HomePod Features 272 x 340 Display and 1GB RAM

[Dave245]

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.

While i understand your concerns Apple has a good track record with this type of thing, also they have explicitly explained that they don't want a users data.

"Starting in IOS 10 the software built in a safeguarding engine, dubbed differential privacy that scrubs and adds noise to a users data so that company can't tell where it's coming from but can still provide the useful feedback to the user. It means that Apple can analyse each queries for trends and words (Hey Siri" without being able to identify any particular customer." - http://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-airpod-siri-speaker-assistant-wwdc-2017/

 

[cjbryce]

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

Indeed

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

Sonos is not out of the box airplay compatible but a Play 5 or Connect has line-in which can be used with an airport express which can be set to autoplay therefore it can play any zone. There is almost no need to do this as Sonos supports Apple Music and almost everything else but you have to use their app. I mostly stream using murfie.com as they store 800 of my old cd's that stream lossless to Sonos. Honestly I think someone bigger might just buy Sonos eventually.

Sonos isn't AirPlay compatible?!?! WTF are they thinking???

Who wants to use yet ANOTHER App to control your Sonos? Ick!

 

[Analog Kid]

You've somehow managed to sound like you're enlightening me on the one part we already agree on:

I do think Apple's privacy record is better than most...

While i understand your concerns Apple has a good track record with this type of thing, also they have explicitly explained that they don't want a users data.

"Starting in IOS 10 the software built in a safeguarding engine, dubbed differential privacy that scrubs and adds noise to a users data so that company can't tell where it's coming from but can still provide the useful feedback to the user. It means that Apple can analyse each queries for trends and words (Hey Siri" without being able to identify any particular customer." - http://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-airpod-siri-speaker-assistant-wwdc-2017/

And then ignored the rest of what I said:

... 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.

I use Siri very rarely as it is-- not so much because she's ineffective, but because I find voice to be an awkward way of interacting. When I'm driving, I might ask my watch to play a song or give directions in the same way I might ask a passenger to. At home, I don't see a reason why the whole house needs to hear me verbally state a search query or why anyone walking into my house should have verbal access to my network-- and that's all apart from what Apple (or others) can extract from my data stream.

I'll probably wait on the sidelines a bit to see how it develops.

 

[Dave245]

And then ignored the rest of what I said:

I use Siri very rarely as it is-- not so much because she's ineffective, but because I find voice to be an awkward way of interacting. When I'm driving, I might ask my watch to play a song or give directions in the same way I might ask a passenger to. At home, I don't see a reason why the whole house needs to hear me verbally state a search query or why anyone walking into my house should have verbal access to my network-- and that's all apart from what Apple (or others) can extract from my data stream.

I'll probably wait on the sidelines a bit to see how it develops.

i think the HomePod will be a very good way of listening to music around the house and being a smart speaker secondly. Even Apple themselves have said that it's a speaker first (Tim Cook in this interview) with a high quality audio Cook himself has said that "People will be shocked by the quality of the sound"

Whether it's for you and in your life is something only you can say, i personally know that it will be great for me personally, i will have one in my bedroom replacing my alarm clock that i currently have to set manually, with HomePod i will just have to ask it to set my alarm for 4am. At the same time i will be able to use my Apple Music subscription and listen to music around the house, from what i've read if you buy more than one they can communicate with each other and if 2 are in one room they work together to produce more sound.

As for people being able to come into your house and have verbal access I'm sure that Apple have something in place where that dosn't happen without your consent. Also your data is not being read by Apple.

 

[lec0rsaire]

Perhaps Apple will eventually bring out a new firmware that allows people to purchase 2 HomePods to run them in stereo. This would be fantastic. If they weren't greedy they could sell a package of two for maybe $600. 14% off is nothing and I'm sure many people would pick up a two pack just like Google sells 3 packs of Google mesh at a discount.

 

[Analog Kid]

Perhaps Apple will eventually bring out a new firmware that allows people to purchase 2 HomePods to run them in stereo. This would be fantastic. If they weren't greedy they could sell a package of two for maybe $600. 14% off is nothing and I'm sure many people would pick up a two pack just like Google sells 3 packs of Google mesh at a discount.

The website already describes how two will cooperate. I think it's more sophisticated than just "stereo" though, since each speaker is already directional...

 

[lec0rsaire]

The website already describes how two will cooperate. I think it's more sophisticated than just "stereo" though, since each speaker is already directional...

Thanks. Hadn't noticed that in the marketing materials. Let's hope this turns out to be another great Apple device. While Alexa is more capable than Siri, quality sound is quality sound and that is more compelling for music lovers. AirPlay is already fantastic but the HomePod offers flexibility of placement wherever one wants instead of just the entertainment center. It can be brought outside for a BBQ in the backyard/roof or by the pool, put in any room, etc.