Not sure I see the relevance here. We were discussing smart speakers you can compare home kit with smartthings or the other smart home bridges not with the Amazon or Google speakers.
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Samsung Aiming to Release Smart Speaker to Compete With HomePod in First Half of 2018
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Your entire post claimed Amazon was better because it supported more smarthome devices, what?
HomePod's smarthome interfaces are handled by HomeKit. HomeKit is not a bridge or physical device like SmartThings, it is software that is part of Apple's OSes.
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For what it's worth Apple doesn't need to vet hobbyist projects to work with HomeKit any more, specifically because that strategy failed. And they have severely loosened MFi certification requirements. Nobody was willing to jump through Apple's hoops so consumers were suffering and Apple was losing smart home market share.
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I'm amazed that some people still don't "get it" when it comes to real world use.
For something like this you really want mass adoption.
You want "the device" to work with as many other devices and services as it possibly can, and to be as cheap as possible to get into hundreds of millions of "Normal" households.
It's not a high end cutting edge tech product, it's a device that performs functions asked of it.
Sure there will be room for more specialized and more expensive versions, but not mass market.
Phones were very different as it was all about the screen/shape/size and functionality.
With items like the Echo, the size is not important, and it's perfectly small enough.
Again with the shape.
Cost wise, you can't beat a Echo dot of Google mini.
So all you are left with is the AI, which is not powered by the devices, so that's not much of an avenue.
And getting it to work with 3rd party items.
Sound quality, well indeed, there is good enough for speech, and then there is the music.
Again, good enough for music in the room will keep many happy.
You can plug these current items into proper music systems.
Google Home Max is googles answer
Not seen Amazons answer to a high end model yet, and I'd assume at one point they may bring out a model, after the Max version of the google home and Apple's model appears.
Like Google, 3 versions seem perfect.
1 = super cheap to get mass adoption = buying many for around the house.
2 = standard model for those who want that little better, perhaps just buying 1 or 2 off.
3: = upper end model for those who want something stand alone to really fill the room/downstairs with much stronger music.
Apple will fail at the 1st version as they don't go THAT market.
For something like this you really want mass adoption.
You want "the device" to work with as many other devices and services as it possibly can, and to be as cheap as possible to get into hundreds of millions of "Normal" households.
It's not a high end cutting edge tech product, it's a device that performs functions asked of it.
Sure there will be room for more specialized and more expensive versions, but not mass market.
Phones were very different as it was all about the screen/shape/size and functionality.
With items like the Echo, the size is not important, and it's perfectly small enough.
Again with the shape.
Cost wise, you can't beat a Echo dot of Google mini.
So all you are left with is the AI, which is not powered by the devices, so that's not much of an avenue.
And getting it to work with 3rd party items.
Sound quality, well indeed, there is good enough for speech, and then there is the music.
Again, good enough for music in the room will keep many happy.
You can plug these current items into proper music systems.
Google Home Max is googles answer
Not seen Amazons answer to a high end model yet, and I'd assume at one point they may bring out a model, after the Max version of the google home and Apple's model appears.
Like Google, 3 versions seem perfect.
1 = super cheap to get mass adoption = buying many for around the house.
2 = standard model for those who want that little better, perhaps just buying 1 or 2 off.
3: = upper end model for those who want something stand alone to really fill the room/downstairs with much stronger music.
Apple will fail at the 1st version as they don't go THAT market.
Won’t be getting one of these unless they open up the streaming services that it will work with...
So, probably won’t be getting one of these.
So, probably won’t be getting one of these.
I really really really wish Siri would have the voice of Google.. Apple has all this money and the AI still sounds like crap part of the reason why I got a home mini only thing I miss is I can't play my Apple music playlist.
Actually, "spy speaker" fad, and I can't wait either.
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You hit the nail on the head. It is a devil's bargain to give up privacy in order to have a more effective Siri. I have had Siri turned off for most of the last two years as the whole idea of talking to a computer seems pointless other than the notable exception of hands free phone calls while driving.
Apple will step it up at some point though. Siri is still crap, but it's less crappy on iOS 11.
Have you been able to compare sound quality between the Google max and the Sonos play 5?
Everyone is bashing Siri, but folks, I‘ve got an Amazon Echo recently and man, Alexa is crap. At least in Germany.
No it works with both US and U.K. English.
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Lol I think Bixby did not like my British accent.
It worked during the initial set up but then kept ingnoring me completely or saying it didn’t know what I’d said. Probably still needs time. The concept is great though because it potentially can do things that other AI’s don’t.
Anyhow it’s still miles better than S voice.
[doublepost=1513503910][/doublepost]As for the HomePod. It depends on how Apple sell it and how it integrates with my other Apple devices. If it’s just a stand alone device that plays Apple Music with a hint of Siri thrown in then I probably won’t get it but if it can say control my Apple TV I’d get it.
A stationary mic array will always pic up voice commands more accurately than an arbitrarily positioned smartphone receiver. That's half the reason the Alexa understands users more reliably than Siri.
This!!
I've just kitted out my home with 2 Google Homes, 2 Google Minis and a ChromeCast, all for around £280 - less than the cost of the HomePod when it is released.
The idea behind these devices, for me at least, is to have them spread across your home, Google and Amazon offerings are priced in such a way that this is possible.
I have the Home in the 2 biggest rooms downstairs and it's perfectly suitable for listening to music / radio - okay it's not a £10,000 audio system but that's not what we need. The Minis are perfect for other smaller rooms.
My wife especially loves the fact she can be pottering around the kitchen and just randomly ask Google to add items to her shopping list.
Being new to this we're still learning what we can do with it but so far it's a lot of fun.
Add Philips Hue ( I put the bulbs in lamps we rarely use to make them more accessible) and WeMo Smartplugs (for the Christmas tree and coffee pot (from upstairs I can turn the coffee onm))to the mix and watch your universe expand.
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I've recently added Hue bulbs to my Google Home setup, and I'm sure my friends have increased my nerd-level up to maximum!
For around than the selling price of a single HomePod, I have a Google Home in the living Room, a Home Mini in each of the Kitchen, Main Bedroom, and Stairs, a Chromecast Ultra hooked to the main TV, a Chromecast on the bedroom TV, and two Chromecast Audios (one in the living room connected to my Onkyo system, one in the bedroom attached to a pair of powered speakers). That's a whole house decked out with good home automation and audio/visual flexibility for the price of a single "HomePod".
With the ability to add up to 25k(I think?) tracks of your own music free to Google Music from iTunes through a free automatic upload tool, add in a decent streaming/radio service, streaming through any compatible PC/iMac/Mobile Device/web browser/Home Device etc. for the same price as Apple music, you have a competitor that has shown that there's a different way than the Apple iOS/iTunes/macOS "theology". For the price of an alleged single premium audio product, I have a system that can stream more-than-acceptable music around my house including on a 5.1 system in the living room; allow me to say "Hey Google, play the next episode of The Punisher on the Living Room TV" & it will turn on the TV, select Netflix & stream the next unwatched episode of The Punisher; give good control over all my smart lighting from *anywhere* that is within audible distance of the four Home devices. I can add items to my latest Tesco's delivery through a simple IFTTT applet. The thing that will get home automation & the like more traction with the non-geeks amongst the population is idea that it will work with *anything* without having to be cobbled together/programmed. Your average man in the clapham omnibus wants something he can easily add to his house irrespective of whether he needs an iPhone/iMac/PC/Android device. Apple is definitely coming to this party *way* too late and offering a solution that is offering a gimped user experience.
I'm sure there are DIY projects that can accomplish that. All you need is some toilet paper and a stick of dynamite
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Is plastic on a phone that offensive that you're to pay a premium just to avoid it? I take it you don't use protective cases? Or only ones that are metal? Metal deforms, and blocks cell signal, so I never understood the fascination that phones absolutely should NOT be plastic.
Usually don't use a case on my phones and a plastic phone will look destroyed pretty quick unless I put effort into care for it. Obviously them being plastic is not the biggest issue. They skin a perfectly good OS and fill it with bloat. They had a whole line of phones they rushed out that were exploding. Their washers were exploding around the same time. They aren't exactly the cheaper alternative to an iphone, the S8 was $850. I rather not go on, this tends to be a toxic subject. In the end it's my personal choice what I go with and what suits me, as it is your choice.I'm sure there are DIY projects that can accomplish that. All you need is some toilet paper and a stick of dynamite
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Is plastic on a phone that offensive that you're to pay a premium just to avoid it? I take it you don't use protective cases? Or only ones that are metal? Metal deforms, and blocks cell signal, so I never understood the fascination that phones absolutely should NOT be plastic.
No other company is in a better position to integrate all of smart home devices than Samsung. No one, not even Apple.
The purpose of a smart home speaker is to be the gateway for all of your connected smart home devices to talk with one another. Samsung has the Smart Things ecosystem with 160+ devices already working with its hub. They make all of the home appliances with (soon) wifi and internet connectivity to be enabled. And they have Bixby, their AI agent to glue them all together. This is the holy trinity of IoT that many companies are envious (Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, etc.)
This latest move by Samsung is just another step in their strategy to be the hub of the smart home that converges all of their business divisions into one umbrella (something that the company hasn't done before). And its just not the home that we are talking about. Smart cars is another venture that they are working on with its recent acquisition of Harman Kardon.
The purpose of a smart home speaker is to be the gateway for all of your connected smart home devices to talk with one another. Samsung has the Smart Things ecosystem with 160+ devices already working with its hub. They make all of the home appliances with (soon) wifi and internet connectivity to be enabled. And they have Bixby, their AI agent to glue them all together. This is the holy trinity of IoT that many companies are envious (Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, etc.)
This latest move by Samsung is just another step in their strategy to be the hub of the smart home that converges all of their business divisions into one umbrella (something that the company hasn't done before). And its just not the home that we are talking about. Smart cars is another venture that they are working on with its recent acquisition of Harman Kardon.
I'm very new to all this smart stuff. I have it with my heating now but how does it work with bulbs etc? do you just need to have bulbs that fit the smart apps e.t.c?
As I would like to get one for my outside light so when I come home from night shifts the light is on e.t.c.
The Hue starter kit has a hub you must put into your network (small box that controls all the lights). After that, you can add over 50 bulbs. The colored bulbs are fun to play with.
As Rick has said, you can start off small, with a starter kit that has the Hue bridge (which connects to a spare ethernet port on your router). Then put the smart bulb in place of a normal one. Launch the Hue app on your phone, and you can allocate the bulb to a room, set up rules, etc. As you get more bulbs, you can do fun things through IFTTT. I've got one that when I get within 100m of home after I've been out it automatically switches the living room lights on. You can also use trigger phrases to do multiple actions. If you have a bulb in your bedside light, you can set a wake up time of, say 6:15am. 30 minutes before that, the bulb will come on at a VERY low level (not enough to wake you fully, but to at least make you aware things. It'll gradually increase in brightness over the remaining minutes until it's at your normal brightness setting for the requested wake up time. It's a lot more pleasant waking up that way, I find.
Just to be clear, I wasn't downplaying the exploding. I was only referring to the plastic casings because it seems toxic the way Apple vilifies plastic, but then reviewers had the guts to call the Iphone 5C "unapologetically plastic".
My personal choice too. I got an LG G4 for $220 used, yet, it really does feel like a $650 phone (which is right since that was its original list price).