How does it not make sense for Japan to get something before New Zealand?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
HomePod Launches in Japan and Taiwan [Updated]
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Fair enough, but it's not nearly as ubiquitous, and it still requires an internet connection, which is a drawback.
Yep. Just like those enthusiastic reviews appeared here months before Homepod release, based only on specs and on Apple's marketing material.
[doublepost=1565990461][/doublepost]
[doublepost=1565990461][/doublepost]
An odd question in reference to a $300 speaker. Alas...
I need an EQ because the EQ the HomePod decides is best is INCREDIBLY bass-heavy, even at low volumes. I live in an old apartment building where every apartment can hear damn near everything. The only reason I returned it was because of the lack of EQ.
[doublepost=1565998174][/doublepost]
Any final track "as is" is going to sound completely different on the HomePod than it does on studio reference monitors. The HomePod does a lot to the audio, including shoehorning bass frequencies into every nook and cranny.
[doublepost=1565998250][/doublepost]
I always tell people that the HomePod audio always sounded like it was "over there," even when I was right in front of it. The Sonos Ones I have sound FANtastic.
[doublepost=1566005780][/doublepost]So like 2 years later they are releasing this in Japan? Wait, I am so confused....
Apple's HomePod is set to launch in Japan and Taiwan next week, on Friday, August 23, Apple announced today. Ahead of the launch, Apple is accepting pre-orders through its online stores in Japan and Taiwan.
The HomePod is available for ¥32,800 in Japan and NT$9,900 in Taiwan, which is $10 to $15 higher than the price in the U.S. When the HomePod first launched in the United States in 2018, it was priced at $349, but the price was lowered to $299 in April of this year.
Apple announced plans to expand the HomePod to Japan and Taiwan earlier this summer, and added support for the new countries in the 12.4 software made available for the HomePod in late July.
Apple now sells the HomePod in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Mexico, China, and Hong Kong, along with Taiwan and Japan.
Article Link: HomePod Launching in Japan and Taiwan on August 23, Pre-Orders Available Now
I am one of those people and I still do not see a real use for the Watch personally, and keep in mind it didn't reach popularity heights of iPhone and iPod. The Watch was presented as a luxury/fashion item and it found its niche as a health and communication gadget. It was also much less capable tech wise.
My problem with Siri is they do record my voice and store it on Apple servers... I don't want anyone to have a database of my voice giving series commands. Even voice dictation is recorded, otherwise I would use Siri.
I don't believe you have the option to delete those recordings either.
All the fricken’ time. I have six of them, all bought on sale or refurbished for $250. $1,500 is about what my Bose system cost, the homepods sound just as good and they’re all over my house, and control my lights & lock my door when I ask them to. They’re awesome.
I just bought my first HomePod, and I just love it. Excellent quality, and Siri and my HomeKit stuff was upgraded to a new level. Excellent sound quality as well. I have music all the time in the kitchen now. As a bonus I got Bluetooth coverage all over my apartment also. Problem is you want one in each room
Now ...
Now ...
Constantly. I have a stereo pair in the living room - they sound fantastic. I only turn on the high end Denon receiver with 5.1 Swan Diva speakers when watching movies
I have three of them and replaced multiple SONOS speakers with HomePod. I think you're missing one thing. These HomePods sound amazing. I am not kidding. And this is from someone who had Sonos with Sonos Sub. One HomePod blew it away. After hearing these, I gave away my Sonos. That's how awesome these are. I had heard that from others but just didn't see how that could possibly be true. Listen for yourself. I didn't buy it because of Siri. Siri is nice to have and if Siri ever gets better, then that will be yet another reason to want these. For now, the sound alone is the reason to own these. They are impressive. And that is a first. I have heard that claim from just about every speaker maker on earth and so far, it has never held up to their hype. Until Apple. If you're not impressed with the sound of these, see a doctor man.
I’m really confused by the people who claim these things have good audio quality. What are they comparing them to? To my ears, a basic bookshelf set-up beats the HomePod by a nautical mile.
They are comparing them to Bose, Sonos, and Echo/GHome speakers. Probably not the ideal source for exploring speaker alternatives
My thoughts as well. Because I had some gift cards, I ended up with 2 homepods. They are nearly useless to me. Siri is awful at everything other than a handful of simple commands, and the airplay functions are not reliable at all. For example, the stereo pair is completely inaccessible from my Macbook. Also, using homepods as "soundbars" for the Apple TV is a massive headache and also extremely unreliable - they fail to connect frequent, fail to stay connected, sound drops out randomly, etc etc. (Btw, I have phenomenal Wifi, so that's not the problem. I can reliably push 400mbps to a phone/tablet in the same spot as the homepods)
I'm a big fan of apple's products and have been for many years, but the homepods are by far the biggest disappointment they've released. In my opinion that is.
I don’t own one but I have a friend that does and we did a basic comparison of the HomePod vs. the Beoplay A9.
Oh...
Did you happen to compare the prices of the two?
The Beoplay A9 is nine times more expensive at...$2,700! Do you really consider the A9 to be a basic bookshelf speaker?
Beoplay is hardly an outstanding performer from an audio perspective. As a matter of fact, I’m fairly sure some pretty basic bookshelf speakers best it. With B&O, you pay for the design primarily and the sound is mediocre. Therefore, for the HomePod to sound worse is really saying something.
https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile...e_homepod_the_audiophile_perspective/du5j2hk/
https://i.imgur.com/3nHZimq.png
vs.
https://hometheaterreview.com/assets_c/2015/09/Klipsch-RP-280FA-FR-thumb-650xauto-14534.jpg
If you're looking to compare with something truly dirt cheap, look into Klipsch RP-150M or DT's BP9080x.
TL;DR: HomePod is convenient for some very limited use cases, but in terms of audio performance it is neither an outstanding performer nor a good value for money.