Nothing about that speaker says “far better sound” to me. It has less frequency response, no beam forming, two tweeters and a low excursion woofer.
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HomePod's Sound Continues to Receive Top Marks After Listening Demos in New York and London
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Not one item on that page shows a command for launching anything on a third party service. QED.
Those are all different phrasings of the same concept. If SiriKit had an API for playing specific tracks, the developer would be able to append a query to the end of a URI (I've written Rails code for Spotify and Rdio, so I'm speaking from experience). The part after the question mark in the URI is where artist name, album name, track ID#, etc. would go. The section in the URI before the question mark is the endpoint, which define what resource is available (e.g., artist name). If the developer documentation doesn't show an endpoint for a particular resource, then it's either nonexistent or (more likely) private.
Siri can't trigger an app it doesn't know the existence of. Don't take my word for it. Just browse through the SiriKit documentation, or even the page you linked to, and try to find one example of content launched on a third party service.
From a fairly simple Medium article on SiriKit extensions:
Siri is a long way from HAL 9000, it seems.
Yes, that's quite roundabout, indeed. Or you could simply refer to the Medium article and realize that Siri simply doesn't provide access to services other than those listed above. Siri does do more than this (e.g., web searches), but that additional functionality isn't exposed developers.
A distinction without a difference, as underscored by that quite finite domain list quoted above.
Pretty accurate so far.
Um, OK. Lol, indeed.
True. Why you would link to an irrelevant passage if the proof was on a previous page is clearly beyond my ken.
If you say so, developer.
It wouldn't bother me in the least; I'd welcome that functionality. I never care about being wrong. I care about what's right.
Homebridge is fiddly to set up at first, but after that initial setup it’s just “set and forget”. All appliances just show up like normal in the home app and can be controlled with Siri so there’s nothing new to learn UI wise. It’s dead stable and just require an always on Mac.Thanks. I’ve heard of Homebridge but wasn’t sure how stable it is, plus it would need to be ‘wife-friendly’. Several years ago I had a Window Media Center as our main TV source, and you could put money on the fact while I was out it would crash.....don’t want to go through that again.
Beam forming is mumbo jumbo marketing nonsense when it comes to stereo speakers. Further, it is not a numbers game when it comes to tweeters which is why most high end speakers, even those costing thousands of pounds only have one tweeter and one bass / mid-range driver like my B&W 805 Signature speakers. It is all about the quality of said tweeter, mid-range / bass unit and the enclosure they are housed in.
Actually the more drive units / tweeters you add the more difficult it is to achieve a balanced sound. I'll eat mine and all other hats in the world if the HP sounds even close to the AudioPro C5's I'm terms of balanced quality sound, and that's with the C5 costing only £230. Even the bigger version the C10 at £300 is cheaper than the HP and would blow it away in sonically.
However we are comparing apples and pears. The HP is not competing with proper audio speakers like the AudioPro, it's competing against GoogleHome and Alexa and I just wish people would stop suggesting that this will revolutionise the world of hifi speakers at this price range. Because it will not, it is an average plastic speaker with low end drivers at an overinflated price. It will probably be able to play louder than Alexa and GoogleHome (not Home Max) but I don't think it will sound much, if any clearer / balanced or better than either at normal volumes.
At the end of the day though this is a consumer product and most consumers don't do proper research before buying products like this, they shop with their heart not their brain.
In any case it can only be a good thing that Apple has finally entered this field and hopefully it will fuel a healthy competition so we all get to enjoy even better products in the future.
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As far as I’ve seen the HomePod has no published frequency response to compare to. Also the C5 that was linked says it has a long-throw woofer.
I suspect it's this one. Quote: There’s no rattling or distortion that we could hear in our early look, which is a testament to the HomePod structure’s design. And in case you’re wondering about the frequency range, we asked, and Apple told us that the HomePod’s range is 40Hz to 20kHz.
I hope "no rattling" part is correct. The rest is obviously a bogus claim.
Interesting. The fact that I cannot corroborate that figure (Googling various permutations of HomePod, frequency, response, range, and 40hz) in a single other place makes rather skeptical of that figure.
Why are some of the reviewers comparing the home pod with cheap speakers. Look at speakers which are more expensive than the Home pod and then I may read fully some of the reviews.
Bless, you show your complete lack of understanding and knowledge with your very thoughtful response.
Move along.
I stopped right there. You clearly have nothing of value to add to this discussion.
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Really? It’s literally the first hit:
https://gearpatrol.com/2018/01/26/apple-homepod-review/
I know, I did say that no matter how you phrase it doesn't make it any more correct. Does that not reflect that I already understood you were rephrasing incorrect logic? Yet, you proceeded to attempt to enlighten me to the reality that that you're using different phrases for the same concept. I say: duh.
Incorrect.
You're attempting to sound like you understand, using Ruby URI principles for a situation that's actually not applicable. If the voice query originated in Spotify, then yes, Spotify would take that request and need to access Siri in order for Siri to do the required action. It would be basically saying, "Siri I got this request from this user, do this." And thus, the developer's app would need to access Siri. In that situation, then yes, the developer's app would need a way to query Siri. But that situation is complete fantasy / not reality, and very insecure.
You insist on not realizing that the query is actually originating within Siri, not within the developer app.
Seriously, it's very simple. What gets called first when a person says "hey, Siri"? Is it the developer's app that is called first, and processes the request, or is it Siri that is called first and then processes the request?
It is not the developer app that must take and handle that request, it is Siri that must take the request, and then query the developer's app. So in your incorrect URI analogy, it is actually Siri that would need to pend the query string to the developer's URI, and get a response from the Developer's app, not the other way around. The developer's app is not actually processing the request, it is Siri that takes the request and tells the Developer's app what to do. "Spotify play this." So in the reality of the situation, the developer's app doesn't need access to Siri because it's Siri that is accessing the developer's app, not the other way around.
There is no situation where a developer's app would need to tell Siri what to do.
When Siri gets a request to play a song, Siri doesn't actually play the song, Siri tells another app to play that song. So why would that other app ever need to tell Siri what to do? And if that other app never needs to tell Siri what to do, why would that other app ever need access to Siri?
But that whole URI concept is actually not applicable. The situation is simply that the developer's app needs to be exposed in a manner that Siri understands. This does not require the developer's app to access Siri. Instead it requires that the developer's app has key details exposed, in a predefined manner, that Siri can grab and understand the capabilities of the app. That simply requires Apple to define a way for developers to expose their apps. Which Apple already began and has done, they just haven't done it for all apps / situations.
Every single thing that you've said Siri needs, you're actually incorrect on.
You took on the stance that I didn't read the documentation that I referenced, and proceeded to try to educate me about the limitations. But for every single thing that you tried to explain what would be needed, is incorrect. Since I already read such perspectives as yours, I was able to see the flaw in logic long before you attempted to enlighten me. Is it really that difficult for you to see, that I've already been exposed to your ideas, and thus obviously read more than what you thought I read? lol. Due to actually understanding the situation I can see what is really needed, outside of what someone else is telling me that's needed. Your understanding is limited to the constructs that others define for you. I'm giving you knowledge that I didn't take from someone else.
So here you are trying to educate me on limitations that I already understand, using incorrect logic about things like "streaming control" "API URI" and other things that you think are correct / applicable but actually aren't. So I am addressing what you're saying almost like debating semantics, because what you're actually saying is wrong. The principle of what you're saying isn't wrong, the details are, because you don't actually understand the details. So how are you attempting to enlighten me on details that you don't even truly understand? That's pure arrogance. So I'm taking apart what you're saying. And by addressing the details, I'm reflecting that I actually know / understand the details.
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Seriously man, just check me out on LinkedIn and see that I've been an artificial intelligence programmer for more than a decade. You're not telling me things I don't already know.
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Just make a bigger version of the homepod. The homepod plus or something like that. For about $500.
And a centre /pill shaped one for a soundbar.
In the future i am hoping for a 5 speaker setup, with 2 x homepod plus as front speakers, 1x centre, and 2 reg homepods as surround speakers.
Will make a great surround setup without the hassle of buying a hometheater receiver and a sub for $2400(including apple tv)
I guess in 2020-2022 that could be an option.
And a centre /pill shaped one for a soundbar.
In the future i am hoping for a 5 speaker setup, with 2 x homepod plus as front speakers, 1x centre, and 2 reg homepods as surround speakers.
Will make a great surround setup without the hassle of buying a hometheater receiver and a sub for $2400(including apple tv)
I guess in 2020-2022 that could be an option.
Actually, you said that SiriKit needs "Streaming Control" so I said, no it doesn't because Siri already has it. So I reflected via an exercise that that SiriKit doesn't need "Streaming Control", because every recent version of Siri already has it and doesn't require the hacks you claim it does. Again, it is not the core of what you are saying that is incorrect, it's the details that you do not understand that are incorrect.
So, streaming control already exists, aka the ability to control streams. What is actually missing is the ability to specify developer app details beyond the limited set that currently exists. This is not streaming control, nor is it playback controls, nor is it access to Siri, or any other thing you claim it is. It is developer app insight.
Apple makes this rather easy for me. As they won't release the HomePod here in Norway for a long time, and they have blocked the use of freight forwarders so the only way for me to get it would be to purchase while in the US or UK (I tend to go to London at least once every year so that's a possibility, but the thing weights a lot so can't really bring many without exceeding the luggage limit on the plane) or I have to purchase through Ebay but I would rather wait for the prices to settle so you don't overpay as much as you currently have to do these days.
I'm really interested in the audio quality, and sadly it doesn't seem like there will be any way to listen to this device in Norway at all as we don't have any Apple Store's. It seems like they will be on display in stores even in countries where they won't sell them just to show them off which is great. But sadly, I don't have the luxury of having a Apple Store in my country at all...
I want to listen to the thing, because the most important thing for me is the audio quality and I'm really wondering how good it sounds. I can't really take all these previews all that seriously. They are in the "Apple-hype" and audio is such a personal thing and for all I know Apple might have gone above and beyond to ensure that the demo rooms are perfectly suited for the HomePods in order to make them sound the best and that's not relevant for me, I want something that sounds good in my home and not on the show-floor.
My house is currently filled with Sonos Play:5 Gen.2 and Sonos Play:Bar + Sonos Play:3's in the bedroom for surround, and Sonos Play:Base + Play:Sub + Sonos One's for surround in the living room. In order for the HomePod to really be on my list the sound quality needs to be on-par with the Sonos Play:5 and considering its size I'm doubtful it will be. But speakers are next to impossible to judge based on size, specifications etc and audio is such a personal thing in terms of what you enjoy when it comes to sound signature and whatnot so its impossible to really say anything without listening to it or read reviews from persons you know have a similar taste in sound signature as yourself.
Another thing that really nags me about the HomePod is the sheer lack of detailed information regarding the devices and its feature-set from Apple. I find this rather ridiculous, they are selling a device without documenting all its features and capabilities and how they are suppose to work.
One key area I would like some more information is on the whole multi-room / AirPlay 2 and how its actually supposed to work in practice. I'm currently testing AirPlay 2 using tvOS 11.3 BETA1 and iOS 11.3 BETA1 but its such a early and buggy implementation in BETA1 so its hard to say much about it.
I love the speaker grouping and multi-room functionality directly from iOS and it seems like AirPlay 2 is fully capable of replacing Sonos in terms of speaker grouping and multi-room handling. BUT there is absolutely no information regarding AirPlay 2 itself. In BETA1 it seems like its still a purely endpoint-to-endpoint streaming solution where you are strictly relying on your iOS devices for the streaming so as soon as you have something interfering on your iOS devices the streaming stops.
Its not working like Sonos, Google Cast / ChromeCast Audio or Spotify Connect whereas the streaming protocol itself is able to directly handle the streams themselves where as your iOS devices simply tells the AirPlay 2 unit what to queue and then the unit itself handles everything from there which is a much more preferable way of doing it as you wouldn't be at the mercy of whatever devices started the stream in terms of getting drop-outs, stream handling etc..
When AirPlaying for my iPhone running iOS 11.3 BETA1 using Apple Music to my Apple TV running tvOS 11.3 BETA1 you can see the "Now Playing" if you hold down the play/pause button the Apple TV remote. You get album art and song information, but the only controls you have is play/pause. You cannot that a look at the song queue/playlist so you have no clue on what the next song will be, you can't skip to the next song or skip back to the previous song. You can not access lyrics for the existing song or anything. Its extremely limited and there is no way for other people in the same household to add anything to the queue, all the handling has to be done on the iOS device that started streaming using AirPlay 2 so it behaves pretty much exactly the same as AirPlay 1 expect you have speaker grouping and multi-room handling on iOS and on the Apple TV's but everything else looks the same.
There is no documentation from Apple on whether this is intended or if they are planning on implementing a solution that would be far more superior like Sonos, Spotify Connect and Google Cast / ChromeCast Audio. Which again is a huge problem as this will be a huge part of how valuable the Apple HomePod might be for Sonos customers like myself. As AirPlay 2 will be such a huge part of how speaker grouping, multi-room and music playback/queuing will be done when using the HomePod as our home speakers its rather strange that Apple haven't really said, shown or documented anything regarding AirPlay 2 and how all of this is supposed to work in practice.
I'm really interested in the audio quality, and sadly it doesn't seem like there will be any way to listen to this device in Norway at all as we don't have any Apple Store's. It seems like they will be on display in stores even in countries where they won't sell them just to show them off which is great. But sadly, I don't have the luxury of having a Apple Store in my country at all...
I want to listen to the thing, because the most important thing for me is the audio quality and I'm really wondering how good it sounds. I can't really take all these previews all that seriously. They are in the "Apple-hype" and audio is such a personal thing and for all I know Apple might have gone above and beyond to ensure that the demo rooms are perfectly suited for the HomePods in order to make them sound the best and that's not relevant for me, I want something that sounds good in my home and not on the show-floor.
My house is currently filled with Sonos Play:5 Gen.2 and Sonos Play:Bar + Sonos Play:3's in the bedroom for surround, and Sonos Play:Base + Play:Sub + Sonos One's for surround in the living room. In order for the HomePod to really be on my list the sound quality needs to be on-par with the Sonos Play:5 and considering its size I'm doubtful it will be. But speakers are next to impossible to judge based on size, specifications etc and audio is such a personal thing in terms of what you enjoy when it comes to sound signature and whatnot so its impossible to really say anything without listening to it or read reviews from persons you know have a similar taste in sound signature as yourself.
Another thing that really nags me about the HomePod is the sheer lack of detailed information regarding the devices and its feature-set from Apple. I find this rather ridiculous, they are selling a device without documenting all its features and capabilities and how they are suppose to work.
One key area I would like some more information is on the whole multi-room / AirPlay 2 and how its actually supposed to work in practice. I'm currently testing AirPlay 2 using tvOS 11.3 BETA1 and iOS 11.3 BETA1 but its such a early and buggy implementation in BETA1 so its hard to say much about it.
I love the speaker grouping and multi-room functionality directly from iOS and it seems like AirPlay 2 is fully capable of replacing Sonos in terms of speaker grouping and multi-room handling. BUT there is absolutely no information regarding AirPlay 2 itself. In BETA1 it seems like its still a purely endpoint-to-endpoint streaming solution where you are strictly relying on your iOS devices for the streaming so as soon as you have something interfering on your iOS devices the streaming stops.
Its not working like Sonos, Google Cast / ChromeCast Audio or Spotify Connect whereas the streaming protocol itself is able to directly handle the streams themselves where as your iOS devices simply tells the AirPlay 2 unit what to queue and then the unit itself handles everything from there which is a much more preferable way of doing it as you wouldn't be at the mercy of whatever devices started the stream in terms of getting drop-outs, stream handling etc..
When AirPlaying for my iPhone running iOS 11.3 BETA1 using Apple Music to my Apple TV running tvOS 11.3 BETA1 you can see the "Now Playing" if you hold down the play/pause button the Apple TV remote. You get album art and song information, but the only controls you have is play/pause. You cannot that a look at the song queue/playlist so you have no clue on what the next song will be, you can't skip to the next song or skip back to the previous song. You can not access lyrics for the existing song or anything. Its extremely limited and there is no way for other people in the same household to add anything to the queue, all the handling has to be done on the iOS device that started streaming using AirPlay 2 so it behaves pretty much exactly the same as AirPlay 1 expect you have speaker grouping and multi-room handling on iOS and on the Apple TV's but everything else looks the same.
There is no documentation from Apple on whether this is intended or if they are planning on implementing a solution that would be far more superior like Sonos, Spotify Connect and Google Cast / ChromeCast Audio. Which again is a huge problem as this will be a huge part of how valuable the Apple HomePod might be for Sonos customers like myself. As AirPlay 2 will be such a huge part of how speaker grouping, multi-room and music playback/queuing will be done when using the HomePod as our home speakers its rather strange that Apple haven't really said, shown or documented anything regarding AirPlay 2 and how all of this is supposed to work in practice.
That means nothing. How flat is the frequency response from 40hz-20Khz. That’s the question. There’s probably gonna be a big old midbase hump. Helps people think it’s playing lower than it really is.
Interesting. Considering how entrenched you are in Sonos, it would be interesting to hear how HomePod compares for you. As for you that’s a baseline / standard, listening to Sonos so regularly versus someone just doing a simple comparison review (but regularly listening to other speakers).
Though I am getting a HomePod in any case, I won’t be comparing it to such a setup.
Perhaps I was unclear. I cannot find that figure anywhere, BUT gear patrol. Coincidentally, a site I’ve never heard of.
If it was available in Norway I would grab a HomePod for every room right away and test it and simply return them if they are not up to the task. But sadly it doesn't look like I'll get my hands on the HomePod any time soon and you bet that all reviews and comparison will be really limited and not going all that in-depth at all.
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They keep comparing it to the Sonos One which is rather strange to me. Its a cheaper speaker, at its price-point the HomePod needs to start challenging the Sonos Play:5 and not the Sonos One. Yeah, you could argue that the Sonos Play:5 isn't a "smart speaker" so the Sonos One is the only comparable option from Sonos but still. Then again, the Play:5 is even more expensive compared to the HomePod but you often find it on sale.
The comparison to the Google Home Max is interesting as the Home Max is larger in size so its a good thing if its able to out-preform the Home Max but at the same time I didn't really expect Google to really be all that great in terms of audio quality to be honest.
With AirPlay 2 being a software stack not requiring specific hardware, and both AirPlay 2 and Siri being able to be integrated into third-party speakers like Sonos have already announced they will bring AirPlay 2 to existing speaker some time during 2018 it becomes even more important for the HomePod to deliver astonishing audio quality for its price.
You bet we will have various speakers from B&O, B&W etc coming this year with AirPlay 2 and unless the HomePod is able to be on-par in terms of audio it will have a hard time competing. And their biggest competitors as is, especially at this price point and especially considering how Apple themselves have been pushing Sonos through Apple Stores and recommended Sonos through Apple Music, heck they even referenced Sonos when they first announced Apple Music on-stage they sure need to be able to be on-par and preferably be better than everything Sonos offers from the get-go.
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They keep comparing it to the Sonos One which is rather strange to me. Its a cheaper speaker, at its price-point the HomePod needs to start challenging the Sonos Play:5 and not the Sonos One. Yeah, you could argue that the Sonos Play:5 isn't a "smart speaker" so the Sonos One is the only comparable option from Sonos but still. Then again, the Play:5 is even more expensive compared to the HomePod but you often find it on sale.
The comparison to the Google Home Max is interesting as the Home Max is larger in size so its a good thing if its able to out-preform the Home Max but at the same time I didn't really expect Google to really be all that great in terms of audio quality to be honest.
With AirPlay 2 being a software stack not requiring specific hardware, and both AirPlay 2 and Siri being able to be integrated into third-party speakers like Sonos have already announced they will bring AirPlay 2 to existing speaker some time during 2018 it becomes even more important for the HomePod to deliver astonishing audio quality for its price.
You bet we will have various speakers from B&O, B&W etc coming this year with AirPlay 2 and unless the HomePod is able to be on-par in terms of audio it will have a hard time competing. And their biggest competitors as is, especially at this price point and especially considering how Apple themselves have been pushing Sonos through Apple Stores and recommended Sonos through Apple Music, heck they even referenced Sonos when they first announced Apple Music on-stage they sure need to be able to be on-par and preferably be better than everything Sonos offers from the get-go.
They were the only ones to ask. Hence why it’s the only source. Gear Patrol is a NY magazine that’s been around since 2007 fwiw.
Perhaps, though I'd certainly like to see it confirmed elsewhere before quoting it as gospel, especially with Apple not including it in their own publicly released specs. A response of 40Hz-20KHz, would be quite impressive if it were +/-3dB, but I suspect that those two figures would be mutually exclusive for the HomePod.