HomePod Launches February 9, Available to Order Starting Friday in United States, UK, and Australia

[friedmud]

I own one of every Apple product Apple currently makes... but I won't be buying this.

Why? Spotify.

Apple's insistence that I must use Apple Music is absolutely maddening.

I bought a Google Home instead. It works great with all of my home automation stuff and is GREAT with Spotify.

Apple's lock-in pisses off even true fanboys like myself. Not being able to use Google Maps on Carplay and not having true Spotify integration in Siri, ATV, Apple Watch, HomePod is just a kick in the face.

 

[mattopotamus]

We need to know if this can be used as a wireless home theater set up.

Also, they need to surprise us with a $100 price drop.

wireless home theater set up? Do you mean like pairing 5 with an ATV to create wireless surround sound? That would be pretty awesome for the living room

 

[deanthedev]

Apple don't seem to agree with your theory.

HomePod's Multi-Room Audio and Stereo Features Will Not Be Available at Launch

Apple never stated you NEED two HomePods for stereo. What they actually said was:

"Put another HomePod in the same room and they automatically detect and balance each other. With advanced beamforming capabilities, a HomePod pair is able to create a wider, more immersive soundstage than a traditional stereo pair."

What they're actually claiming is a wider soundstage than a "traditional" stereo pair.

BTW, did you even read the description I posted? What do you think Apple is using 7 tweeters for? To put mono sound in 7 directions all at once?

 

[chabig]

Then why do Apple say you need two of them to create stereo sound?

They don’t. They say that two of them produce wider stereo. They don’t say that two are required to produce stereo.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

This product is an immediate fail for anyone who is expecting an Echo or Google Home experience. It's not. Siri sucks. Amazon and Google have run rings around Apple with their smart assistant technology. Apple doesn't know what it's doing in this space.

 

[solace]

The key part being "through a configuration of two or more loudspeakers".

It's all down to how the track is mastered, you don't need two guitarists, two bass players and two drummers to achieve it.

you get it.

 

[AngstyKylo]

Agreed. The AiPod is nothing more than a "me too!!" device.

Hopefully it’s more Apple Watch than Apple TV.

 

[KazKam]

Wake me up when this thing lets me ask Siri to play music from my home shared music library... just by communicating with devices on my local network

I refuse to buy hardware whose primary function is tied to an exclusive internet-based subscription service and makes no concession for your personal private network or locally available assets.

Even if it did what I want, $349 is a hard sell for a product like this.

 

[gatearray]

I expect that the HomePod will have much higher quality sound than the competition. It will be great if Apple has brought top tier audio technology to the $350 price point!

Interestingly, the success of AirPods may point to the failure of HomePod to sell on sound quality. Apple has already proven that many of their customers care little for top-tier audio quality.

 

[Dominicanyor]

To late. Already have Alexa!!

 

[OllyW]

Exactly. HomePod has seven directional speakers. That ought to be enough to produce a wide sound stage.

It's still only one physical loudspeaker though. You may achieve a pseudo stereo effect with the multiple tweeters in the HomePod but you need two physically separate speaker units to achieve true stereo.

Apple wouldn't be saying "If there's more than one HomePod set up in the same room, the speakers can be set up as a stereo pair for an even more immersive sound experience" if it was already a true stereo device.

 

[BeatCrazy]

Then why do Apple say you need two of them to create stereo sound?

I read that description as the "capability" to pair two of them to get "traditional" stereo imaging via 2 loudspeakers, aka stereo sound.

And where did it say you "need" 2 HomePods to create stereo sound? Serious question, I may have missed that word.

 

[jav6454]

Hopefully it’s more Apple Watch than Apple TV.

Uhm, what? I'd rather sync my AppleTV to a good soundbar arrangement before using an AirPod.

 

[DNichter]

I will wait and see with this as I currently am very happy with my Echo. I like Amazon's approach a bit more with smart speakers and smart home integration. That could change in the future, but audio quality is not a selling point for me.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Nowhere does it say that a single HomePod only produces mono sound.

I think it's pretty much inferred if you need two speakers to "create stereo sound," then a single HomePod unit is only going to be mono. But, hey, if you want to lie to yourself, then sure it's stereo.

 

[BeatCrazy]

It's still only one physical loudspeaker though. You may achieve a pseudo stereo effect with the multiple tweeters in the HomePod but you need two physically separate speaker units to achieve true stereo.

Apple wouldn't be saying "If there's more than one HomePod set up in the same room, the speakers can be set up as a stereo pair for an even more immersive sound experience" if it was already a true stereo device.

No you don't How am I getting stereo sound out of my iMac right now? The speakers are separated in the same manner that the HomePod speakers will be. Single enclosure, different speakers getting L/R info.

 

[OllyW]

Apple never stated you NEED two HomePods for stereo. What they actually said was:

"Put another HomePod in the same room and they automatically detect and balance each other. With advanced beamforming capabilities, a HomePod pair is able to create a wider, more immersive soundstage than a traditional stereo pair."

What they're actually claiming is a wider soundstage than a "traditional" stereo pair.

BTW, did you even read the description I posted? What do you think Apple is using 7 tweeters for? To put mono sound in 7 directions all at once?

They don’t. They say that two of them produce wider stereo. They don’t say that two are required to produce stereo.

From the updated HomePod page...

If there's more than one HomePod set up in the same room, the speakers can be set up as a stereo pair for an even more immersive sound experience.

 

[tdar]

Sure it can. All real musical instruments emit sound from a single point. It doesn’t require two guitars, two basses, two drums, two violins, etc. to create stereo music.

In case you had not noticed you have two ears.....

 

[BeatCrazy]

I think it's pretty much inferred if you need two speakers to "create stereo sound," then a single HomePod unit is only going to be mono. But, hey, if you want to lie to yourself, then sure it's stereo.

I'm not lying to myself. When Apple specs it as mono, then that's what it is. I have no reason to believe they won't use the 7 directional tweeters to balance L/R information.

 

[The Game 161]

I own one of every Apple product Apple currently makes... but I won't be buying this.

Why? Spotify.

Apple's insistence that I must use Apple Music is absolutely maddening.

I bought a Google Home instead. It works great with all of my home automation stuff and is GREAT with Spotify.

Apple's lock-in pisses off even true fanboys like myself. Not being able to use Google Maps on Carplay and not having true Spotify integration in Siri, ATV, Apple Watch, HomePod is just a kick in the face.

All music will work via airplay you just won't be able to say hey siri to play the Spotify music

 

[OllyW]

I think it's pretty much inferred if you need two speakers to "create stereo sound," then a single HomePod unit is only going to be mono. But, hey, if you want to lie to yourself, then sure it's stereo.

Don't forget, the HomePod is a magical new music experience from Apple and doesn't have to conform to reality.

 

[Shanghaichica]

They need to release some reviews before pre orders open.

 

[kyleh22]

I don't think anyone knows for sure, but most of the time, these things detach. Wouldn't be surprised at all if it was just another lightning cable.

I doubt it will be a lightning cable. Heavy speaker magnets require more watts than can be transferred via a lightning cable.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I'm not lying to myself. When Apple specs it as mono, then that's what it is. I have no reason to believe they won't use the 7 directional tweeters to balance L/R information.

Well, by that same logic where has Apple specced it as stereo? Nowhere on the feature page or tech spec page is stereo sound mentioned EXCEPT in the context of pairing two units together. Again, you are lying to yourself if you think a single unit is anything other than mono.

 

[maflynn]

If you care about sound, vastly superior music quality.

I'm actually happy with the music that comes out of my Echo ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I guess I'm not one of those audiophiles, and I'm ok with that. I don't disagree that the HomePod will have superior sound, and if you're ok spending thousands on speakers , then 350 is not a big deal, but I also want features and that's where i think the Echo exceeds the Homepod (at least as to what is rumored since its not out)