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Industrial Design Experts Say HomePod's White Ring Issue 'Shouldn't Be Too Hard to Fix' for Apple

Well, that's it. I am actually going to return the Home Pad tomorrow.
This is the worst product I ever bought from Apple.

"Hey Siri" activates every iPhone and iPad in the house.
The product doesn't quiet down when I have a phone call
It's the dumbest product, but that has already been discussed.
No controls on the phone in "My Home".
No automation routines in "My Home" For example, turn off if I leave home.
No access to Calendars, etc.
One can't use the alarm feature, because if you leave the house on vacation, the alarm will run continuously.
Why apple has an alarm that runs forever is just incredibly stupid. To be fair though, most others have this stupid feature as well.
I could go on and on as to why I don't like this HomePod.

I'm sitting here looking at my Samsung wireless charger charging my iPhone, and thinking "What has happened to Apple."
My $39 Echo dot is much more useful to me.
 
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WilliamG said:
What about iMacs? Do they leave white marks? If not, why not make the HomePod base out of the same rubbers/silicone?
Click to expand...

Because iMac uses a plastic for the contact area of the foot, whereas a speaker needs good grip for acoustic coupling, and also as it's vibrating A LOT and will move around... and the gel-like texture of silicone rubber is VERY grippy.

See...

IMG_2680.jpg

[doublepost=1519100906][/doublepost]
swm said:
good god, please stop this stupidity. put a coaster under it, and stop complaining. this is such a 1st world issue.
Click to expand...


A coaster... oh boy.

And we see the whole world aren't engineers.
 
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citysnaps said:
Why would saying alpha/beta testing make me feel good? Does that make you feel good for some reason, and you're therefore projecting that on me?

So you're not able to even make a guess why the issue didn't surface with HomePod during Apple's testing? And not putting HomePod on wood furniture that was treated with Danish Oil (the reported culprit) is just too much to fathom?
Click to expand...
DNichter said:
No big deal, they'll fix it.
Click to expand...
Will they fix it for all the people that have bought the Homepod?
 
CausticSoda said:
Rarely have I read as much nonsense as I have seen with ring-gate. Loving the line of this Berkowitz chap:

Berkowitz believes the white rings could be a result of Apple's "inexperience" with making stationary speakers, in contrast to the company's familiarity with making mobile products like the iPhone and MacBook.

Talk about would-be experts trying to find something to write to fill a few inches to justify their existence.
Click to expand...

There are no more experts writing online in 2018. There are only marketeers trying to get hits and reads with wikipedia-level knowledge. The real expert-statements land on page 100 of a google search. The bad ones land on front and thus explains why we're all so ignorant & dumb.

As if a table or board would know and feel the difference between a stationery speaker, AppleTV, iMac, MacPro and say - "Hey Apple has not been making speakers before - lets do the rebel and leave a white-ring allergic reaction."

SOON those so-called experts will be complaining over un-even dust distribution. In that if you leave your iPhone sitting on a table for 2 weeks when going on vacation - that when you come home and pick it up no dust has collected on the table where the iPhone was resting while the rest of table had a nice and evenly spatially-correct distributed layer of fine dust.


BTW - if you get a wooden board and do not treat it with some kind of "shiner" you can put stuff on it for years. Then after treating it with one of those "wonder" shine chemicals, which indeed makes it shine like a body builder after wrapping his body in brown milk, anything you put on that board for 12 hours will leave a ring of some sorts...

I know of 3 people in my circle haven gotten a home pod sitting on a wooden "untreated" board having left zero white markings. I also believe that Apple would have noticed this during their own testing...

But who knows -
 
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CausticSoda said:
(…) Berkowitz believes the white rings could be a result of Apple's "inexperience" with making stationary speakers, (…)
Click to expand...

Don't be such hard with Apple, isn't it their current signature to "ring-shape" (at least their buildings : )

but I really wonder, isn't Jonny Ive the best Design guru in industry??
- didn't they use/test wooden furniture all around…

just wonder :-/
 
Dan_Florida said:
Well, that's it. I am actually going to return the Home Pad tomorrow.
This is the worst product I ever bought from Apple.

"Hey Siri" activates every iPhone and iPad in the house.
The product doesn't quiet down when I have a phone call
It's the dumbest product, but that has already been discussed.
No controls on the phone in "My Home".
No automation routines in "My Home" For example, turn off if I leave home.
No access to Calendars, etc.
One can't use the alarm feature, because if you leave the house on vacation, the alarm will run continuously.
Why apple has an alarm that runs forever is just incredibly stupid. To be fair though, most others have this stupid feature as well.
I could go on and on as to why I don't like this HomePod.

I'm sitting here looking at my Samsung wireless charger charging my iPhone, and thinking "What has happened to Apple."
My $39 Echo dot is much more useful to me.
Click to expand...
It really shouldn't be activating any other device the homepod takes over any demands. While I agree calendars is an issue and i'm sure will come with an update soon. The my home feature is one of the main things I have used the homepod for and works well for my lights and things in my home. Sound is the main reason for people to buy this while having some features for your voice. It's not at the level of alexa thats for sure but it's a different need where alexa is a voice assistant first
 
The Game 161 said:
It really shouldn't be activating any other device the homepod takes over any demands. While I agree calendars is an issue and i'm sure will come with an update soon. The my home feature is one of the main things I have used the homepod for and works well for my lights and things in my home. Sound is the main reason for people to buy this while having some features for your voice. It's not at the level of alexa thats for sure but it's a different need where alexa is a voice assistant first
Click to expand...
Why should it take over (as HomePod Siri is the least capable of all) ?
 
Bacillus said:
Why should it take over (as HomePod Siri is the least capable of all) ?
Click to expand...
Because it just does, I'm in a room of a homepod/iphone/ipad/watch and while it does trigger the phone sometimes it's always the homepod that takes over the command
 
The Game 161 said:
Because it just does, I'm in a room of a homepod/iphone/ipad/watch and while it does trigger the phone sometimes it's always the homepod that takes over the command
Click to expand...
I was not questioning your experience, but Apple's insightful Siri dummification on some platforms
 
Instant “fix”: Put a mat under speaker.
Estimated cost: under $5.

Guess I should patent this solution.
 
oyabroch! said:
Because iMac uses a plastic for the contact area of the foot, whereas a speaker needs good grip for acoustic coupling, and also as it's vibrating A LOT and will move around... and the gel-like texture of silicone rubber is VERY grippy.

See...

IMG_2680.jpg

[doublepost=1519100906][/doublepost]


A coaster... oh boy.

And we see the whole world aren't engineers.
Click to expand...

I haven’t cranked my HomePod to max with any heavily bass-y music, but I’d be surprised if the ~5.5lb HomePod moves around with the iMac material underneath.

I’m sure someone will test though with coasters or other materials underneath...
 
CausticSoda said:
Rarely have I read as much nonsense as I have seen with ring-gate. Loving the line of this Berkowitz chap:

Berkowitz believes the white rings could be a result of Apple's "inexperience" with making stationary speakers, in contrast to the company's familiarity with making mobile products like the iPhone and MacBook.

Talk about would-be experts trying to find something to write to fill a few inches to justify their existence.
Click to expand...

Remember the Sonos One has the same issue, the difference is Apple is targeted by the Hate Machine more often than Sonos. That's a factor here as well.

25ghosts said:
There are no more experts writing online in 2018. There are only marketeers trying to get hits and reads with wikipedia-level knowledge. The real expert-statements land on page 100 of a google search. The bad ones land on front and thus explains why we're all so ignorant & dumb.
Click to expand...

^^ This
 
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I had no idea silicone would interact with wood surfaces this way. Apparently Apple didn't either. On the other hand, we've known for quite some time that Apple's QA is lacking. I guess that comes with living in a bubble. I'm consistently amazed at some of the glaring errors that are missed by Apple.

All the Apple execs and engineers must live in glass houses. I wonder if they've ever had to use any of their products in "the real world"? Have any of you high powered Apple people ever had to use a Mac in a Windows-centric enterprise network? You should try it some time. Have any of you owned a "family" iPad, and have to share it with 3 and 5 year old kids, when it doesn't have multi-user support? You should try that some time too.
 
Next fix please
http://media.idownloadblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Landscape-iPhone-X-Scrolling-Left-GIF.gif
[doublepost=1519136413][/doublepost]
mytdave said:
All the Apple execs and engineers must live in glass houses. I wonder if they've ever had to use any of their products in "the real world"?
Click to expand...
Those working @ApplePark seem to conform to your desciption in a considerable manner and they are reminded of glass's specifics every moment with their heads slamming the doors and walls and phones shattering around.
And then still decide for glass as the favorite backside material for a mobile phone...it's just preposterous...or someone may have banged his head just too hard....
 
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mytdave said:
I had no idea silicone would interact with wood surfaces this way. Apparently Apple didn't either. On the other hand, we've known for quite some time that Apple's QA is lacking. I guess that comes with living in a bubble. I'm consistently amazed at some of the glaring errors that are missed by Apple.
Click to expand...
Such as: “you’re holding it wrong?”
 
Bacillus said:
Next fix please
http://media.idownloadblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Landscape-iPhone-X-Scrolling-Left-GIF.gif
[doublepost=1519136413][/doublepost]
Those working @ApplePark seem to conform to your desciption in a considerable manner and they are reminded of glass's specifics every moment with their heads slamming the doors and walls and phones shattering around.
And then still decide for glass as the favorite backside material for a mobile phone...it's just preposterous...or someone may have banged his head just too hard....
Click to expand...
I seem to remember a small thing called the iPhone 4....

Maybe they should walk into hard steel doors. The employees would have to go on medical leave due to injuries and be replaced with those who want to use steel as a casing...
 
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If I had to take a stab at this white ring discussion, my guess is it's unintentional marketing. Perhaps they didn't mean to do it, but...
1) with us talking about it, it creates buzz.
2) It creates further buzz as you see it on a table surface, and are reminded of Apple. After all, who else has a white ring ;)
 
cfurlin said:
Remember the Sonos One has the same issue, the difference is Apple is targeted by the Hate Machine more often than Sonos. That's a factor here as well.



^^ This
Click to expand...
You really think that Apple is and should be comparable to Sonos? I thought they were better than that, but whatevs.
 
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