Apparently there's no alternate audio inputs, so unless you're using something that supports airplay for audio, you cannot use it as a soundbar.
the HomePod is pretty much right now exclusive for the Apple ecosystem and not much else.
Wrong. You can stream you TV audio with Bluetooth, either integrated in your TV or with a Bluetooth transmitter, since the HomePod has Bluetooth 5.0.
What time do they go on sale?
All we really need to wait for is the store to go downstill no updates on a time...
Interesting. I bought two Google Minis and have had no problems with groups. I have also found to Google assistant to be far superior to Siri on my iPhone. I have used Google assistant for things that I was actually surprised it could help with. With Siri, I am constantly surprised by the extremely simple things she is unable to do.
I love Apple Music, but I am not convinced that this product is worth nearly three times the price of a Google Home when it can’t even do much of what the Google hone does. And ... if I switch to Google Home I’ll switch my music subscription since they don’t play nice together.
Who said "wired sound"? I said you CAN stream Bluetooth audio from ANY TV which has audio out RCA with a Bluetooth transmitter attached to it. So yes you need a "dongle", so what?so yes, YOu can cast Bluetooth to your HomePod. But it cannot take wired sound from audio sources like Hometheatre units and televisions.
This is incorrect. Play music on an Apple TV 4/4K then swipe down and select Audio. It lets you connnect to any airplay device, including AirPods.Who said "wired sound"? I said you CAN stream Bluetooth audio from ANY TV which has audio out RCA with a Bluetooth transmitter attached to it. So yes you need a "dongle", so what?
[doublepost=1516923924][/doublepost]A lot of people ask if you can pair Apple TV with homepods. NO, you CAN'T. Apple TV is an Airplay RECEIVER with wired outpout. NOT a TRANSMITTER. So Apple TV CANNOT techcnically be paired with HomePods through Airplay unless the HomePod SEND sound to the APTV. But sound FROM TV cannot be paired to HomePod.
It’s not that I don’t value music as a selling point. I like Apple Music better than all the other services. I am also a musician, as are my kids, so we listen to music all the time.Because you don't really value music as a selling point. That's fine I guess, but that's just you. Continue buying into Google's marketing data acquisition platform/devices.
This is incorrect. Play music on an Apple TV 4/4K then swipe down and select Audio. It lets you connnect to any airplay device, including AirPods.
2AM for me here in Central time zoneso 3AM for us east coasters
The Apple home page for Australia says "Order 27.1".So it's already Friday in Australia, anyone ordering yet?
The Apple home page for Australia says "Order 27.1".
Is that a recent change? It takes people made of stronger stuff than me to fully grasp Australian time zones, but I can't see that 12.01 AM PST would mean the following day anywhere in mainland Australia. So, the possibility to order is either not simultaneous in all three markets, or it's later than 12.01 AM PST, or they're just playing safe.
We have been discussing the pre-order start time over here.The Apple home page for Australia says "Order 27.1".
Is that a recent change? It takes people made of stronger stuff than me to fully grasp Australian time zones, but I can't see that 12.01 AM PST would mean the following day anywhere in mainland Australia. So, the order button will either not go live simultaneous in all three markets, or later than 12.01 AM PST, or they're just playing safe.
yeah I fully expect it to be when EE told me judging that the store is still downWe have been discussing the pre-order start time over here.
27.1 for Australia isn't a recent change, and the UK phone provider EE have said pre-orders will be after 13:30 GMT. So if pre-orders go live simultaneously across the three launch countries will be on or after 00:00 AEST (Australia), 13:00 UK and 05:00 PDT. Apparently the AirPods pre-orders started at 14:00 GMT.
The online store isn't down yet so I don't think it will be 08:00 GMT.
So I got this answer from an Apple Specialist
Really? Since when an Apple TV can stream audio out over... Airplay?
So you select Audio hmmm? Then what? You mean the TV then connect to an Airplay device? HOW? IMPOSSIBLE. There's no TV with Airplay on the market! And there's no Airplay transmitter on the market either, contrary to Bluetooth.
Or maybe you mean the Apple TV box itself connect to an Airplay device. Also IMPOSSIBLE. The audio/video out on the Apple TVs are PHYSICAL. They cannot "stream" audio unless the PHYSICAL audio cables are attached to a Bluetooth transmitter.
So, you listen to an Apple TV "stream" OVER an AIRPLAY device. You should tell that to Tim Cook. You made an extraordinary discovery!
[doublepost=1516931490][/doublepost]OK there's a lot of confusion over Homepod-Apple TV-TV pairing in many posts. Well, it's simple: your TV/Apple TV sound can ONLY be paired to an HomePod over Bluetooth. End of story. In other words, the sound FROM your TV/Apple TV cannot be paired to an HomePod over Airplay. Simple. You need a Bluetooth enabled TV OR a Bluetooth transmitter attached to it. Apple TV can RECEIVE an Airplay stream. It cannot SEND it over... Airplay . Thanks.