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

[omihek]

You can’t tell from a picture. That looks like how the back of a Play 5 looks and it’s removable.

View attachment 748100

I'm going to guess it's part of the HomePod simply because on the product pages when Apple tells you "what's in the box" it always includes the power cord or adapter in the list. With the HomePod, only two things are listed: HomePod and Documentation.

 

[solace]

There's about a 100 posts in this thread now where we're basically splitting hairs over definitions of stereo.

My take: traditional stereo sound requires 2 speakers spread some distance apart with the listener positioned roughly in between the two, such that right channel sound coming from the right speaker hits the right ear and left channel sound from the left speaker hits the left ear.

Take a jumbo roll of toilet paper and set it on some counter. Imagine it is this product. The only way you can get in between the multiple speakers of this product is if you could squeeze yourself inside the cylinder... or maybe shrink enough to sit atop the roll.

Yes, there are technological tricks creating faux stereo or even faux surround. Bounce "beamed" audio off a right wall and bounce another "beam" of audio off a left wall and you can faux it, perhaps even reasonably fooling ears into perceiving something that sounds more like stereo. See Soundbars for example- where left, center and right audio might be as close together as 3 feet. Some Soundbars will even claim surround sound with no surrounding (rear) speakers through such faux surround technical trickery/magic.

Even Apple themselves are encouraging those seeking Stereo sound to buy TWO of these. Yet about half the posts seem to be ignoring Apple's own words by continuing to try to imply that one can yield stereo.

Full circle: define stereo. If your definition is the traditional one I shared above, it's probably most likely you have to heed Apple's suggestion and buy 2 of them, spread them out some from each other and position yourself in between the 2 HomePods. If you want to split hairs, bend the traditional definition to fit some purchasing motivation or marketing messaging objective, etc., you might be able to claim just one of these is stereo and/or surround sound too.

Someone offered that iDevices are stereo with their 2 speakers. Conceptually & technically, I agree because there are 2 distinct speakers left & right and some space between them. But one needs to be able to approx. sit IN the Lightning port to get the traditional kind of stereo to which I personally subscribe. So Marketing can spin "Stereo" speakers without outright lying but none of us can probably shrink ourselves small enough to actually get in between those 2 closely-positioned speakers to get a real stereo experience.

Same here. If you are AntMan or similar, you might be able to sit on top of a HomePod, effectively getting yourself between the multiple speakers in this thing. However, if you are full-sized human, real stereo will likely take 2, magical beamforming spin or not. Before someone takes offense at that, note that Apple says it takes two HomePods too.

*claps*

 

[oneMadRssn]

Apple Watch is still in it's infancy. As I said, if we compare it directly to iPhone, it's still at the 3GS stage.

Oh and as for iPad - lol. That thing changed the world and you know it.

The argument isn't whether it changed the world. You said "In 2010 most people thought the iPad wasn't really needed" and "In 2015 most people thought smartwatches weren't really needed."

I'd argue both those things aren't really needed. Not like a smartphone, the internet, or a computer. One pretty much cannot function as a normal person today without at least a smartphone and the internet. It's practically impossible to get a job without those things at least.

Tablets are cool - but they're not really needed. Plenty of people get by just fine without a tablet. This is especially true for smartwatches. I don't ever see there being a time when a smartwatch is "really needed," in the same way a smartphone and the internet are today.

 

[deanthedev]

Yarra does

https://www.yarra3dx.com/

I get that it's neat technology, it's just personally not something I'm super interested in as far as audio goes. Maybe in the future I'll change my mind.

How can you not be interested in something until you have tried it?

I know about the Yarra, but it's a Kickstarter project and I don't think it's a shipping product yet.

 

[johngordon]

Unless they drastically improve Siri, I don't think it will offer the same level of services.

It would be interesting to know how much people really interact with Echos - are many really having that complex conversations with them beyond asking about the weather, traffic info, sport scores and shopping lists?

I guess to be honest I haven't really used Siri much to get a feel for how often it would struggle to understand what I was asking.

 

[Borddeleau54]

Apple doesn't release basic audio specs like frequency response. Why?
Because they know it won't look that good, obviously. Base doesn't go far down probably. Like 75 Hz or 80 Hz.

 

[solace]

How can you not be interested in something until you have tried it?

I know about the Yarra, but it's a Kickstarter project and I don't think it's a shipping product yet.

because i'm a bit more old school/traditional in my audiophile preferences. i'm not big on digital processing/creating soundspaces/etc.

it's not all that unlike other technologies that have been doing it for decades, it's just a lot more powerful/seemingly more mathematically engineered.

it's not that i'm not interested from a geek angle, just not from a music listener perspective it's not something I really feel a need for is all. It's like Dolby/surround sound, maybe if i was a movie buff I would care about stuff like that, but as strictly a music nerd, I've never had a desire to own or invest much in a surround sound system, that's not a knock on the technology so much as personal preference.

i'm sure they can do some cool stuff with beamforming, but at the end of the day i don't like to mess too much with the mix of what the audio engineer/artist intended.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

It would be interesting to know how much people really interact with Echos - are many really having that complex conversations with them beyond asking about the weather, traffic info, sport scores and shopping lists?

I guess to be honest I haven't really used Siri much to get a feel for how often it would struggle to understand what I was asking.

Try it now. It's in about everything else that Apple makes & ships.

Having also had some exposure to Alexa (and not one of the "Apple is always right" contributors around here), I don't believe Alexa's perceived superiority is anything toward complex conversations. I think the difference is that you can make the same kinds of requests of both and Alexa will generally do a better job of getting you the answer. Thus, Alexa seems "smarter" or "more fully featured."

Think about Apple Maps vs. Google Maps. Both are pretty good. One just does that mapping thing generally better than the other.

Siri was Apple being first. Alexa, Cortana, Google followed, caught up and (arguably) stepped ahead. I think us Apple people want to believe our VA is at least as smart and capable as any of the others.

As is, Echos (and similar) are still somewhat dumb devices. But ask their VAs to do things those devices can do and they'll probably get it right. Ask Siri and you'll probably get the "let me look that up on the web for you" (too much). Maybe with the rumored Siri enhancements in HomePod, that seemingly disadvantage might be somewhat nullified. We'll see soon.

 

[dazz87]

Too late...and way overprice.

 

[ipponrg]

Think about Apple Maps vs. Google Maps. Both are pretty good. One just does that mapping thing generally better than the other.

Apple Maps for me has always been very poor here in NYC and LA. It does not do well when you type in places compared to Google. Also not sure why the location pointer is always off compared to Google.

I have very low expectations for Siri integration. Many people have been using a Wink hub with very good success.

 

[steve knight]

You can use AirPlay with Spotify correct? You can play Spotify through a Bluetooth speaker correct? If you can do either of those things then you can play Spotify from your phone through the speaker. I don't understand why people demand that Apple, who has their own streaming music service, must support all other competing streaming music services in the same way on their high end audio device.

well because it g
makes the product more usable? thats what sonos does so well access to so many different services all under one app.

 

[RamGuy]

I don't get why so many claims it to be overpriced? Like come on.. What makes or breaks a speaker is it sonic capabilities aka sound quality. Some speakers are worth a lot simply because they sound so darn good, while others aren't really worth much at all because they sound horrible.

We have no clue on how the HomePod actually sounds like so claiming it to be "overpriced" seems prematurely and foolish at this point. Unless you are one that don't care for sound quality at all so paying 349 USD for any kind of speaker is out of the question for you.

I for one love good audio, I'm no audiophile but I more than willing to spend a decent amount of money on audio equipment I consider to sound awesome. So the price-tag doesn't scare me all that much, but it has to deliver.

And it doesn't really offer anything that a Sonos speaker doesn't already besides give me Siri. It actually seems to offer less as it doesn't seem to offer any optical input so it can't be used with a TV, it doesn't seem to supporting being configured in a surround system like a Sonos Play Bar/Base + 2x Play 1/3/5's and it will most likely no offer much in terms of cross-platform compatibility.

Considering all this and its price-tag it surely has to offer some really great sound quality and Apple surely needs to have some special Siri tricks up their sleeve otherwise I can't really see any reason to pick this over a Sonos speaker?

 

[johngordon]

Try it now. It's in about everything else that Apple makes & ships.

Having also had some exposure to Alexa (and not one of the "Apple is always right" contributors around here), I don't believe Alexa's perceived superiority is anything toward complex conversations. I think the difference is that you can make the same kinds of requests of both and Alexa will generally do a better job of getting you the answer. Thus, Alexa seems "smarter" or "more fully featured."

Think about Apple Maps vs. Google Maps. Both are pretty good. One just does that mapping thing generally better than the other.

Siri was Apple being first. Alexa, Cortana, Google followed, caught up and (arguably) stepped ahead. I think us Apple people want to believe our VA is at least as smart and capable as any of the others.

As is, Echos (and similar) are still somewhat dumb devices. But ask their VAs to do things those devices can do and they'll probably get it right. Ask Siri and you'll probably get the "let me look that up on the web for you" (too much). Maybe with the rumored Siri enhancements in HomePod, that seemingly disadvantage might be somewhat nullified. We'll see soon.

I think that's what I was getting at - ie how much of it was about the quantity of stuff that each will understand, and how much of it is about how each understands even more straightforward requests.

That's a good example, the 'let me look it up on the web for you' thing. I think I saw that self same thing in an article about all this stuff recently.

It might be interesting to see if the HomePod is the first device to roll out with a drastically improved Siri - maybe that's what caused the delay, rather than say tweaking the tweeters.

 

[scouser75]

Possibly a silly question - I know we'll be able to play Apple Music on this. But what about your iTunes library via voice control from the Homepod? So no need to hold the home button on your iPhone or iPad. Just a simple case of "Hey Siri play *********"

 

[johngordon]

I don't get why so many claims it to be overpriced? Like come on.. What makes or breaks a speaker is it sonic capabilities aka sound quality. Some speakers are worth a lot simply because they sound so darn good, while others aren't really worth much at all because they sound horrible.

We have no clue on how the HomePod actually sounds like so claiming it to be "overpriced" seems prematurely and foolish at this point. Unless you are one that don't care for sound quality at all so paying 349 USD for any kind of speaker is out of the question for you.

I for one love good audio, I'm no audiophile but I more than willing to spend a decent amount of money on audio equipment I consider to sound awesome. So the price-tag doesn't scare me all that much, but it has to deliver.

And it doesn't really offer anything that a Sonos speaker doesn't already besides give me Siri. It actually seems to offer less as it doesn't seem to offer any optical input so it can't be used with a TV, it doesn't seem to supporting being configured in a surround system like a Sonos Play Bar/Base + 2x Play 1/3/5's and it will most likely no offer much in terms of cross-platform compatibility.

Considering all this and its price-tag it surely has to offer some really great sound quality and Apple surely needs to have some special Siri tricks up their sleeve otherwise I can't really see any reason to pick this over a Sonos speaker?

I'd absolutely go along with all of that.

One of my philosophies in life is also that its often worth paying a decent amount for something that you use a lot, and music playing in the house is definitely something that happens a lot.

Similarly, I don't understand people who try to argue that Apple Music, objectively, isn't worth $10 a month. People's mileage will vary of course, but for me its an absolute no brainer bargain.

 

[dmdev]

If the power is wired only, then that's a deal-breaker for me. I'll keep my Bose SoundLink Mini.

As soon as you said Bose, I couldn't help but think:

"Waiting to connect."

I like the Bose, but waking up to this at the middle of the night is one of the reasons I'm looking forward to the HomePod

 

[johngordon]

Possibly a silly question - I know we'll be able to play Apple Music on this. But what about your iTunes library via voice control from the Homepod? So no need to hold the home button on your iPhone or iPad. Just a simple case of "Hey Siri play *********"

I'd imagine it must do - although I guess if you have Apple Music, unless you're playing something a bit specialised, anything in your library will almost certainly be in Apple Music anyway. Although I guess things like bootleg CDs spring to mind as things that would be in my library but not in Apple Music.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I think that's what I was getting at - ie how much of it was about the quantity of stuff that each will understand, and how much of it is about how each understands even more straightforward requests.

That's a good example, the 'let me look it up on the web for you' thing. I think I saw that self same thing in an article about all this stuff recently.

It might be interesting to see if the HomePod is the first device to roll out with a drastically improved Siri - maybe that's what caused the delay, rather than say tweaking the tweeters.

Personally, I believe THAT is the key to the success of this product. So far, Apple has hung much of it's hat on "better quality speaker" but the other guys- if theirs turn out to actually be inferior- can so easily & quickly slug in a higher quality speaker (much as you or I can upgrade the quality of speakers in our car or home by just swapping out some hardware). I don't think Apple can win a product contest on the quality of commodity hardware alone. Apple "wins" on exclusive software atop commodity hardware.

The "magic" of these things is in the VA. And Siri is generally viewed as the preschooler vs. maybe third or fourth graders in these contests. If Siri is upgraded such that it steps well ahead, that won't be so readily duplicated as swapping out some speaker hardware with better speakers. And that buys time to try to get the smartest speaker some market share (even at a premium price).

As is "better quality speaker" loses a lot of punch when one realizes a Dot-type product (just the brains) can be paired with ANY available speakers (certainly many of which will be far superior to what Apple can afford to build into a product retailing at $349). So even if Amazon, Google, etc were slow to react- if they even have to- "better quality speaker" is still facing Dot plus ANY speaker for those that are really buying "best quality sound" as the most important feature.

From my perspective, I'm quite happy with the speakers I have. I'm probably NOT a HomePod buyer but am not completely closed to the idea if it brings something special. But, the big, BIG, BIG win in HomePod is IF Siri has indeed leapt forward within this product. If it has, it potentially transfers to the other Apple products we already have and our VA becomes much more competitive and/or superior to Alexa, Cortana, Google, etc.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Possibly a silly question - I know we'll be able to play Apple Music on this. But what about your iTunes library via voice control from the Homepod? So no need to hold the home button on your iPhone or iPad. Just a simple case of "Hey Siri play *********"

From what I understand you can play music that you have purchased from iTunes.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Possibly a silly question - I know we'll be able to play Apple Music on this. But what about your iTunes library via voice control from the Homepod? So no need to hold the home button on your iPhone or iPad. Just a simple case of "Hey Siri play *********"

Some earlier quotes imply that ripped music is NOT accessible, suggesting only music purchased from iTunes or accessible via an AM subscription is playable on HomePod.

That is not explicitly stated in Apple Marketing (why focus on a perceptual negative?) so that may not be the case. But do note that TV can't "Hey Siri" see videos we've ripped in Siri searches, so it's also not a big stretch to imagine HomePod may be blind to ripped CD music, though I find that almost unbelievable if it pans out. I can barely believe $349 locked only to AM (excluding Spotify, etc) but will be further shocked if HomePod is even blind to the iTunes music libraries NOT purchased from iTunes or via AM subscription.

 

[MartyCan]

So disappointing and frustrating that it only supports Apple Music subscription, beats music, podcasts and purchased music. I’m tired of Apple only letting us use there ecosystem. I can’t listen to the music I burned from CDs on iTunes or Spotify. I’m not buying this, and sticking to my Echo.

Are you new to Apple? Controlling as much of the customer experience has been their mantra for 30 years.

 

[Jay42]

That’s one awfully expensive speaker...

Not really. $700 barely gets you in on the ground floor in the stereo / home theater world when you factor in loudspeakers, amplification, source equipment, etc.
[doublepost=1516734362][/doublepost]

Major mistake: covered with fabric = white yellowing with time + dust magnet.

Pretty early to make that judgement. It won't be the first speaker with a white speaker grill.

 

[dampfnudel]

Another assistant loaded speaker that is really not needed.

Yeah, and let’s be honest, all the HomePod seems to be doing is giving the hardcore Apple fans an Apple alternative to other speakers that are just as good if not better (from a hardware perspective as well as a better value). The HomePod is the new Apple TV. I’ll stick with my tried and true Sonos Play:1 speakers for now. Siri in it’s current form is definitely not worth the price of entry here. I expect them to be discounted by the summer (when you step outside an Apple Store) and if Best Buy or Target discounts them to $200 or $250, I may bite, ready to return if I’m at the least dissatisfied. I learnt my lesson from my rarely used Apple TV 4. I use my Roku almost every day and my Apple TV a handful of times in the past 6 months.

 

[MartyCan]

Some earlier quotes imply that ripped music is NOT accessible, suggesting only music purchased from iTunes or accessible via an AM subscription is playable on HomePod.

That is not explicitly stated in Apple Marketing (why focus on a perceptual negative?) so that may not be the case. But do note that TV can't "Hey Siri" see videos we've ripped in Siri searches, so it's also not a big stretch to imagine HomePod may be blind to ripped CD music, though I find that almost unbelievable if it pans out. I can barely believe $349 locked only to AM (excluding Spotify, etc) but will be further shocked if HomePod is even blind to the iTunes music libraries NOT purchased from iTunes or via AM subscription.

Anyone know about iTunes Match users? Most of my iTunes music is ripped from CD but I subscribe to iTunes match. I assume anything that is “matched” will be accessible to a HomePod?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Unknown with certainty. Logically, I would think Match should do the trick. Financially? Maybe Apple wants to try to motivate more people to buy- and persist- AM subscriptions?

This is a question TBD, after the objective have their hands on these and roll out the tangible pros & cons.