HomePod HomePod mini - Siri is a cruel joke

[SB1500]

Before I get into this, disclaimer, I am normally on the side of Apple and can forgive all of the limitations, the Apple tax and sometimes backwards moves they make because of how good being in the ecosystem has been for me forever.

Since getting a HomePod mini in December I have enjoyed having what to me, is a good quality speaker, integrated into the software on all my devices.

Two minutes ago, I asked it to play music.... "I'm sorry, I'm having trouble connecting to the internet". Other times I'll be playing music and it will just suddenly cut out, but my iPhone says the track is still playing. The "Restart HomePod" within the Home app does nothing. It is not able to control the device at all properly.

I bought some Belkin SmartPlugs for lights as well... the amount of times these will work perfectly fine via my iPhone directly on the HomeApp, for the HomePod to struggle...

Siri on it is a cruel joke. Why is it so hard for something with a relatively decent if not over powered chip, to do such a simple job as this?

Am I doing something wrong with it?!

 

[sparky672]

Siri on it is a cruel joke. Why is it so hard for something with a relatively decent if not over powered chip, to do such a simple job as this?

I agree with your complaints. Things are getting pretty bad in the Siri/HomeKit arena. However, I must point out that Siri is located at Apple and any interaction with Siri is done over the Internet. Nothing to do with your chip, at least not in the way you infer.

 

[SB1500]

I agree with your complaints. Things are getting pretty bad in the Siri/HomeKit arena. However, I must point out that Siri is located at Apple and any interaction with Siri is done over the Internet. Nothing to do with your chip, at least not in the way you infer.

I thought in recent years, they had done some work so that simple requests (not ones that specifically need to do a Google search or Apple Music station etc) were handled locally on device? Like how Android has had with Google Assistant I'm sure? Like offline Siri for all of the basic commands? I must be wrong.

 

[sparky672]

I thought in recent years, they had done some work so that simple requests (not ones that specifically need to do a Google search or Apple Music station etc) were handled locally on device? Like how Android has had with Google Assistant I'm sure? Like offline Siri for all of the basic commands? I must be wrong.

I could also be wrong, but I know Siri will not function without an internet connection, at least not on any of my devices.

FWIW, this 2022 article talks a bit about Siri using Apple's servers.

How Does Siri Always Manage To Answer All Your Questions So Hilariously?

How does Siri manage to be funny and quirky all the time? Just why does it feel like you're talking to a real person while talking to Siri? Why is it so darn smart?

www.scienceabc.com

Here is an article that talks about using Siri offline, but only on iPhone/iPad with certain settings, so I am not sure this would apply to a Home Pod.

No internet? Use Siri offline on your iPhones and iPad with this trick

Amazingly, you can ask anything with your iPhone voice assistant Siri and that too without the internet! Know how to access it here.

tech.hindustantimes.com

 

[StumpyBloke]

Couldn't agree more. But you are more polite than me. Siri is an abortion. Apple should be seriously embarrassed by it and the management team involved should be sacked. They need to bin it, start from scratch. It is absolute ****!

 

[Itinj24]

I was long skeptical about the choice of chip. I think Siri on the Apple Watch is terrible too. Not as bad but still terrible. Get a lot of spinny circles and thinking. I may be wrong, I dunno.

 

[Wando64]

I am all for Apple and the ecosystem, but my smart speaker is called Alexa.
I take no joy in saying that. I wish I could have an HomePod with the same functionalities.