Should we give this one a try on the market before ruling it out? I'm with you on the smart part - never going to ask my speakers what the weather is like, but the ability to start and change music might be pretty cool
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Samsung Aiming to Release Smart Speaker to Compete With HomePod in First Half of 2018
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Should we give this one a try on the market before ruling it out? I'm with you on the smart part - never going to ask my speakers what the weather is like, but the ability to start and change music might be pretty cool
This speaker by samsung is too late to market, just like the Siri speaker .
Battle will be between echo and google voice.
The only way apple can save it and make it a viable option for the apple eco users, is to improve Siri and put better microphones in the iphones/watches/iPads and a smart system for measuring which device is closest to the user, so not all the devices go in a frenzy when i say he Siri. Perhaps even a “mesh” system, so it can gather the sound input from all your other idevices with the same Apple ID, and letting Siri decide from which device it outputs feedback/requests by measuring your position.
The other way is to be able to build a good 5.1 setup with just HomePods, So give us a an apple center speaker (with an Apple TV and Kinect like device built in and inputs for other sources) and a dedicated apple subwoofer, and they can take my money.
Battle will be between echo and google voice.
The only way apple can save it and make it a viable option for the apple eco users, is to improve Siri and put better microphones in the iphones/watches/iPads and a smart system for measuring which device is closest to the user, so not all the devices go in a frenzy when i say he Siri. Perhaps even a “mesh” system, so it can gather the sound input from all your other idevices with the same Apple ID, and letting Siri decide from which device it outputs feedback/requests by measuring your position.
The other way is to be able to build a good 5.1 setup with just HomePods, So give us a an apple center speaker (with an Apple TV and Kinect like device built in and inputs for other sources) and a dedicated apple subwoofer, and they can take my money.
Spotify still has no presence on AppleTV or Watch. I think they want to make this competition with Apple personal, and would rather support competitor devices.
Which is their right, of course, but it does mean that those who own multiple Apple products are basically forced to use Apple Music. I won't even consider a music streaming service which I can't play directly from my AppleTV.
Why? How does it affect you in any way at all? Don’t like the product, don’t buy it. I have an echo and Google Home. Both are excellent.
I know the audio is supposed to be good, but if Siri isn't improved then its a half baked feature.
in short: no need for Siri integration.
Or, I'm suspecting - is this a marketing ploy - Apple know that Siri lacks when compared to others, so they demote the Siri feature in favour of audio?
in short: no need for Siri integration.
Or, I'm suspecting - is this a marketing ploy - Apple know that Siri lacks when compared to others, so they demote the Siri feature in favour of audio?
THIS IS EXACTLY WHY APPLE SHOULD HAVE NEVER ANNOUNCED THE HOMEPOD UNTIL IT WAS READY TO SHIP ON THE DAY OF ANNOUNCEMENT.
HOW COULD APPLE HAVE BEEN SO STUPID ON THIS TO ANNOUNCE AND NOT DELIVER? STRATEGICALLY DUMB AS F.
AND YES, MY DISAPPOINTMENT REQUIRES ALL CAPS FOR THIS ONE.
HOW COULD APPLE HAVE BEEN SO STUPID ON THIS TO ANNOUNCE AND NOT DELIVER? STRATEGICALLY DUMB AS F.
AND YES, MY DISAPPOINTMENT REQUIRES ALL CAPS FOR THIS ONE.
Siri will be better on the HomePod than on any other device released so far because the microphone will be better on the HomePod. So I don't think the AI feature will be better on any other device. I just think the audio difference won't be significant. And it definitely won't be an upgrade to have one HomePod in a room versus two of the competitors speakers.
I think Apple has really screwed this one up. Too late and too expensive. I can put Alexa in six rooms of my house, use either the improved Echo speakers or hook it up to existing speakers, and pay less than buying one HomePod.
Don’t forget the Pro also.In other news, Samsung will be releasing a Mac Mini in February.
[doublepost=1513342817][/doublepost]
It’s not limited to just music. It’s for your smart home as well.
What about when you are 80 ?
Sitting in the chair most of the day.
Little feeling in your fingers any more, having a nurse pop in 4 times a day to wipe you bum and change your colostomy bag.
Computing devices by then, you can't understand as your brains not as it once was, and anyway, you don't have the fine control of your hands any more.
THEN you may think being able to "Ask" a device questions like this and getting answers is THE best thing ever, and you would be lost without it.
[doublepost=1513343585][/doublepost]
I think we are all fully aware of the reason they did this.
Apple has seen the market, after doing zero in it for so long and realized they are so far behind and can offer nothing, whilst other companies totally corner the market.
So they desperately had to say something, to at least hope and make some Apple Fans wait and not get too integrated by the devices already out there.
IMHO, Apple really need to make a small cheap version as well, so you can have an Apple product in many rooms, and just have one expensive Home Pod in perhaps one room
Exactly!
I've bought into the Amazon Echo devices b/c for my use case they provide good value at the price point.
However, Apple shooting for a high-end sound system changes the game. I've already invested in such a system and neither need nor want to pay for another. My existing system will play sound from MANY sources, not just streaming. The Apple HomePod will ONLY stream. Because of that it's a very expensive and equally limited device. Now... if Apple would add a microphone to the TV they could have a killer competitor... at least for the living room. Add a camera for FaceTime and it would be a no-brainer purchase for those of us in the Apple ecosystem.
Honest question -- what other reason is there? Plenty of less expensive per unit, great sounding, "dumb" multi-room speaker systems have been on the market for years. HomePod is not a game changer in that regard. Seems to me Siri IS the secret sauce here. I mean that would be its only appeal to me -- though right now it's not enough.
HomePods lack of different sized units is it's Achilles heel, though presumably Apple will gradually add to the line with smaller, less expensive models. Once their is an appropriate HomePod speaker for every major room in the house I'm very interested, but only because of Siri integration.
Do you really think these “smart” speakers are in the same league as a $10,000 sound system? That’s like the people who think a cell phone camera is equivalent to full frame Nikon with several lenses.
Does anyone even use Apple's HomePod? Apple's too all over the place with supporting 3rd party products for me to consider implementing their home automation solution.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
But there's at least part of the point. Lots of people- including lots of people that frequent this site with and without iPhones- ALREADY buy these things. I've been in otherwise overwhelmingly Apple households with Amazon Alexa speakers. People like these to do what these do, whether they do or do not have an iPhone and/or whether the available iPhone or iPhones are home or not.
Look at our own arguments for the Watch. The phone can do just about everything the Watch can do. Generally one needs the phone with them to get full use out of the Watch. But we readily rationalize the Watch anyway. This is very much the same. Whether we have an iPhone or not... or whether it is at home or not, some people like the functionality that comes from this type of product... including again, plenty of people that frequent this site that are otherwise Apple everything.
As to the point about buying a good sound system, I fully agree. And if one does do that... or already has a great sound system... a product like the Amazon Echo Dot or Spot brings the brains and thus functionality of these to the best speakers in the house (very likely far superior to whatever Apple will build into this HomePod or Samsung will build into their clone).
Frankly, at this point, I think Apple can take a poop in a box and sell enough of that product(?) to be able to claim success. So I'm confident Apple's cut of this kind of product will be easily spun as a success. I've already seen enough posts about it around here where people are already touting it as the best speaker available (one guy against speakers that he said cost $40K) even if none of us have actually heard them
. Once it's actually out, people are going to be swearing that their music has never sounded so good and all the usual pile of spin vs. all competing products that is used to imply/argue Apple is best.Beyond that... and beyond here: many people seem to LOVE these things... including passionately Apple people that will otherwise evangelize against anything not made by Apple where Apple has something similar to offer. Apple takes the stage, spins how this poop is the best poop available and cash registers will ring. Those who need to hate products that are not branded Apple will now have an alternative to what they might already have in their homes (which now they can launch the internal process of turning on it and moving themselves to replace perfectly good products with Apple's version of the same).
Besides, what was Apple's last flop? Is
TV a flop? Watch? AirPods? Beats (post acquisition)? headphone jack-less iPhones? single port Macs? (shift to) phablet-sized phones? notched-screen iPhones? TouchID-deprecated phones? Again, if Apple would poop in a box, a crowd would buy... and then probably jump on sites like this extolling the incredible value of this poop as the very best poop in the world. I believe Apple could capture air into tanks and a number of this crowd might suffocate by subsequently refusing to breathe that substandard, non-Apple (superior) air.While I personally feel zero enthusiasm for this particular product, I have little doubt that Apple will sell plenty of these... just as they could sell poop or air in an Apple-branded box.
Last edited:
What a baseless comment. Products are going the way of home automation, whether you like it or not. Why would Samsung just sit around and let that business be taken by others? Millions of people have Samsung phones.
I'm happy to have speakers that aren't smart.... that's why I'll stick with my multi-zone Sonos setup.
Over-processed sound, high price tag, poor Siri performance, production delays and another IoT device waiting to provide an entry point for talented hackers when they forget to protect root access.
There’s a constant rolling sound coming from the vicinity of SJ’s grave.
There’s a constant rolling sound coming from the vicinity of SJ’s grave.
This. Very much this.
I have a fairly high-end surround sound system with an Arcam Solo 5.1 Movie taking an audio feed from my TV which in turn is supplied by aerial, Virgin cable and Apple TV. The speakers are KEF eggs for the centre and rear surround system and I use my B&W floor standers for music and for front surround L/R speakers plus a Cambridge Audio subwoofer. So, I have six speakers - three of which are roughly the same size as the HomePod, the sub which is a good bit larger, and two comparatively huge floor-standers. All of which require cables
If, and it's a huge if, the HomePod sounds even remotely as good as the hype, then I could, in theory, be persuaded to sell the KEFs and B&Ws and replace with HomePods. The real benefit to me would be cable-freedom (yes, I know power is required, but wall sockets abound). Mind you until/unless Apple TV completely replaces my cable box or can accept audio input from my TV via HDMI and a frequency variable RCA or optical line out for the sub, than I fail to see how I can replace my current set-up with just HomePods.
If Apple really want Apple TV/HomePods/Siri/Home to be at the heart of home A/V systems they need to recognise that, somehow, they have to get external signals into Apple TV and then out over WiFi to a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker set provided by multiple synchronised HomePods and a HomePod subwoofer. A big ask.
Realistically HomePod, as is, is a "smart" replacement for upscale iPhone/iPod/Airplay speakers like B&W's Zeppelin, A5s and A7s (now discontinued, I think) with the bonus that you can have a stereo pair with a much wider separation field and, of course, Siri (which I personally think is a bonus, although many others don't
). HomePod genuinely sounds great for that, and I'd certainly consider HomePod stereo set for say my bedroom or even a single one on a kitchen. It'll take quite a bit of work and new product specs from Apple to enable them to convince me they're able to compete effectively against high-end A/V receiver/speaker sets.Frankly, Apple could buy Sonos, maybe re-work the HW a bit, and include HomePod's OS and then we'd be talking
I just bought a new Echo for my girl for Christmas, we'll see how it goes. I didn't think I'd have much use for it, but I think I'd like it for buying groceries and other household items from Amazon. She also uses Spotify so we'll give it a look.
No, there haven't. And A LOT of people have been scrutinizing those speakers and their network traffic,and there has not been one single evidence yet that those devices are "spy boxes" or "bugs" either. The simple truth is that no company could afford such a scandal.
However, it is a known fact that regular TELEPHONES and also even pre-smartphone mobile phones were used as bugs by intelligence services from various countries. Your phone is a whole less trustworthy than all smart speakers on this planet combined. The moment your mobile phone is switched on, its position can also relatively easily be triangulated (without GPS) so all of your movements can be tracked. And, again -- this could be done already long before there were smartphones.
The other simple truth is that only the American government was stupid enough to put spyware and backdoors into American network equipment (namely Cisco and Juniper devices) -- the Chinese, for example, knew that nobody would trust their factories any more if they would do something similar.
I think Samsung and Apple are both way too late to the party. The Google home and Alexa are already well established and in homes. The Homepod would have to do something extraordinary in order for me to consider selling off my 2 google home's and switching.