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Wait, you don’t think the original HomePod had enough bass? See…that’s the thing, is you don’t want such a small unit like the HomePod to have too much bass, because that overrides the acoustics from the treble to hear other audible notes. I don’t know about you, but I think the HomePod has more than enough bass that creates quite the boom, and in a living room setting where I have vaulted ceilings.

I actually have reduce bass enabled because I think the default sound signature is too bass heavy, but to each its own.
 
Am I really way off? What was the HomePod’s direct competition? You might say Sonos, but I think it was still Echo and Google. After all, Siri was a big aspect of Apple’s marketing of the HomePod. Apple themselves obviously thought they were selling a high quality speaker AND home assistant.

But any way you look at it, the HomePod was problematic product that never found an audience for the price. Audiophiles would rather have a dedicated stereo system for their audio needs. Average consumers want a decent sounding smart speaker. The HomePod was priced too high for average consumers and wasn‘t good enough quality for audiophiles. Sure, it might have had higher quality audio than Echo and Google, but it didn’t sell like those other speakers, and was a failure. This is why I suggest a lower price point, even if they need to sacrifice some audio quality to get it there.
Many items apple has are priced way above what an “average” consumer would pay, such as a monitor stand for $999 or a phone for $1500. And while some MR posters bashed the “smart” function of the HomePod, I found it works for me just fine.

That the price of used HomePods are quite nice, shows there is demand for the product, maybe not the demand apple wanted or apple decided at the last minute HomePod was a good experiment into sound engineering and now they are working on another product.

Potential buyers of the HomePod minus the number of audiophiles still are a massive amount of potential consumers.
 
Im not buying simply because when you use it, ie talk to it, it will trigger my watch phone, and possibly ipad. A big design oversight.
 
Detachable power cable, Bluetooth audio connectivity and 3.5mm input should cost… maybe one or two dollars per unit?

Way less than the hovering functionality.

Point being: they could have greatly increased the product‘s appeal to „casual“ buyers (rather than just diehard Apple ecosystem evangelists) for free.
But they couldn‘t get over themselves and their greed for service revenue (Apple Music subscription $$$) they thought they needed to push.

Yes, Bluetooth, and a 3.5mm would also feel more familiar to those in not in the Apple ecosystem.
But ultimately, I really think it comes down to pricing. The last time around, they launched a good but expensive speaker when the competition already had decent ones for half the price.

This time, give us value over innovation. Make up your margins on services. Bundle it with either or Apple TV/ Music free for the first year. They’ll likely make money back with owners continuing their subscription.
 


Apple is working on an updated version of the HomePod that could come in the fourth quarter of 2022 or the first quarter of 2023, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

HomePodandMini-feature-green.jpg

Kuo says that there "may not be much innovation in hardware design" for the new HomePod, and there is no word on what size the device will be and if it will be a HomePod mini successor or a larger speaker.


Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously said that Apple is considering a new version of the HomePod that would be sized between the original HomePod and the HomePod mini, and it is possible that this is the speaker that Kuo is talking about.

Such a speaker would perhaps replace the now-discontinued HomePod, and it would be more expensive than the HomePod mini but less expensive than the larger HomePod.

Gurman also believes that Apple is working on speakers that are equipped with screens and cameras to compete with devices like the Google Nest Hub and Amazon Echo Show, but those devices are not expected to be launching in the near future. In addition, Apple is exploring a device that is an iPad connected to a HomePod via a robotic arm so that the camera can follow a user around the room, and it is testing versions of the Apple TV that are combined with a HomePod.

Article Link: Kuo: Apple to Release New HomePod in Late 2022 or Early 2023
HomePods need to be the Apple equivalent of the Kef LS50 Wireless system.

Obviously a $2000+ system like the Kef isn’t in the cards. But connectivity and “any source works” ability is key to its success, as well as total Apple ecosystem integration.

It also needs the ability to stream high res directly from a Wi-Fi source, and not rely on dumbed down Airplay.

The Kef is an extremely high standard to aim for. I don’t expect Apple to hit it, but that is the direction they should be heading in.
 
Love my two original pair. Gonna need more info on this, Kuo. The sound bar or combo with a tv, perhaps?
This is what I think the original purpose behind the HomePod should have been. It's price wouldn't have been out of line for a premium tv soundbar type of device.
 
Im not buying simply because when you use it, ie talk to it, it will trigger my watch phone, and possibly ipad. A big design oversight.
You have to disable ”hey, Siri” on most of your devices to allow this to work or the wrong device is likely to try to respond. Then you hold the buttons on those other devices when you want to trigger Siri. I wish that they would allow us to name our devices or allow alternate trigger phrases like “Hey, HomePod” so that we could target our requests.
 
You have to disable ”hey, Siri” on most of your devices to allow this to work or the wrong device is likely to try to respond. Then you hold the buttons on those other devices when you want to trigger Siri. I wish that they would allow us to name our devices or allow alternate trigger phrases like “Hey, HomePod” so that we could target our requests.
Hey, homepod.. exactly! Well said.
 
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Unless they
1) Lower the price
2) Add user detachable power cable
3) Allow bluetooth connectivity from non-Apple devices
4) Add 3.5mm input
Why even bother?
Agreed. They engineered the crap out of the thing and then limited input to control the experience.

Each Apple product has the potential to be someone’s first Apple product, then additional devices enable additional features through synergy. They took that ability away from the HomePod by requiring an Apple device to connect to it. Apple gets in its own way sometimes, I swear.

(I am aware that Apple Watch is the same way but it actually
needed an iPhone to fully function initially. Cellular watches *could* be fully self-reliant but things like updates and Camera viewfinder functionality would be difficult.)
 


Apple is working on an updated version of the HomePod that could come in the fourth quarter of 2022 or the first quarter of 2023, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

HomePodandMini-feature-green.jpg

Kuo says that there "may not be much innovation in hardware design" for the new HomePod, and there is no word on what size the device will be and if it will be a HomePod mini successor or a larger speaker.


Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously said that Apple is considering a new version of the HomePod that would be sized between the original HomePod and the HomePod mini, and it is possible that this is the speaker that Kuo is talking about.

Such a speaker would perhaps replace the now-discontinued HomePod, and it would be more expensive than the HomePod mini but less expensive than the larger HomePod.

Gurman also believes that Apple is working on speakers that are equipped with screens and cameras to compete with devices like the Google Nest Hub and Amazon Echo Show, but those devices are not expected to be launching in the near future. In addition, Apple is exploring a device that is an iPad connected to a HomePod via a robotic arm so that the camera can follow a user around the room, and it is testing versions of the Apple TV that are combined with a HomePod.

Article Link: Kuo: Apple to Release New HomePod in Late 2022 or Early 2023
I would be very happy if Apple would release a sonos arc:ish HomePod soundbar with a built in Apple TV
 
Then it's starting point should be compared to Sony's HT-A9 and nothing less.
I have an LG soundbar with subwoofer that’s actually quite nice. Got it for less than $200. It doesn’t have ‘smarts’ but I don’t care. I don’t need my soundbar to do anything for me other than produce great sound.
 
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For the $350+ speaker market, a good number are audiophiles and would prefer to send lossless files to the device directly.

You don't make something praised for its sound quality, then dictate to people that they can't leverage it fully, and then expect to have great success.
I just dont think of these things as for audiophiles. A proper home theater system sure. But either way, who wants wired anything these days? just let it do lossless airplay?‍♂️
 
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Apple is working on an updated version of the HomePod that could come in the fourth quarter of 2022 or the first quarter of 2023, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

HomePodandMini-feature-green.jpg

Kuo says that there "may not be much innovation in hardware design" for the new HomePod, and there is no word on what size the device will be and if it will be a HomePod mini successor or a larger speaker.


Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously said that Apple is considering a new version of the HomePod that would be sized between the original HomePod and the HomePod mini, and it is possible that this is the speaker that Kuo is talking about.

Such a speaker would perhaps replace the now-discontinued HomePod, and it would be more expensive than the HomePod mini but less expensive than the larger HomePod.

Gurman also believes that Apple is working on speakers that are equipped with screens and cameras to compete with devices like the Google Nest Hub and Amazon Echo Show, but those devices are not expected to be launching in the near future. In addition, Apple is exploring a device that is an iPad connected to a HomePod via a robotic arm so that the camera can follow a user around the room, and it is testing versions of the Apple TV that are combined with a HomePod.

Article Link: Kuo: Apple to Release New HomePod in Late 2022 or Early 2023
Here in the Philippines we cannot even get the Mini unless we order it from Hong Kong
 
I have an LG soundbar with subwoofer that’s actually quite nice. Got it for less than $200. It doesn’t have ‘smarts’ but I don’t care. I don’t need my soundbar to do anything for me other than produce great sound.
What may be great sound to you might be heard as okay to someone else. Since Apple can't make just one of anything, how about having two versions of a soundbar? I really don't think Apple will get into the soundbar business.
 
My HomePod mini is a pile of junk... sounds decent (when it works). Hate that I am locked into the apple ecosystem just to pay sounds. Why does it require wifi when its a usb-c, why not plug n play. HATE IT!
 
Honestly, I do not give a crap about Siri but I get a ton of use out of my original HomePod and Mini. People got all hung up about Siri and slept on the fact that the HomePod is a very very good AirPlay speaker and worth it for that alone.

But it isn't a very good airplay speaker. For a large portion of us it has a 2 year lifespan before it starts to pop every several minutes.

Airplay also is SLLOOOOOOWWWWWWW with multiple speakers.

So if we ignore SIRI, its still rubbish
 
No, this isn't how Apple marketed the original HomePod. You had to go about five deep in their list of features before you even hit Siri integration.
We all know they didn't market it as a Siri speaker because Siri is junk and they know it is. Its just a weak way to excuse themselves from releasing a rubbish smart speaker.

And even if you want to rule Siri out of the equation, then what's your excuse for it popping every several minutes after a year or twos use. Or the slow Airplay functionality... sometimes ive waited 40 odd seconds for music to come out of my speakers.

And then when pressing skip or whatever on my phone, it can take 10 seconds to register.
 
My HomePod mini is the worst Apple product I've ever owned. I tried to use it as a speaker for my Mac and the delay/buffering when playing a video makes it unusable. I have a lot of HomeKit devices in the home and it's a 50/50 chance if HomePod Siri says it can't communicate with a device but if I goto my Home app on my phone it works perfectly fine. If you do hit the 50% of the time HomePod Siri can communicate with the device, you have another 50/50 chance on Siri saying she doesn't know who is speaking and won't turn the light on. Again using Home app works or.... using Siri on my iPhone and/or Watch works perfect every time. I don't use Apple Music so those features are pretty much worthless to me. So the only thing my HomePod mini is useful for is an internet gateway for my phone to control my HomeKit devices while I'm out of the house. .5 out of 5 stars.
 
My HomePod mini is the worst Apple product I've ever owned. I tried to use it as a speaker for my Mac and the delay/buffering when playing a video makes it unusable. I have a lot of HomeKit devices in the home and it's a 50/50 chance if HomePod Siri says it can't communicate with a device but if I goto my Home app on my phone it works perfectly fine. If you do hit the 50% of the time HomePod Siri can communicate with the device, you have another 50/50 chance on Siri saying she doesn't know who is speaking and won't turn the light on. Again using Home app works or.... using Siri on my iPhone and/or Watch works perfect every time. I don't use Apple Music so those features are pretty much worthless to me. So the only thing my HomePod mini is useful for is an internet gateway for my phone to control my HomeKit devices while I'm out of the house. .5 out of 5 stars.
Yep, Homepod keeps dropping music when streamed from the Music app on my Mac. A Raspberry Pi with an opensource Airplay client is reliable so it's really pathetic how much of a problem the thing has simply playing music.

I don't use Siri, I don't use Home automation, just play music from my Mac in a different room. It's apparently too much to ask from a speaker.
 
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