And in related news, my Lamborghini is way faster and corners better than your Prius, so your Prius is only suitable for children. Is this really a surprise to you, or did you just want to mention your Martin Logans?
Assuming you're right for arguments sake, the question is how does it sound? Real stereo can sound terrible.
Please explain why. Seems a stupid move to me.
On one thread I asked an experienced photographer not what is better, but how much you would have to spend to get a camera that is worth buying if you already have the latest iPhone (spending lots of money on something that is _a little bit_ better is not worth it), and I was told about $1,000 or so. To make it clear: That's the money that gets you something _a lot_ better.
"Right now, the only music service that seems to be supported on HomePod directly is (unsurprisingly) Apple Music. And while it seems likely that you’ll be able to play music from another service to HomePod through the newly announced AirPlay 2 system, that’s still the weakest music support of any of the HomePod’s competitors, all of which support direct playback of services like Spotify, Pandora, and, in Sonos’ case, just about every music service ever made. It’s the same story on the other side of the divide, too — while HomePod supports Siri and HomeKit, it’s still as locked down as ever. Its abilities as a home assistant are limited to whatever Apple allows you to use it for, instead of the open platform that Amazon has made with Alexa Skills, or that Google would like to foster by allowing developers to build out things for Home."
Apple wants more people to buy Apple Music. Spotify users who want this speaker will simply say "oh, well I guess I'll just start paying 10 bucks a month for Apple Music instead of Spotify."
Ok thanks.......really is just for the Apple eco system which is ok if you subscribe to Apple Music and don't already have an Apple TV to act as a Home Kit hub.
Well you could use that second solution. I hope Sonos implements something into their app that allows audio playback from your device - I think they will if they want to compete.
Are you running iOS 11? Siri has had MASSIVE improvement behind the scenes utilizing AI learning. So I'm wondering if you're talking from experience....or if you're just griping because Apple didn't spoon feed the enhancements to you in the keynote?
The HomePod functions as one as well. You get to choose.
I mean, I think that's been the case with every new product since the ipod, iphone, ipad... "Touch keyboard? no buttons? Who wants THAT!? This thing will tank!"
Never go into marketing. You are talking about the tail trying to wag the dog. When you sell a $349 device, you first make that $349 device as valuable as possible for the customer, and then you sell a lot of them. Convincing potential customers to buy TWO new things is a losing proposition. When a customer walks into the store, first thing he asks is "can I use this HomePod to play all my music". When the answer is "No, you'll have to buy Apple Music", he walks straight out.
I so agree, Siri can't do a simple little text. a waste of time..Although, Siri on the watch is much better for some reason.
I am in marketing
And I'm not saying it's very smart of Apple, what Amazon does by making Alexa not only a speaker and virtual assistant, but also an Amazon shopping device that prioritizes Amazon private label and companies who pay them to list their product first, is WAY smarter. All I'm saying is Apple wants to integrate their products with each other and shut out competitors, as they always have. Amazon is creating a new type of omnichannel, while Apple is trying to create a high-margin money maker that promotes Apple Music and plays to their huge base of Apple Music subscribers.
I have no interest in Apple Music, never will. That said, can you not just use the Pod as an airplay speaker?
If they indeed add that capability. But, say you have a Spotify subscription. If you wanted to yell at Siri to play a song and you didn't have it purchased or weren't a subscriber to Apple Music, you couldn't do it. You'd have to get on your phone and go on Spotify, turn on your bluetooth, connect to the speaker on AirPlay and play it from your phone. So there goes a lot of the functionality. Users who initially bought the speaker planning on using their own library or app on their phone will discover they could unlock more functionality if they subscribed to Apple Music, and some will become subscribers. $$$ for Apple.
I don't have a spotify account, because I'll never subscribe for a streaming service. I get that would be a downside for some, but in my case I'm more excited about a kick ass small speaker.