Glad I'm not the only one. Siri has been noticeably worse in the last several months than she was before that. It's astonishing how bad she is sometimes, TBH.
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HomePod Mini Turns Two as Apple Looks to Expand Lineup Next Year
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I wanted to invest some money in the Homekit and stuff but Siri is so FAR behind Alexa and Google, that is not even funny.
Not to mention, that i can base my whole house on Alexa for 1/3 of the price.
I would also love for Homepods to support other services than Music.
Not to mention, that i can base my whole house on Alexa for 1/3 of the price.
I would also love for Homepods to support other services than Music.
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I do agree with some of the criticisms of the Homepod; particularly the lack of audio input, which would give it more life as a simple amplified speaker, should one want that. A detachable power cord would be useful as well, for storage, damage replacement etc. I agree that the Mini would be great if it could be used wirelessly, but perhaps putting a battery in there would make it significantly larger. Again, a detachable, easily replaceable power cord would be a good idea.
Siri isn't a problem exclusive to the Homepod. Tbh; I've never heard anyone else's Alexa/Google systems working very well either. Siri is adequate for the limited use I have for it (telling my Watch to turn lights on and off, or the heating on, really). And it seems the Spotify thing is Spotify's issue, not Apple's.
I wouldn't call myself an 'audiophile', as it's a very pretentious label, but I do like good quality sound. My 'main' hi-fi is a decent 'mid-range' set up; that I can stream to using a Bluesound Node (previous ancient Airport Express was too flaky and somewhat lacking in terms of it's onboard DAC). But the Homepods are fantastic for small room music, and having listened to them side by side with a number of alternatives, they are way above the competition imo. The level of bass coming from such a small unit, is astonishing, to the point it's actually switched off on one of them.
Siri isn't a problem exclusive to the Homepod. Tbh; I've never heard anyone else's Alexa/Google systems working very well either. Siri is adequate for the limited use I have for it (telling my Watch to turn lights on and off, or the heating on, really). And it seems the Spotify thing is Spotify's issue, not Apple's.
I have 4 HomePod minis around my house. I wish Apple would change at least a couple of things. First, giving users the ability to change the trigger phrase to something unique. I constantly have my AirPods Pro in my ears. I listen to podcasts throughout the day as I'm running equipment in the garage, cooking in the kitchen, or cleaning. It's a great hands-free tool for noise cancellation while running a table saw, turning on the shop vacuum from the other side of the garage, getting measurement conversions while I'm preparing meals, and fast-forwarding through repeated commercials. When requesting "Hey Siri" to do something within earshot of a HomePod, while wearing AirPods Pro, the podcast stops as both listen for the command. Both devices realize the other is listening, one of them decides to that the HomePod needs to respond, or they both do nothing. It'd be nice if the HomePod could determine if I'm wearing AirPods, actively listening to something, and apply context (i.e. the HomePod isn't playing anything and I've requested to fast-forward 30 seconds). In a nutshell, expanding the Handoff feature between these two devices.
Another gripe is with the HomePod not using it's own AppleOne account. We subscribe to AppleOne premiere, which gives my wife and kids shared access to things like Music. My wife and I have a slightly different schedule; she gets up about 30 minutes before me to get ready for work and I tend to stay up an hour or so after she goes to bed. She listens to music while getting ready and at night to get to sleep. Quite often, but not always, I go to listen to a podcast while those are playing music, and I find the mini player actively playing content to the HomePod she's listening to. I have the settings in the Home app dialed-in for the HomePods to not use my account, but it still happens randomly.
Another gripe is with the HomePod not using it's own AppleOne account. We subscribe to AppleOne premiere, which gives my wife and kids shared access to things like Music. My wife and I have a slightly different schedule; she gets up about 30 minutes before me to get ready for work and I tend to stay up an hour or so after she goes to bed. She listens to music while getting ready and at night to get to sleep. Quite often, but not always, I go to listen to a podcast while those are playing music, and I find the mini player actively playing content to the HomePod she's listening to. I have the settings in the Home app dialed-in for the HomePods to not use my account, but it still happens randomly.
I just want a bigger home pod with better sound. I love my OG homepod and wish I got another to pair with my Apple TV.
I also agree with all the comments about hey siri should not wake your home pod because sometimes I’m talking to my phone. Perhaps “hey homepod”
I also agree with all the comments about hey siri should not wake your home pod because sometimes I’m talking to my phone. Perhaps “hey homepod”
I would not say it is a pretentious label, we like what we like and thankfully there are options for us to get what we like. I am picky about other things others would not be. The sound on my Echo's, especially the main setup is clean and warm sounding to me and with the added sub I get a rich range of sounds. Nothing tinny or anything like that. Not sure my ears would be able to distinguish much from better setups.
I have 8 different echo devices in my house, and most switches are smart switches. It is generally problem free. I use it all the time to play music throughout the house I will say "Alexa play this song everywhere" and it just plays it everywhere. If I don't specify that it just plays in the room I said it. One thing I really like about the Amazon eco system is the fact you can add things to it, like an app for your phone. I like old time radio dramas and there are a whole bunch of "apps" I could load with one click on the iPhone app and now with a simple command I can have Alexa play these old radio shows. All sorts of things there and it looks pretty open that anyone can develop for it.
I keep thinking of getting a HomePod Mini, but then I think of all the money I spent on cheap Echos that I rarely use and decide against the purchase. I would totally buy a HomePod soundbar with Apple TV built-in if it was available, but otherwise I’m just not that interested. For streaming music I have a couple of regular paired Echos that to listen to Apple Music. Someday I plan to assemble a really solid audio system, but the Echos are “good enough” for now. In some respects I just think smart speakers are a bit of failed product where the promise was greater than the implementation.
BTW, regular 4th gen Echos are on sale at Amazon right now for $49. Pick up 2 for a stereo pair at the same price Apple is selling the HomePod Mini.
Yea I can see it staying bad or getting better, but why worse. I used to be able to change a timer with one phrase, but now she asks me stuff I already told her!
Ooh I wonder if she would understand everywhere. I know when it's in the LR, I can say "Hey Siri, also play this in the bedroom and it works" Or at least it used to. Never know with her anymore
It is a nice feature and goes even further if I wanted to setup floors or areas. I could setup to say Alexa play the song on the main floor". Location area is setup by me so can name it whatever I want.
Given that Amazon is laying off Alexa team members, Siri might pass Alexa sooner than one would think.
Based on what? Siri has not been improving in any comparable way to where Alexa is now. I would think with more competition cash rich Apple would have put more money in to try and keep up with their 2 rivals and yet they have not done so. I get the feeling Apple is lost a bit in their own glamour and really think Siri is the best virtual assistant out there.
I don't know what people have to complain about the mini, I find it a discreet product, especially in today's landscape of the company that literally produces ****.
For what it is and for what it costs it even does too much. In fact, Apple has thought of ruining it over time with the usual updates that destroy products, but now it's Apple's only certainty: don't fix a bug that you can tenfold tomorrow.
That Apple has a vertical drop in the quality of the sw is known (only fools don't see it), that there is also in the hw is also known, but HomePod mini is so simple that it is difficult to mess with it (but I have good vibes about the ability to mess everything up from Apple engineers).
I think I'll get 5 more, but I won't update them.
For what it is and for what it costs it even does too much. In fact, Apple has thought of ruining it over time with the usual updates that destroy products, but now it's Apple's only certainty: don't fix a bug that you can tenfold tomorrow.
That Apple has a vertical drop in the quality of the sw is known (only fools don't see it), that there is also in the hw is also known, but HomePod mini is so simple that it is difficult to mess with it (but I have good vibes about the ability to mess everything up from Apple engineers).
I think I'll get 5 more, but I won't update them.
HomePod requests? Simple. A larger than Mini HomePod that can be added to HomePod Minis for surround sound setup of some sort. We use the Minis for our "home theater" and it sounds good but would love HomePods with a little more oomph and surround sound.
I have a HomePod mini myself, and it’s pretty nice. I use a shortcut to play music as my alarm, as I don’t have Apple Music.
Hands free control of the ATV via the HomePod Mini is severely restricted. Not sure why; the Mini could simply relay the command to the ATV, just as ATV remote does. And the Mini would need to understand some voice command equivalents to remote clicks.
Hope the bright colours of the HomePod mini are retained in the next version.
Atmos support, so I can have a huge wireless speaker array!
Or WiSA support, so I can add wireless surrounds to my existing setup.
Or WiSA support, so I can add wireless surrounds to my existing setup.
My only issue with the original HomePods is the concern that if one of the pair fails then it will be hard to replace.
I also have HomePod Minis and the sound quality is far inferior, and the ability of Siri to recognise what I’m saying is far inferior to the original HomePods.
I can see the sense in doing a cheap version and a decent version - and I’m baffled by Apple discontinuing the original HomePods and taking this long to replace it.
If they brought back the original HomePods at a slightly lower price point, added Thread and added multi-speaker surround sound support then I’d be very happy.
I also have HomePod Minis and the sound quality is far inferior, and the ability of Siri to recognise what I’m saying is far inferior to the original HomePods.
I can see the sense in doing a cheap version and a decent version - and I’m baffled by Apple discontinuing the original HomePods and taking this long to replace it.
If they brought back the original HomePods at a slightly lower price point, added Thread and added multi-speaker surround sound support then I’d be very happy.
Over the last year ago Siri has been making more and more mistakes. Yesterday in car I was listening to an audiobook and said “Go back 2 minutes” half the time it didn’t respond and some of the mistakes it made included setting a 2 minute timer and calling someone in my Contacts list.
I keep wondering if I’ve had a stroke and not realised - because of how Siri seems to struggle.
Perhaps my expectations of Siri have increased over time - but I have become increasingly frustrated with its ability to understand me, and it’s ability to perform hands free functions whilst driving. Here in the UK we are not allowed to even touch a dashboard mounted phone whilst we are driving, yet there are so many simple things that Siri fails or struggles to perform.