mother ship to find something that is on your phone?

Why?

That's exactly my complain about Siri.
I understand it needs to rely on the server in some occasions, but why can't it work offline for simple tasks?
Call mom, play music, remind me about something, check the calendar, make a research in contents I have on my phone.
Siri should go online only if the request is outside the ones he can deal with on the phone.

 

[cjbryce]

Here's what I'd like to see from Apple for home entertainment

New 4K Apple TV feeding a 5.1 or 7.1 HomePod array. Obviously, Apple need to also produce HomePod Bass
Bi-Direcitonal HDMI so I can get Apple TV to provide/control sound from my BluRay, terrestrial and cable TV inputs too using the TV as the source switcher.

My cable spaghetti solved

 

[Gaspode67]

Apple have the best privacy policy, also it's not listening to you all the while, you have to say the words "hey Siri" in order for the Homepod to take a commend and listen to what your saying, Even then it's all encrypted.

Home speakers, Home smart speakers.

Where's that facepalm emoji when you want it. How do you think it's going to hear the "Hey Siri" activation if it's not already listening?!?

 

[Dave245]

Where's that facepalm emoji when you want it. How do you think it's going to hear the "Hey Siri" activation if it's not already listening?!?

What I mean is that it's not listening to every conversation you have (I probably should of said that in my original post ) so you can take the tin foil hat off! It's like the iPhone in that the command "hey Siri" is what it's listening for before activating the unit. Even if it was to be listening to you it's not being sent back to Apple!

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www....conversations-with-siri-and-homepod-a-secret/

 

[Gaspode67]

What I mean is that it's not listening to every conversation you have (I probably should of said that in my original post ) so you can take the tin foil hat off! It's like the iPhone in that the command "hey Siri" is what it's listening for before activating the unit. Even if it was to be listening to you it's not being sent back to Apple!

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www....conversations-with-siri-and-homepod-a-secret/

And that is exactly the same as what happens with Google Home and with Alexa. Want proof? Here's the Google Privacy page for Google Home:

Likewise here is the one for Alexa/Dot:

The one with the tinfoil headgear is you...

 

[EdT]

Here are three reasons refuting your opinion(s):

1.) Siri is being improved, which we will know more when iOS 11 debuts and what advancements has taken place. But I'm confident the changes will follow suit once the Home Pod is available for release.

2.) How do you know that you can get better speakers for this kind of money if you haven't even tested the HomePod yet? There is no facts behind your statement here. (Remember, we are comparing home audio smart speakers, i.e. Sonos).


3) Google and Amazon is NOT Apple's competition here. Sonos is. Furthermore, it's not about being first on the market, it's about making a better product. In the meantime, speculation so we can test the HomePod until then.

4.) Your claiming this is the most "Useless device category in a long time." So basically, you're stating this is useless to you. You don't speak for the majority and nor can you make any specific claims claiming "Useless" without testing it. That's nothing more than an opinion as you stated.

5.) You set yourself up already for disappointment over something you have not tested and have no experience with. Furthermore, half of your points should probably be assessed after the release of the HomePod, because they don't have any real significant value without experiencing this product.

The only point that I disagree with is #3, that Google and Amazon are not the competition for this product. All of the tech sites I have seen initially described the HomePod as Apple's answer to those companies products. They still do today.

Siri's effectiveness is something I'm not sure that Apple can match without storing and sharing what it hears just like Google Home and Alexa do. I don't want an open mic that can record anything I say but whose content is then considered to belong to the company and not me. But as you said, we'll see about Siri.

Sonos may be Apples target but the HomePod (evidently) can't be set up as a surround sound system, and Sonos can. By aiming between Alexa and Sonos I'm not sure what market Apple is going after. It may sound much better than Alexa & Google but it is more expensive, and people have long had a 'good enough' attitude when evaluating sound vs. cost.

 

[Dave245]

And that is exactly the same as what happens with Google Home and with Alexa. Want proof? Here's the Google Privacy page for Google Home:

Likewise here is the one for Alexa/Dot:

The one with the tinfoil headgear is you...

I don't see the problem here, these devices are not listening to every conversation that we are having, the Homepod will encrypt it anyway, so what's the issue? I don't need a tin foil hat because I have no problem with it and intend to buy a Homepod when released.

 

[EdT]

Where's that facepalm emoji when you want it. How do you think it's going to hear the "Hey Siri" activation if it's not already listening?!?

How far do you trust Apple? The phrase is supposed to be a wake up and pay attention trigger, with the assumption that the device is NOT storing whatever you are saying when you are just speaking but not commanding a response from the personal assistant. Both Alexa and Google Home do.

Apple says it doesn't store or save on some remote server what you say. That is part of the reason listed as to why Siri is behind with voice recognition.

Is it true? Does Apple not record and save what you say using Siri? I think it's true, but I don't really know.

 

[Dave245]

How far do you trust Apple? The phrase is supposed to be a wake up and pay attention trigger, with the assumption that the device is NOT storing whatever you are saying when you are just speaking but not commanding a response from the personal assistant. Both Alexa and Google Home do.

Apple says it doesn't store or save on some remote server what you say. That is part of the reason listed as to why Siri is behind with voice recognition.

Is it true? Does Apple not record and save what you say using Siri? I think it's true, but I don't really know.

This is the point I was trying to make. I don't believe Apple is storing and using what people say, to be honest I don't think they care, there isn't some giant conspiracy between Apple and the government

Even if we entertained the notion for a second, would it really matter anyway? Most of what people talk about on a daily basis at home is so mundane it's not even worth mentioning.

 

[EdT]

I don't see the problem here, these devices are not listening to every conversation that we are having, the Homepod will encrypt it anyway, so what's the issue? I don't need a tin foil hat because I have no problem with it and intend to buy a Homepod when released.

The issue is that Amazon and Google may decide to turn over that data to a 3rd party. At least in one case, Amazon already has:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wired.com/2017/02/murder-case-tests-alexas-devotion-privacy/amp

 

[Dave245]

The issue is that Amazon and Google may decide to turn over that data to a 3rd party. At least in one case, Amazon already has:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wired.com/2017/02/murder-case-tests-alexas-devotion-privacy/amp

That is an issue, however I don't think the HomePod works the same, if everything is kept off of Apple's servers and or encrypted there is no way for Apple or anyone to get at it. It sounds like Apple are doing the same as what they already do with Siri on the iPhone and iPad.

 

[Gaspode67]

I don't see the problem here, these devices are not listening to every conversation that we are having, the Homepod will encrypt it anyway, so what's the issue? I don't need a tin foil hat because I have no problem with it and intend to buy a Homepod when released.

My reading of your original post was that you were implying that Apple would be doing something that Amazon & Google were not doing. Hence my reply. If I mis-read you, my apologies. I actually have a Home. It's sat three feet away from me as I type this.

By the way, doing a little more digging into Google Home's privacy page shows that "Conversations in Google Home are encrypted by default." and you can view and delete your Search history for searches performed on the Home. At the moment, there's no info on whether Apple will follow suit about being able to view or delete your history.

How far do you trust Apple? The phrase is supposed to be a wake up and pay attention trigger, with the assumption that the device is NOT storing whatever you are saying when you are just speaking but not commanding a response from the personal assistant. Both Alexa and Google Home do.

Apple says it doesn't store or save on some remote server what you say. That is part of the reason listed as to why Siri is behind with voice recognition.

Is it true? Does Apple not record and save what you say using Siri? I think it's true, but I don't really know.

Are you claiming that Alexa and Google Home are or are not storing conversations not started with the activation phrase? If you believe they are storing these conversations, the snippets of the privacy policies I posted earlier show that they don't.

 

[Feenician]

Are you claiming that Alexa and Google Home are or are not storing conversations not started with the activation phrase? If you believe they are storing these conversations, the snippets of the privacy policies I posted earlier show that they don't

Playing Devils Advocate for a moment, the Amazon one at least doesn’t really say that. It just says it isn’t sending it to the cloud without the keyword, not that it isn’t recording it locally. The Google one, I agree, is explicitly saying otherwise. But then this is the company who was sniffing people’s wifi “by accident” so YMMV.

 

[EdT]

My reading of your original post was that you were implying that Apple would be doing something that Amazon & Google were not doing. Hence my reply. If I mis-read you, my apologies. I actually have a Home. It's sat three feet away from me as I type this.

By the way, doing a little more digging into Google Home's privacy page shows that "Conversations in Google Home are encrypted by default." and you can view and delete your Search history for searches performed on the Home. At the moment, there's no info on whether Apple will follow suit about being able to view or delete your history.



Are you claiming that Alexa and Google Home are or are not storing conversations not started with the activation phrase? If you believe they are storing these conversations, the snippets of the privacy policies I posted earlier show that they don't.

I posted a reply above where the police requested Amazon turn over Alexa recordings. I remember hearing about this 6 or 8 months ago.

Another link talking about Amazon and Google recording what you say:

http://nymag.com/selectall/2016/12/can-an-amazon-echo-testify-against-you.html


Most of these predate the HomePod announcement and Amazon and Google may have updated their terms of service since then.

 

[zosobao5150]

Seeing AirPlay already support Apple Lossless you can just convert it easily.

Moving to Apple's format is not going to happen for most who do not believe they need to be fully integrated into the apple ecosystem. Just saying they would sell much more product if FLAC were available.

 

[Dave245]

My reading of your original post was that you were implying that Apple would be doing something that Amazon & Google were not doing. Hence my reply. If I mis-read you, my apologies. I actually have a Home. It's sat three feet away from me as I type this.

By the way, doing a little more digging into Google Home's privacy page shows that "Conversations in Google Home are encrypted by default." and you can view and delete your Search history for searches performed on the Home. At the moment, there's no info on whether Apple will follow suit about being able to view or delete your history.



Are you claiming that Alexa and Google Home are or are not storing conversations not started with the activation phrase? If you believe they are storing these conversations, the snippets of the privacy policies I posted earlier show that they don't.

No I'm not against the devices, i plan on buying one myself, I've even been thinking that if they are really good I might buy another one for the home office as if I believe right they can communicate with each other in the same or different rooms. I think personal should remain personal don't get me wrong but I don't believe that Apple will be spying on us, if they wanted to they could of been doing it for years through our iPhone's, Mac's and so on. Apologies if we had our wires crossed!

 

[Gaspode67]

I posted a reply above where the police requested Amazon turn over Alexa recordings. I remember hearing about this 6 or 8 months ago.

Another link talking about Amazon and Google recording what you say:

http://nymag.com/selectall/2016/12/can-an-amazon-echo-testify-against-you.html


Most of these predate the HomePod announcement and Amazon and Google may have updated their terms of service since then.

I've read both those articles, as well as some over here in the UK reporting on that case. Most of what's been written on this subject has been "What if...?" style. There's some mis-understanding about what they are capable of, and some of the more sensationalist news sources who love to whip up fear & outrage are jumping on this as the latest cause célèbre. Swearingen's article is misleading to say it is "passively recording" all the time. What these devices have is what is in effect like a continuous loop of tape recording a short period of time (probably only a couple of seconds) that is analysed on real time. As soon as the analysis algorithm determines that it's detected an "Alexa" or "Hey Google", it places a bookmark in the recording at the start of the recognition phrase, and records until it determines that a request/question/order has been received. That is the only sound/conversation that is transferred to the servers for analysis and acted on. There's no long recordings of the conversation you've had on your phone with your wife deciding on where to go to eat that night...
[doublepost=1501601490][/doublepost]

Playing Devils Advocate for a moment, the Amazon one at least doesn’t really say that. It just says it isn’t sending it to the cloud without the keyword, not that it isn’t recording it locally. The Google one, I agree, is explicitly saying otherwise. But then this is the company who was sniffing people’s wifi “by accident” so YMMV.

Look at it this way: Amazon & google will be doing all they can to keep the Bill of Materials for their devices as cheap as possible, like every other electronics device. Why include all the additional internal storage needed to store all those conversations it overhears during the day (along with all the background noise of TV/Radio/Whatever)? It's just wasteful & pushes the cost up. Far better to use as little memory as needed (with some overhead for things like firmware updates & space for extra features that are planned over the next 12 months). As for Google's previous privacy blunder on the WiFi, I'm sure there's a factor of "once bitten, twice shy" about being caught doing something wrong.

 

[andiwm2003]

I've read both those articles, as well as some over here in the UK reporting on that case. Most of what's been written on this subject has been "What if...?" style. There's some mis-understanding about what they are capable of, and some of the more sensationalist news sources who love to whip up fear & outrage are jumping on this as the latest cause célèbre. Swearingen's article is misleading to say it is "passively recording" all the time. What these devices have is what is in effect like a continuous loop of tape recording a short period of time (probably only a couple of seconds) that is analysed on real time. As soon as the analysis algorithm determines that it's detected an "Alexa" or "Hey Google", it places a bookmark in the recording at the start of the recognition phrase, and records until it determines that a request/question/order has been received. That is the only sound/conversation that is transferred to the servers for analysis and acted on. There's no long recordings of the conversation you've had on your phone with your wife deciding on where to go to eat that night...
[doublepost=1501601490][/doublepost]

Look at it this way: Amazon & google will be doing all they can to keep the Bill of Materials for their devices as cheap as possible, like every other electronics device. Why include all the additional internal storage needed to store all those conversations it overhears during the day (along with all the background noise of TV/Radio/Whatever)? It's just wasteful & pushes the cost up. Far better to use as little memory as needed (with some overhead for things like firmware updates & space for extra features that are planned over the next 12 months). As for Google's previous privacy blunder on the WiFi, I'm sure there's a factor of "once bitten, twice shy" about being caught doing something wrong.

It all depends if you trust Amazon,Google and Apple now and in the future to not record and send the conversations to the server. For now I trust them and also my life is too boring to have anything worth recording anyway.

Of course, we don't know what these companies will do in 10 years from now. Samsung TV's and several child toys have shown that caution is warranted. In the meantime I'm happily using my Alexa.......

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

Here's what I'd like to see from Apple for home entertainment

New 4K Apple TV feeding a 5.1 or 7.1 HomePod array. Obviously, Apple need to also produce HomePod Bass
Bi-Direcitonal HDMI so I can get Apple TV to provide/control sound from my BluRay, terrestrial and cable TV inputs too using the TV as the source switcher.

My cable spaghetti solved

Excess cash problem solved...
$350 * 7 = $2450 for the seven speakers
$550 for a home bass

 

[Vanilla35]

Or ready by the end of this year.

You think room wide wireless charging will be announced in a couple months?

 

[9594864]

Hopefully the HomePod is a superior hobby than the Apple TV is. The Apple TV would sell astronomically better if Apple built a gaming controller for it and increased the specs to be more gaming-capable. The goal not to compete with PS4 or Xbox, but to

You think room wide wireless charging will be announced in a couple months?

no. Possibly 3ft charging radius around HomePod. In 1-2 years 10-15ft charging from 'Apple Home'. Pure guesswork

 

[Analog Kid]

it's not listening to you all the while, you have to say the words "hey Siri"

And how does it know you've said the words "Hey, Siri"?

I do think Apple's privacy record is better than most, but there's something inherently unsettling about a device who's purpose is to listen to everything in the room and make sense out of it. Yes, one concern is that it will report my private conversation up to the cloud, but there's other more mundane concerns: how often will it interrupt my conversation with "I'm sorry, I didn't get that", will it accidentally execute commands because I'm talking to someone and say "sometimes I worry Siri might delete my entire library out of spite", can anyone in my living room get access to my personal information by just asking the room for it?

I'm uncomfortable with a black box listening in on my private life. I may get more comfortable with it over time and as it becomes more reliable and useful, but for now I'm wary.