My point is - what if Apple is willing to sell fewer homepods if it means a smaller, but more captive audience. Ie: the ones who do buy a HomePod are likely to continue using an iPhone and Apple music in the long run, and this lock-in can mean more profits compared to simply releasing a generic Siri-powered smart speaker and calling it a day.
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HomePod Sales May Be Closer to 1-1.5 Million Than 3 Million Since the Speaker Launched
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My point is - what if Apple is willing to sell fewer homepods if it means a smaller, but more captive audience. Ie: the ones who do buy a HomePod are likely to continue using an iPhone and Apple music in the long run, and this lock-in can mean more profits compared to simply releasing a generic Siri-powered smart speaker and calling it a day.
Where did you get a HomePod for $270!?
I am interested in a HomePod, it just seems overpriced for its limited functionality. For instance, I would want to have it stream audio from my TV via Roku (without having to use Airplay from my computer), and I know this isn't possible. While one can stream from an Apple TV -- and I don't want an Apple TV. I really like Roku. I've also heard that even using an Apple TV the streaming audio to HomePod is BUGGY. I would have two uses for this product - music and tv audio. So 50% is limited to AppleTV and works poorly, or one has to stream via Airplay. And I have always found Airplay to be buggy as well. I'm not willing to invest several hundred dollars in an Apple TV + HomePod only to find out it is a difficult fussy mess.
They are competing with products in this "market" that are being practically given away. It is similar to the Android vs iOS market. Apple doesn't really compete with products that don't make a profit. They are willing to give that part of the market to others. I think they are more interested in building out their ecosystem and just giving people in the ecosystem more reason to stay in it and maybe move more people to it.
I thought they might release something in the $100 range similar to the Airport Express but with Siri built in, but I am not sure they want to go that route until they get the HomePod to sell over the upcoming Holidays first. A cheaper alternative in the Apple ecosystem at this point would steal some of the HomePod's profits.
Market Share really should be divided out by price point. It is like comparing the number of Lamborghinis sold to Hondas. They aren't really in the same market even though they both sell cars.
The concept of the HomePod boggles my mind.
It's a $200 speaker in sound quality terms (seriously, it should be Harman Kardon/Bose/B&O Play levels of SQ) - at which price point you can get truly EXCELLENT speakers.
Then you pay another $150 on top of that to paint it white and have Siri.
What's the point?
It's a $200 speaker in sound quality terms (seriously, it should be Harman Kardon/Bose/B&O Play levels of SQ) - at which price point you can get truly EXCELLENT speakers.
Then you pay another $150 on top of that to paint it white and have Siri.
What's the point?
See, that's what I really don't know — is the sound inferior to Harman/Bose/B&O etc.? The reviews I have read indicate (though, these are opinions) that the HomePod has a superior sound to the higher end single-speaker systems. I don't know enough about them (single speaker/smart speaker) to compare. I've always used stereo speakers.
I tend to believe that the HomePod does sound good (which is surprising if you consider the disaster that are the AirPods), but you are paying a Siri/Apple premium that, in my opinion, could be better spent on sound/setup.
I haven't read comparisons, but HomePod reviews that ooh-ed and aah-ed over the Siri capabilities, and frankly that does not matter to me in the slightest.
Then again, I haven't (and probably never will) be able to put the HomePod side to side with a Beoplay and test them both.
Inferior is a very subjective word when it comes to sound. Some people don't care enough to appreciate the details in sound. I think Harman and BOSE are inferior to most speakers in the market, but they both have a great marketing team. B&O's higher end speakers can't be comparable to either of those on the same level. If anything is compared to a Harman/BOSE at that level, then it's not a great comparison.
I think the Home Pod sounds decent as a speaker for a small room, but that's about it. If Apple rids Siri, allows Bluetooth, and cuts the price, I may consider buying one.
The point is that if you have an iPhone and use Apple Music and want a speaker that is integrated with the rest of your Apple ecosystem, there really isn’t any other option available.
I agree, this is mainly about building out an incredible ecosystem. But, this is also about great 360 degree capable sound in a very small package.
Yes, but I myself - I do not use Siri in any way nor intend to become a user - buy speakers/headphones for the audio, and want my entire $$$ to be dedicated to that.
Hence why I cannot conceive paying $350 for a $200 speaker because of Siri. Just how I cannot conceive paying $150 for the $10 sound the AirPods have.
No product is for every single person out there. Siri is amazing on this device if you use it for music or for controlling Hue lights...which are the main things I use it for. If you have some reasoning for not wanting to use Siri, then it isn't for you.
You aren't paying for only Siri. Even if you never used Siri one time, you would get a good sounding speaker with a very small footprint and you can control it from iOS/MacOS. I have mine on a half wall between kitchen, dining, and living room areas. A normal system would not fit there and I would typically only get sound in one direction rather than feeding 3 rooms. There isn't a $200 speaker with this footprint that has beam forming, an array of seven horn-loaded tweeters, each with its own custom amplifier, and 360 degree audio that I am aware of. Therefore, this is a unique speaker that is priced accordingly. Even if it was only used for Airplay, I don't know a $200 speaker on the market that has the same unique capabilities with this footprint.
I'm thinking that the wifi data (music) transmission enables better quality sound in the speaker vs the data limitations of Bluetooth (and strength/weakness of signal).
I use Bluetooth headphones, but I understand that what I'll be hearing using this technology will be slightly compressed in the best of situations. I have several different BT headphones (from over ear type to in-ear/buds types), and the sound is really quite good (for Bluetooth). I'm not claiming 'audiophile' quality, but very nice for general enjoyment. Both of my over-ear headphones also have jacks so that I can plug them into a music source if I want a line-connection (which I almost never do).
Yeah, I listened to AirPods several times at my local Apple Store, and personally I think they sound like mud. Reminds me of AM radio. But I get the convenience. My go-to Bluetooth earbuds are the B&O Play e8 (Bang & Olufsen)...which sound fabulous and have an App where you can set various equalizer profiles that are applied to all sound. A really nice touch. They got trashed in reviews due to initial software problems. I bought them after they'd been on market six months and I have not had one problem.
Anyway - back to the HomePod. I'm just waiting for a significant price drop or a new model (so that this model's price drops). I don't care about Siri really at all. I just want to stream Apple Music, and if I decide to get an Apple TV, stream audio through the HomePod while watching TV or on my computer.
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One question I have is where I would put the speaker for optimal sound. I've read several user reviews where they've mentioned that placing the HomePod too close to a wall or other large objects results in a muffled and muddy sound. One guy mentioned that he tested it in several places in his apt, and found it sounds excellent when basically at least a few feet from any walls or large furniture. I worry that I'll buy one and not have anywhere to put it and still get great sound!
And, as for Siri, maybe I would use it with a speaker. On my phone and computer, I don't see the point - I have a keyboard or surface on which to type. But with something out of reach like a speaker AND when using to play audio/tv audio, this could be a nice thing. But my primary interest is the sound quality and compatibility with my computers, phone, apple music, and (maybe) Apple TV if I do decide to change from Roku to ATV.
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It is really hard to say what is the optimal placement, but I have had it in a few different locations and it always sounded good. My placement now is between two thin rails and about 3 feet from the closest wall and about 5 feet from a couch. In other words, it uses the 360 array of speakers and sounds great in three different spaces. It isn't my main speaker setup, but now it is easily the most used since we love listening to music in the kitchen and dining area.
Some of the initial reviews said it was a bit bass heavy. My understanding is that this contributed to some of those placement issues with the initial reviews. I believe Apple has updated it since then and there were people that said it sounded less bassy after the update, so it may sound better than it did in the reviews you read.
I mainly use Siri with CarPlay, but it is nice if you have an Apple Watch, too, especially if you use Airplay since you can control where the phone sends the audio with a touch of a button then tell it what you want to hear. My watch isn't the Cellular model, so that may work differently.
I now use Siri on the HomePod all the time. Controlling music, setting an alarm, controlling lights, checking the weather, etc. As I said, I love the ability to tell it to play music on my AppleTV which is hooked up to my main system. Just last night, I added some new (to me) speakers to my system and tested it quickly by telling the HomePod to play music on my AppleTV. It works great.
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Erm.. to none? Really.. they are the best speakers in the whole world.. 350 bucks worth of sounds is better than some 20k seriously high end sound unit.. who knew...
They were probably referring to the market of "smart speakers". Most reviewers think this is the best, especially with the footprint it needs. Other than that, I would take a pair of Wilson Watt Puppies over the HomePod if size/$$ isn't a concern.
You missed the oh so important caveat at the end my friend.. IN MY HUMBLE OPINION!!! , there you go, fixed it for you ;-)
The HomePod step in to the smart speaker world, yes the HomePod sounds good but it sucks as a smart speaker.
It only sucks if you are expecting high tech answers. For basic tasks it works perfectly fine. Which is all I would it for anyway. Along with music and podcasts of course.
If I want long detailed answers I would use google on my phone.
Exactly and if you want tech answers and don't want to use your phone, but a cheap Dot or Google Mini. The HomePod is about music and decent 360 audio in a small footprint. If you don't care about those things, then it probably isn't for you.
Thanks for your reply.
I did it — just bought a HomePod which I'll have in a few days! Very excited to hear how it will sound in my apartment and of course, I'll get to play around with the speaker positioning to see how that affects sound.
Exactly. I have 2 homepods and use them for music, connecting to my Apple TV, podcasts, audibooks and simple things like weather, calendar etc
I have a google home and 2 echos that can handle all the questions.
Siri isn’t as good as the other 2 but at least he’s honest and says I can’t do that.
I asked the google home a question about the side effects of a specific medicine. Google told me all the side effects no problem.
Siri didn’t know but that was to be expected.
Alexa didn’t know but instead of admitting she didn’t know she just started ranting on about the definition of a side effect.