Siri is inferior to practically everyone else in the game. The speaker alone is not worth $350.
Enjoy your iPod HiFi, though.
The design looks nice, the speaker technology is probably the best out on the market but what's stopping me is the price. What I mean, is that I can get a more capable voice assistant, in a decent speaker setup for 80 dollars from Amazon, or spend 350 dollars be locked into Apple Music and deal with Siri's short comings.
Same thing was said about the iPhone, iPad and iPods. History will tell.Too late.
Too late.
You’re joking right?In all seriousness, does anyone actually think the Echo or Google Home are amazing products and APPLE has no chance of disrupting this market?
The Echo Dot is literally a piece of trash. Have you seen it in person?
Which is why I remain excited to see - or rather hear - what this device can do.
Yes, Apple have a hill to climb, to gain anything like the momentum Amazon and Google have with their smart speaker devices, but history tells us that Apple have the ability to bring something (late) to the table that has a quality and experience that is very competitive, or even superior.
Interesting to watch this launch and see what happens...
Or, you can get a Sonos One (which already integrates with Alexa by voice with Google soon) and also has Apple Music integrated into the Sonos app (along with dozens of other services) for literally less than half the price of the HomePod.
Walled garden with huge limitations, that costs more than double for slightly better sound? No thanks.
I don't see the point as I've already got a decent sound system which I can use with Airplay and rarely use Siri because it's so frustrating.I’m getting onewho else ?
Same thing was said about the iPhone, iPad and iPods. History will tell.
Question, not that anyone would actually know..but can I use this as a wifi/airplay speaker thru Apple TV to use as surround sound for a movie/show playing off the Apple TV (4) ?
So you at least admit it's not about sound quality, making the HomePod much different than the Echo.You’re joking right?
I have a dot in every room in my house. They are absolutely perfect. It’s not about the sound quality, it’s about being autonomous devices rather than being tied to an iPhone so that they just work in a home with a family. It’s also the fact that Alexa beats Siri in every aspect of functionality and user interface. I’m not pleased about not this (given I have iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac) but it’s true.
I don't see the usefulness in an HomePod. I'd just get a decent Soundbar
The Echo is priced affordably because it's a piece of junk, despite the ability of Alexa to answer a few questions.It's not that Echo or Google Home are amazing. It's that they are priced so that they are affordable to set up in the entire home. You can put a top-of-the-line Echo in the living room, a less expensive Tap in the kitchen, and Dots throughout the house where only voice control is needed, or in the kids rooms, for the same price as ONE HomePod.
The HomePod may sound better than the Echo or Google Home, but the point of these devices is to incorporate voice control in the home. You can't do that with just one speaker in one room unless you live in a studio apt. And if you want great sound there is already a zillion small speaker systems. Apple wouldn't be the first company to make a great sounding wireless small speaker.
The other problem with HomePod is Apple is clearly trying to make it an AppleMusic accessory. Last I heard many of the voice commands only work with AM, not your owned music in the iTunes app. So given all this, what really is the incentive for the masses to ditch their Echo or Google Home or even for Homekit users to buy-in? I'll keep using my iDevices as voice control speakers until Apple can come up with a better, more affordable system, rather than just a lone speaker.
The Echo Dot caters to a certain market price point. It's intended for those who occasionally listen to music and need access to Amazon's AI assistant and it does it for cheap. Why are you comparing the HomePod specifically to the Echo Dot?In all seriousness, does anyone actually think the Echo or Google Home are amazing products and APPLE has no chance of disrupting this market?
The Echo Dot is literally a piece of trash. Have you seen it in person?
But it has an Apple logo on it! lol
Personally I would pass. But if they had like an echo dot version. I’d pick that up.
The OP wasn't saying that the Echo isn't about sound quality, he's saying the market for smart connected speakers (in his opinion) isn't about sound quality. And I would tend to agree. I think it's good to have a range of quality for those who want it (and I think the new Echo Plus is pretty good at half the cost of the HomePod), but primary utility (to me and the other poster) is being able to have them spread all around the house and the functionality of the assistant.So you at least admit it's not about sound quality, making the HomePod much different than the Echo.
We also don't know what the integration for Siri will be with HomePod or how "stupid" it is without testing. I don't agree that Alexa is always better. I think Siri can do many things Alexa can do and still believe there will be software updates with HomePod that make Siri very smart, particularly with music commands.
Same thing was said about the iPhone, iPad and iPods. History will tell.