Good thoughts. I agree about the Apple TV, maybe they are planning deep integration with it? TV without a remote is pretty catchy. "Turn on the newest game of thrones episode". Seems like a missed opportunity if they don't.
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HomePod First Listen Impressions: 'Incredible' Audio With Bass-Heavy Sound That Easily Beats Echo
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Good thoughts. I agree about the Apple TV, maybe they are planning deep integration with it? TV without a remote is pretty catchy. "Turn on the newest game of thrones episode". Seems like a missed opportunity if they don't.
It's obviously not positioned to compete with high-priced systems such as yours. But for its intended usage it appears to be a huge improvement over what's been available so far.
Not everyone has an appetite or the time, space, patience, and money for a true audiophile set-up, and I say that as an avowed audio enthusiast myself.
Google home and Chromecast can do this. I use it to play Netflix and YouTube shows all the time. It's awesome. /
It would make more sense to sell it in Oak, Chestnut, Ivory or Cedar since it will be placed on furniture with similar colours
Gold and Rose gold would look awful
Yeah until these are put through their places we won't know. That "self setup" is the key bit, if there is a wall behind the speaker it should be able to figure out L & R fairly easily. If the HP is placed in the centre of a room then L & R becomes a bit muddier and maybe "compliment" is what to expect.
But Apple themselves setup a demo area comparing the HoePeod to the market leading smart speaker (Echo) and a similalry priced smart speaker, the Play:3.
The Play:3 does have the ability to stereo pair - allowing users to form a basic home theatre system (with the addition of other Sonos speakers too). I don't think Apple is positioning the HP this way just yet (I'm going off the marketing, the words used in the Keynote etc. - speculation on my part). But... there is no reason Apple couldn't allow 2 to setup in stereo.
Looking forward to seeing more about these, and some 3rd party reviews on deeper functionality.
1. These people have never heard the HomePod - ridiculous to make a comparison.
2. They'd also need to define "good" (some people say the iPhone 7 screen is good, others say it is bad... good means nothing we need to define things to compare them).
I agree but that's the conversation within which I was participating. I suspect this in a fine smart speaker but it should mostly be left at that. Some in this thread seem to be trying to puff these up toward being the be-all, end-all speaker for ALL purposes. That, I don't believe at all but some puffery keeps flying. I figure by the time this thread ends, these will lay golden eggs, double as Star Trek transporters and food replicators and even slice bread (but only these slices of bread will be properly sliced).
Forums > Your Account > People You Ignore
It makes this place bearable and filters out the noise - it's usually the same few that are super critical or super positive without basis. I like using the forums for proper discussion, insights, info. The above feature lets me clean out the garbage posts from a vocal minority.
I remember Phil mentioning home kit (but not focusing on it) during the keynote. I definitely could be misremembering however.
Yes this is my big disappointment & I think the weak link in HomePod -- it's a speaker not a system like Amazon has turned Echo w/ Alexa into. The Dot will be going into its 2nd holiday season this fall & Apple will have nothing comparable as far as an affordable "auxiliary" speaker for lesser used rooms or ones where being able to bark voice commands is more important than good audio quality. If Apple is trying to convince consumers to adopt HomeKit w/ Siri it needs to be in the game. Homepod is an incomplete thought. It needs "Dot-like" companions.
Nope Teens can't afford it. Ironically it'll be fine quality for the majority of people. Considering most don't even have a home speaker system, people don't care about audio quality. For those that do want louder and better stereo, then no apple speaker regardless of size is going to satisfy them and you.
The quality of this speaker is as good as it needs to be for a room not acoustically treated. A 'high fidelity system' is only as good as the room it's in, I'm afraid most people with expensive systems fail that so the benefit is null.
Good point.
It reminds me of Airport extreme and express. They should sell a light version of HomePod that could serve two purposes: extending your wi-fi signal and give you access to music and Siri.
I have mixed emotions about the h-pod.
I personally don't need any Siri/Alexa Stuff, so i just care about the speaker itself. I think if it really sounds great (we better wait for reviews of people in real home environments), it could be a thing for the masses.
People less and less buy real Hi-Fi equipment, today many are satisfied with a good mono wifi speaker. I have a Sonos play 1 and am very happy with the sound quality and easy integration of streaming and radio.
If Apple does good advertising and assumed it really sounds best in the Wifi speaker market, it could be something people will see as a new standard. Something you simply buy when you want streaming music.
The catalogue of music is almost similar throughout the services, so if Spotify runs or nit is not really a point in the long run. Price is the same and if Apple should offer additional Apple lossless support, it would be something for the future.
So seen from that angle the price is not too high. 350 for an item that could serve you for the next decade or more (there will not be big changes after lossless becomes a standard) plus additional Siri for those who really need that, makes it a great choice.
The only downside is the dust catching mesh. They should use metal like Sonos does. And the microphones should have an option to disable them fully, not everyone is a fan of this spy technology.
I personally don't need any Siri/Alexa Stuff, so i just care about the speaker itself. I think if it really sounds great (we better wait for reviews of people in real home environments), it could be a thing for the masses.
People less and less buy real Hi-Fi equipment, today many are satisfied with a good mono wifi speaker. I have a Sonos play 1 and am very happy with the sound quality and easy integration of streaming and radio.
If Apple does good advertising and assumed it really sounds best in the Wifi speaker market, it could be something people will see as a new standard. Something you simply buy when you want streaming music.
The catalogue of music is almost similar throughout the services, so if Spotify runs or nit is not really a point in the long run. Price is the same and if Apple should offer additional Apple lossless support, it would be something for the future.
So seen from that angle the price is not too high. 350 for an item that could serve you for the next decade or more (there will not be big changes after lossless becomes a standard) plus additional Siri for those who really need that, makes it a great choice.
The only downside is the dust catching mesh. They should use metal like Sonos does. And the microphones should have an option to disable them fully, not everyone is a fan of this spy technology.
1. Probably, yes. This happens with my iPhones and iPads now. The multiple Siri ding is annoying -- suppose I could turn that off -- but functionally there is no conflict. It works fine.
2. Don't know but would think it would "learn" voices and connect it with preferences. Would be silly if it only could respond to one person like an iPhone since it's a community device.
3. ATV you have to press a button & has no speaker, and doesn't work with all HomeKit devices. To get sound from your TV it has to be on. Homepod is always on. Two different devices. If you are invested in HomeKit devices an always-on speaker is a great add on. Unfortunately, for my needs Apple didn't go far enough b/c I need to outfit a house not 1 room apt and I'm not buying a half dozen $350 speakers, esp when I don't need big speakers in every key room.
4. He was too busy making one-off AW bands for his pals at Cannes. Ha ha.
I was lucky enough to get the AirPods delivered a week after the release to LEBANON!
I can't tell if you are being facetious or not. I enjoy my AirPods but the physical control is dumb esp. with sweaty hands and limited. I have a pair of Jaybird Freedoms which even come with an app that lets the use customize the sound with presets and a manual equalizer. Very unique. Apple could do better and would have to if it wasn't "Apple". I think Woz is right when he said a couple weeks ago that Apple was too big now to be able to really push the envelope.
You do realize it’s really only a few inches tall, right? 6.8 inches in height, 5.6 inches wide, according to Apple’s website. It’s small enough to be put nearly anywhere without it being a nuisance. On a shelf, TV stand, counter, table, etc. Because it is designed to optimize sound and volume based on the space it’s in and its location in that space, it really doesn’t matter where you put it, because it’ll still fill the room with sound appropriately.
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With regards to physical controls, Apple has expanded the functionality options when double tapping on a Pod in iOS 11. Each one can now be given its own function. One could be used to play/Pause when double tapped; the other could be used for skipping tracks, for example. This is a sure sign that Apple can and will continue to offer more functionality and reliability via software and firmware updates to the AirPods. Plus, maybe its just a placebo effect, but I could swear my AirPods sound richer on my iPhone running iOS 11.
Why would apple push this product with it only playing apple content? Anyone that purchases this thing deserves what they get.
From what I understood, if the speaker manufacturer (and your music source app) includes support for AirPlay 2, you can send the sound to multiple speakers at once, filling your whole home.
No switches, it was fully automated. The receiver characterized the room for each channel using chirped signals to cover the full frequency response with a remote mic set at the preferred listening location. It even adjusted the crossover frequency of the subwoofer. Apple isn't breaking new ground here, but the A8 probably does use a bit less power than the custom DSP suite made ten years ago.
Here's my take on the smart speaker space:
Apple HomePod
Pros: Easy to setup and use, Sound will be very good with little work. Lots of onboard processing power which could enable offline capabilities and future software applications other devices can't support. Can control other AirPlay2 speakers. HomeKit is very polished and secure.
Cons: No voice control for sources other than Apple Music, which requires a paid subscription. Too expensive for users who want to use it as a SmartHome controller more than a speaker. HomeKit integration requires licensing / certification which limits the number of compatible devices. Can only recognize English (though Siri is multilingual so this may change fast).
Google Home
Pros: Speaker quality is decent, but best feature is the ability to control multiple ChromeCasts & ChromeCast Audios, making it a wonderful controller for whole-house audio. Google Assistant is by far the most capable voice assistant in terms of answering general questions. Video control will continue to become more capable.
Cons: Smarthome device integration / support seems less organized than Amazon or Apple's, though the number of supported devices is growing fast. Can only recognize English.
Amazon Echo
Pros: Four device choices, including the Dot (awesome), Tap (does anyone buy these?), and Show (unreleased), which have no competing products from Google or Apple. Probably has the most compatible smarthome devices. For Prime members, it offers a lot of music content without an additional subscription. Over 100,000 skills already available. Amazon is allowing Alexa to be integrated into other hardware devices.
Cons: No multi-zone audio support. Alexa is bad answering general questions. Can only recognize English.
Apple HomePod
Pros: Easy to setup and use, Sound will be very good with little work. Lots of onboard processing power which could enable offline capabilities and future software applications other devices can't support. Can control other AirPlay2 speakers. HomeKit is very polished and secure.
Cons: No voice control for sources other than Apple Music, which requires a paid subscription. Too expensive for users who want to use it as a SmartHome controller more than a speaker. HomeKit integration requires licensing / certification which limits the number of compatible devices. Can only recognize English (though Siri is multilingual so this may change fast).
Google Home
Pros: Speaker quality is decent, but best feature is the ability to control multiple ChromeCasts & ChromeCast Audios, making it a wonderful controller for whole-house audio. Google Assistant is by far the most capable voice assistant in terms of answering general questions. Video control will continue to become more capable.
Cons: Smarthome device integration / support seems less organized than Amazon or Apple's, though the number of supported devices is growing fast. Can only recognize English.
Amazon Echo
Pros: Four device choices, including the Dot (awesome), Tap (does anyone buy these?), and Show (unreleased), which have no competing products from Google or Apple. Probably has the most compatible smarthome devices. For Prime members, it offers a lot of music content without an additional subscription. Over 100,000 skills already available. Amazon is allowing Alexa to be integrated into other hardware devices.
Cons: No multi-zone audio support. Alexa is bad answering general questions. Can only recognize English.
I wish a button was added to the bottom of each post, so that it would be direct and simple to add obvious trolls to your ignore list. With the current number of problem members, it would be practically a part-time job switching back and forth from reading posts to typing in names on the ignore panel.
Edit:
I see that if you click any username there is a one click ignore feature.