HomePod Updates Will Be Installed Over-the-Air Using the Home App

[Man on the moon]

Couldn't agree more, as a self-confessed Apple Fanboi having a hard time wanting to switch away from my Sonos speakers with HomePod missing lack of stereo, multiplay, multiple music providers etc. ... Christmas morning carols across the whole house last year was glorious... bring it on... now!

Hard to switch from Sonos if you use Spotify.

I really doubt this will sound better than Play:5.

 

[iansilv]

What if we put, like 700 home pods throughout our house- will they all sync and help each other out?

 

[ke-iron]

The last pair of speakers I purchased cost more than your car and were tuned in my home by someone who has won more than 20 Grammys for their sound mixing. But please, tell me how I need to listen on good equipment.

Surely with your pair of speakers that cost more than my car, you can hear specific and different sounds being played through the left or right channel, not both at all times. If not then your system isn’t as good as you think or your source music is bad.

You seem upset because you don’t understand what the beamforming in the HomePod does and how stereo playback works. While the HomePod have multiple speakers, it does not have a dedicated left or right channel, because of this a single HomePod cannot playback music in stereo. When you have 2 HomePods and the future software update you will be able to playback music in stereo. One speaker will be left channel while the other be the right channel.

While the HomePod has multiple speakers for playback of music, stereo separation is not capable because there is no left or right channels. All sounds from the music track is played through all the speakers at all times. Because of beamforming and spatial awareness it will not play at the same volume level, but all audio is channeled through all the speakers, always.

 

[ErikGrim]

You don’t seem to understand either. The HomePod plays all sound from an audio track through all speakers. A single HomePod does not have the ability to play some, not all of the audio through individual speakers. I’m not talking about the HomePod having the ability to adjust volume through different speakers like others seem to suggest as the answer.

I have songs when played, you hear one thing on the left earphone or speaker, and something completely different in the right earphone or speaker.
Left and right channels. A single HomePod does not have the ability to do this. Point blank. This is why Apple themselves said stereo sound is coming in an update.

You guys don’t seem to understand stereo music at all. You even ignore what Apple said themselves about stereo sound coming in a future update.

I’m a mere charting sound engineer, what do I know of this subject?

That’s not how the HomePod work at all. Please educate yourself on how beam forming work and how that effects the sound stage. Your simplistic understanding of what constitutes stereo needs updating.

 

[ke-iron]

I’m a mere charting sound engineer, what do I know of this subject?

That’s not how the HomePod work at all. Please educate yourself on how beam forming work and how that effects the sound stage. Your simplistic understanding of what constitutes stereo needs updating.

Care to explain why Apple themselves say you need 2 HomePods to play stereo sound? You say my understanding is simplistic but you offer no explanation at all. Explain how a single HomePod plays music in stereo. Multiple speakers playing audio through a single channel isn’t stereo playback. I’m waiting.

 

[chucker23n1]

While the HomePod has multiple speakers for playback of music, stereo separation is not capable because there is no left or right channels.

You keep claiming this. Is this an assumption of yours? Are you saying HomePod downmixes the channels to one? Do you have proof other than Apple’s vague marketing blurb?

 

[Tech198]

For some reason, i never liked the dis-joines approch on iOS... On the Mac there is only one area to get all updates, but on iOS, u must check through the certain Apple specific apps.. instead of it all coming via Software Update..

In this instased, its not an update to Homekit itself, its an update to devices which use the app.. I wouldn't mind the app being, just as app to control products, but not for updating them.


Currently 2 ways..

 

[I7guy]

I really hope it's a flop, so they learn a thing or two

I don't think it will be a flop. We'll check back in a year.

 

[ke-iron]

You keep claiming this. Is this an assumption of yours? Are you saying HomePod downmixes the channels to one? Do you have proof other than Apple’s vague marketing blurb?

I don’t think it’s as vague as you think, and yes it’s my assumption based on Apple themselves saying you need 2 HomePods for stereo playback and Something else I thought up on my own just from looking at the design of the HomePod.

As we know it, the HomePod has 7 tweeters or speakers in it, going around the device in 360°.

1. If it did play sound in stereo, you would need a left and right channel. But for arguments sake, let’s say it does have a left and right channel.

2. How does it know which of the 7 speakers to use as left channel and right channel?

3. Ideally, you would want the same number of speakers on the left and right channels. This has 7 speakers.

4. Because the speaker is a 360° design how does the average consumer know where the left and right channels are?

5. Let’s assume people figure out where left and right channels are and want to sit or stand in the middle so they can hear both channels equally. There will be no sweet spot because the HomePod is 360° In design. At most 3 speakers will be facing the person in front of it.

6. How does one be in a sweet spot of a 7 speaker 2 channel system of only 3 speakers at a time is facing the person?

8. If this were stereo playback through 2 channels then multiple people around a single HomePod will not always hear the same things equally. Some songs play specific sound effects through the left and right channel.

9. Apple is able to achieve the sweet spot they claim by playing all sound through all the speakers and not splitting them into 2 channels or stereo. That’s why anywhere you stand around it sounds good.


The song “In and out of love” by Armin Van Buuren is a favorite of mine and it shows how well what stereo sound, sounds like. You can hear the effects being bounced back and forth from left to right. It’s a perfect example of stereo imaging and separation. Best heard with headphones.

 

[ErikGrim]

Care to explain why Apple themselves say you need 2 HomePods to play stereo sound? You say my understanding is simplistic but you offer no explanation at all. Explain how a single HomePod plays music in stereo. Multiple speakers playing audio through a single channel isn’t stereo playback. I’m waiting.

It is NOT playing a single channel, it is using both channels and acoustic modeling to spread out the soundstage using beam-forming to bounce the sound off surfaces in the room to provide you a multidimensional STEREO sound image regardless of your position.

Apple says “stereo” to mean a wider soundstage still because that’s what the layman thinks of when they hear stereo, as you have proven just now.

Let me put this in larger letters for you so it’s easier to read:

Stereo does not require two speakers, or even speakers separated by distance. Stereo does not mean two channels.

 

[OtherJesus]

wow, stereo has become an additional purchase feature. way to go apple, sending us back to 1920s.

Apparently you don't know how much good speakers cost (and typically do not come as a pair). And don't even get into great or excellent speakers because man, you can't afford the tweeter.

 

[ke-iron]

It is NOT playing a single channel, it is using both channels and DTS to spread out the soundstage using beamforming to bounce the sound off surfaces in the room to provide you a multidimensional STEREO sound image regardless of your position.

Apple says “stereo” to mean a wider soundstage still because that’s what the layman thinks of when they hear stereo, as you have proven just now.

Let me put this in larger letters for you so it’s easier to read:

Stereo does not require two speakers, or even speakers separated by distance. Stereo does not mean two channels.

I never said stereo requires 2 speakers, more than 2 speakers can be used in stereo, but it does require 2 channels.

You’re also wrong about Apple referring to stereo as “just a wider soundstage.”

Apple said “a HomePod pair is able to create a wider, more immersive soundstage than a traditional stereo pair.” You changed the meaning of what Apple meant with your statement because of your wording.

Even if the HomePod has 1, 2 or 7 channels (a channel for each speaker) The point is, the audio playback is the same through all the channels therefore it is not being played back in stereo.

Do you know why headphones have a left and right side? Or why home theatre systems, receivers and processors have a channel for front left and front right?

 

[ErikGrim]

The point is, the audio playback is the same through all the channels therefore it is not being played back in stereo.

You keep repeating this no matter how many times I tell you that simply isn’t true. Please stop posting now before you embarrass yourself further.
[doublepost=1517370469][/doublepost]From the latest story:

Schiller also explained in detail how the HomePod's spatial awareness features work. From the moment it's plugged in, the HomePod senses its location. The built-in microphone array listens to how sound reflects from neighboring surfaces to determine where it's located in a room and what's nearby, adjusting audio accordingly. The A8 chip beams center vocals and direct energy away from walls that are detected, while also reflecting ambient reverb and back-up vocals against the wall for better dispersion into the room.The end result is a wide soundstage with a feeling of spaciousness and depth.

"This entire process takes just seconds and it doesn't stop with the initial setup. Every time you move HomePod, it uses the built-in accelerometer to detect a change in its location and continues to make sure the music sounds great and is consistent, wherever it's placed. We've also done some great things to help minimize the audible side effects of compression artifacts by developing studio level dynamic processing to optimize for rich, clean bass even at loud volumes."​

 

[ke-iron]

You keep repeating this no matter how many times I tell you that simply isn’t true. Please stop posting now before you embarrass yourself further.

Do you know why headphones have a left and right side? Or why home theatre systems, receivers and processors have a channel for front left and front right?

There are times when different sounds are passed trough different channels. In stereo sound, there are times when things are heard in the left headphone or speaker and not the right, or the right and not the left. A single HomePod is not designed with a left and right channel for stereo sound.

Apple themselves stated you need 2 HomePods for stereo but you don’t want to accept that so you make up your own explanation as to what they mean by it. People close to the company who played with the units for a week said the same thing, 2 units are needed with the future software update for stereo sound. Completely outrageous. Get real.

“Create stereo sound with a second HomePod.
Put another HomePod in the same room and they automatically detect and balance each other. With advanced beamforming capabilities, a HomePod pair is able to create a wider, more immersive soundstage than a traditional stereo pair.”

Directly quoted from Apple above.

Stop misleading people. A single HomePod cannot play music in stereo as all sound from a music track is sent to all the speakers. Period. This is partially Apple fault, because people seem to think more speakers automatically means stereo or more.

You said you were an audio engineer or something like that, you cannot be serious.

 

[ErikGrim]

Oh FFS. Let me open a spot on my list for you. There’s only so much ignorance I can take between this and SOTU.

 

[ke-iron]

You keep repeating this no matter how many times I tell you that simply isn’t true. Please stop posting now before you embarrass yourself further.
[doublepost=1517370469][/doublepost]From the latest story:

Schiller also explained in detail how the HomePod's spatial awareness features work. From the moment it's plugged in, the HomePod senses its location. The built-in microphone array listens to how sound reflects from neighboring surfaces to determine where it's located in a room and what's nearby, adjusting audio accordingly. The A8 chip beams center vocals and direct energy away from walls that are detected, while also reflecting ambient reverb and back-up vocals against the wall for better dispersion into the room.The end result is a wide soundstage with a feeling of spaciousness and depth.

"This entire process takes just seconds and it doesn't stop with the initial setup. Every time you move HomePod, it uses the built-in accelerometer to detect a change in its location and continues to make sure the music sounds great and is consistent, wherever it's placed. We've also done some great things to help minimize the audible side effects of compression artifacts by developing studio level dynamic processing to optimize for rich, clean bass even at loud volumes."​

This has nothing to do with stereo sound! Are you kidding me dude? You cannot be serious. Are you not able to read and understand? He’s clearly speaking about how spatial awareness works to measure the room and how it affects the overall sound stage. This has nothing to do with stereo sound or play pack in stereo!

 

[CjonesHouston]

Please keep it going. This is entertaining.

 

[ke-iron]

Please keep it going. This is entertaining.

I don’t know if he’s serious or not. Most people seem to believe it plays stereo sound because it has more than one speaker and Apple has all this other fancy technology built into it to make it sound great. But in terms of audio playback, it doesn’t play music in stereo. It’s not hard to understand. On Apples own page it said you need 2 HomePods for stereo sound.

I guess most people don’t pay close attention when listening to music. They’re not able to hear some things being said or instruments being played through one speaker or headphone and not the other.
[doublepost=1517373076][/doublepost]For anyone who wants to know what stereo sound sounds like or good example of stereo imaging, listen to “In and out of love” by Armin VanBuuren. Use the best headphones you’ve got. Listen with one ear on or in ear and then listen with both. Within the first minute of the song you’ll have a pretty clear idea of what stereo sound and stereo separation is. You’ll also understand why a single HomePod does not playback in stereo because of bits and pieces of the song being played in the left and right ear or left and right channel.

 

[4jasontv]

Can imagine they'd be anything other than over-the-air. No one was expecting to have to plug this thing in to install updates. It runs a version of iOS and iOS can do over-the-air for years now. No surprises here.

I was supprized it requires an iPhone to do the update. Why can't the HP just let you know when you use it "Oh, by the way, I have an update. It will take X minutes to apply it. When would you like to do it?" Wait for: "now", in a(n) X min/hours/days, never.
[doublepost=1517373263][/doublepost]

I must be missing the point of these smart speakers. They're not truly portable, they can only be used to control connected devices, and I can use my phone or watch to set a timer or look up reference information.

There are plenty of great sounding rechargeable speakers on the market that will operate for hours on a single charge. I have four of them. I can take them outside or to another room while staying connected to the sound source. Two can be used as a speakerphone. I have one that I can strap onto my belt or bicycle handlebars and listen.

The lady had the same issue. She isn't a tech person and she has a really hard time differentiating between bluetooth speakers and battery powered speakers. To her bluetooth means wireless and wireless means the speaker can go anywhere. Her confusion caught me off guard, but I imagine others will have it too.
[doublepost=1517373728][/doublepost]

I don't need to turn lights on/off with my voice or pay for expensive smart home stuff like The Nest (I regret buying, it has a mind of it's own).

LOL - A mind of it's own? What does that mean? I ask because I always thought that was the whole selling point of the Nest. It manages the temp for you.

Buying a Nest was the problem. You should’ve went ecobee. Personally, I love my thermostat setting itself back when nobody is home, saving me on energy costs. Also, coming home to lights already being turned on, and being able to turn them all off while laying in bed is pretty nice too.

You can do most of that with a $30 echo dot and the Nest. Aren't the ecobee and Nest the same price (basically)? What does the the ecobee do that the nest doesn't? I really prefer the look of the Nest, but I don't trust Google wont nerf it and force people to move to OK google.

 

[prasand]

I’m absolutely sure a single HomePod does not have stereo capability. Yes it plays sound through all speakers, and with its beam forming and spatial awareness capabilities it is able to measure objects and walls in the room and adjust, increase and decrease volume through various speakers individually.

I understand why you say it’s not stereo sound, and believe that can be true. But personally, I’ll maintain my view that stereo is possible through a single HomePod until the reviews come in or I can test which sounds are coming out of which speakers myself. It’s possible what you’re saying may end up being true after all.

But in regard to your thoughts that it’s all sounds playing out of all speakers, I actually don’t think or believe that to be true. To me, the ability to beam vocals away from the walls is a direct indicator that the vocals aren’t being emitted from the speakers towards the walls. Granted, it’s possible that vocals will still be emitted from the rear, just at a much lower volume. But I guess that too, I will eventually see if it is or is not the case.

 

[4jasontv]

The last pair of speakers I purchased cost more than your car and were tuned in my home by someone who has won more than 20 Grammys for their sound mixing. But please, tell me how I need to listen on good equipment.

What a weird comeback. Are you suggesting we talk to the person who delivered your speakers? Besides being rude, it doesn't really help anyone understand. If you have product knowledge share with relevant details. If you have an item someone referred to then chime in. But, for what it's worth, when I hear people brag about the cost of something I really question how much they know about it.

And no, ke-iron's "please please do some research and listen to music on good equipment" was not meaningful either.

 

[sidewinder3000]

I’m curious why HomePod won’t be able to get updates directly, like Apple TV. Is it simply because there is no visual interface with text? HomePod’s dependence on an iOS device not just for set up, but for continued maintenance, seems like a limitation. Is there a legal reason why updates couldn’t just happen automatically, via WiFi? Or with voice approval via Siri if user acknowledgment is a requirement?

 

[ke-iron]

I understand why you say it’s not stereo sound, and believe that can be true. But personally, I’ll maintain my view that stereo is possible through a single HomePod until the reviews come in or I can test which sounds are coming out of which speakers myself. It’s possible what you’re saying may end up being true after all.

But in regard to your thoughts that it’s all sounds playing out of all speakers, I actually don’t think or believe that to be true. To me, the ability to beam vocals away from the walls is a direct indicator that the vocals aren’t being emitted from the speakers towards the walls. Granted, it’s possible that vocals will still be emitted from the rear, just at a much lower volume. But I guess that too, I will eventually see if it is or is not the case.

I remember when I was much younger I had old speakers, amps and equalizers I used to play with. With the equalizer I was able to almost completely remove the vocals of songs and just leave the bass thumping.

I believe Apple is doing something similar with a built in automatic equalizer, beamforming and spatial awareness, to measure the room, proximity to objects and walls then direct the audio in a certain direction and taylor it in a very specific way. I think this is how they’re able to beam vocals away from walls, the speakers close to walls also lowers in volume. The engineering in this is absolutely clever.

I’m sure if Apple wanted to they could have stereo sound played through a single HomePod, but I could tell you some songs that would sound so awful on it because of specific sounds playing through left and right channels at different times. How does one solve that problem on a speaker unit that is 360°? If a specific instrument is being played through the left channel and you’re to the right side you won’t exactly be in the sweet spot. This is why I believe Apple is channeling all sounds through all the speakers, so you will always be in the sweet spot no matter where around the HomePod you are.

 

[sidewinder3000]

W00t, that expensive, and not even stereo sound... bwaahaha

Yeah, you’re right, it’s an eeeevil conspiracy! Honestly not sure what you’re actually bitching about. The fact is, no “single speaker units” on the market have stereo sound. Not from Sonos, Google, or Amazon. Not even ones from B&O or B&W or ones that cost $3000. So HomePod not having “stereo” isn’t news, nor is it a reason to dismiss it from this category. And $349 for a high quality speaker array like HomePod isn’t “expensive”, especially given the early reviews of its fantastic sound quality, relative to all the crap speakers on the market that other companies are pushing for that price or higher.
[doublepost=1517376742][/doublepost]

I remember when I was much younger I had old speakers, amps and equalizers I used to play with. With the equalizer I was able to almost completely remove the vocals of songs and just leave the bass thumping.

I believe Apple is doing something similar with a built in automatic equalizer, beamforming and spatial awareness, to measure the room, proximity to objects and walls then direct the audio in a certain direction and taylor it in a very specific way. I think this is how they’re able to beam vocals away from walls, the speakers close to walls also lowers in volume. The engineering in this is absolutely clever.

I’m sure if Apple wanted to they could have stereo sound played through a single HomePod, but I could tell you some songs that would sound so awful on it because of specific sounds playing through left and right channels at different times. How does one solve that problem on a speaker unit that is 360°? If a specific instrument is being played through the left channel and you’re to the right side you won’t exactly be in the sweet spot. This is why I believe Apple is channeling all sounds through all the speakers, so you will always be in the sweet spot no matter where around the HomePod you are.

From my understanding of physics and human anatomy, you simply cannot have anything but simulated stereo from a single speaker unit. True stereo requires separation of the sound sources (speakers), and the separation of the sound receivers (ears). It might bounce sounds off the wall to fool the ears and make it sound more “stereo-like” than a typical mono speaker, but it will never be true stereo without physical separation. If there are any actual physicists or audiologists out there I’d love you to verify or clarify.
[doublepost=1517377106][/doublepost]

wow, stereo has become an additional purchase feature. way to go apple, sending us back to 1920s.

OMG, does no one understand what stereo is? You always need two separated speakers, relative to the listener, for true stereo. That’s what stereo is. Apple is no different than any company that’s ever sold speakers. Ever.

 

[prasand]

I believe Apple is doing something similar with a built in automatic equalizer

This is why I believe Apple is channeling all sounds through all the speakers, so you will always be in the sweet spot no matter where around the HomePod you are.

The equalizer thing is why I think it’s possible the vocals are just turned down in the back. I don’t actually believe that, but I think it’s possible.

The absence of a sweet spot is why I more so believe the stereo thing can be true. If HomePod is sitting in a corner, though it can measure the distance of the walls and increase the volume on left and right channels based on the distance of reflective walls, it would still create a sweet spot. Even if they are bouncing the left off many walls, and doing the same for the right, there are still places where either channel will be louder than the other.

— edit —

With 7 tweeters, 3 dedicated to the back, 4 directed towards the front, with two on the left and two on the right, a sweet spot will be created. But if the four are arranged, with left and right alternating, a sweet spot is less likely to exist. Furthermore, the HomePod wouldn’t need to balance left and right via reflections.

That would provide no discernible stereo separation, but, it would be stereo.