Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I think you are missing one important point. Ordering shoes is not that different from ordering a song and Siri apparently is not very good at the latter (as reported by some people here)
[doublepost=1518307746][/doublepost]

Siri is HomePod's primary interface.
[doublepost=1518307982][/doublepost]

I think of it this way. Google's primary source of income is ad money. They should be way more concerned about your privacy than, say, Apple because if they lose the trust of the customers their revenues will be gone in no time. So I expect that they are much more careful about your privacy than any other company.

I don’t agree with that at all. Totally fine us disagreeing here, but one of Apple’s biggest selling points is privacy.
 
Apple does need to make SIRI a bit more natural.... Hopefully with the introduction of the HomePod, it will get them to really up the game.

Overall I have really like the speaker, but I do find I miss things like "play WBUR" or some other local radio station that SIRI just doesn't play.

As for connecting to the AppleTV, the sound is fantastic! This is a huge plus for this speaker!
 
The tragedy is that the article used the misleading term "answered correctly." Since there are a lot of people who don't read the entire articles they assume that Siri got them wrong, but as you read more carefully, it was largely that the questions were in domains that Apple hasn't activated yet. It would have been more accurate to phrase it as "able to perform." Indeed, the article actually vindicates the idea that Siri is greatly underrated by uniformed critics as if Apple had activated all the domains, Siri would have had a greater accuracy than both Amazon and Cortana and much closer to Google.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bobob and SoGood
Listen, if people actually bothered to get informed and educated themselves on the matter we wouldn't be having this "discussion".

This is what Siri on HomePod can do: help.apple.com/homepod/#/apd81431732e

It should have been tested based on that, because that's what it is able to to at this moment. No more, no less.
It's a smart speaker being compared to smart speakers. Are you saying the comparison should only include the things the HomePod can do and ignore what the other speakers can do? Apple chose to emphasize the speaker over the smart. Over time, that might end up being considered the better decision. But no comparison should be based on what 1 contender does or doesn't have. Run whatcha brung.

But to suggest it get special consideration because Apple gimped it's initial capability is... yeah, no. I mean, should the Harmon Invoke's Cortana get a pass on commerce since it did just as badly as Siri did with Navigation? No, it shouldn't and neither should the HomePod.

Most of us don't buy based on these comparisons. We buy based on our use case. If I don't need nav on my smart speaker, why would I care if it did badly? I wouldn't. Trying to stack the deck for Siri really doesn't help the perception of Apple's assistant. Siri's rep is a fairly cemented consensus in the general sense. Whether you agree with the majority or the minority... still doesn't matter. People buying the HomePod know Siri's limitations and buy anyway. My brother is an Apple freak. He purchased the HomePod to Apple Music from a dedicated iPad. No Siri. The speaker is going to sell to those who want it. No need for a handicap in comparisons.
 
How is this research? I've been in research and this doesn't even come close, except as research in click bait, then bravo you did well whatever company issued this "study" (sic).
 
That’s what we get for Apple keeping our information private. I feel like it’s a very small price to pay and I am not surprised at all that Google leads the way here. Their sole focus as a company is mining your data for advertising. Ultimately, it doesn’t affect me as I don’t use voice assistants this way. Smart home stuff and music is really hit. I’m sure the HomePod works well for these.

Firstly, I don't fully buy the argument it is all about privacy. Siri's basic search results just SUCK! That has nothing to do with [privacy]. Also, the voice recognition is far behind and is only starting to get better. I remember being on business in a city, and Siri couldn't even understand the city name. It was a major city!

I am seriously tired of using siri and it returning "here is what it says on wiki" or "I can't help you with that". I then use the chrome browser and say "google" . And most times it nails it! So that has NOTHING to do with privacy.

Let's say we believe Tim Cooks Argument that it's about privacy (this is the same man who says they follow the spirit of the tax law and claim all revenue is really all from Apple Ireland), why not put in the terms and agreements not to mine the data or use it for Advertisement. OR, give users the choice.

Lastly, I am going to say this. The best assistants know you and anticipate your needs. Siri is a horrid assistant, and can't really do anything. So here is the dilemma. To embrace the future or not, because at this point siri is a useless as my post (which no one will probably read)
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: jacksmith21006
Apple will improve Siri a lot now that they are in this game. Wait and see.

A lot of this stuff is useless anyway.
 
We all know Siri is horrible. But why does Apple not fix it? Or just use the Google Assistant and focus on hardware.
Likely because they don't see it as a major issue. They see it as something that does very basic tasks and to be honest for my use case does whats required.

I didn't buy the homepod because of the voice assistant. I bought it for the great sound and working well with my other devices. I'm sure many who have bought the homepod didn't buy it because they think siri is amazing.
 
Why would anyone want to ask navigation related questions on a HomePod? Anyone taking it on a car trip and/or can remember all the turn directions? Impractical comparison.

I ask my Google Home navigation questions before I leave the house and it’s says it’ll send it to my phone. When I pick my phone up I just click on it and off I go.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cuencap
Maybe we should be more concerned that it has “superior listening skills”.

With Amazon, Google and Apple your never alone because they are always listening. :eek:

even when music from the speaker is particularly loud, and Siri will pick up on the voice and hear the user.
 
So you already bought the HomePod even though you couldn't see the point of it a week or so ago?
Yes the sound quality reviews got me. :) And it does sound amazing. However I get there are legitimate criticisms. i don’t think it’s an either or between great sound and superior smarts. I think it should have both. Including a music domain for Siri. And if it did have all that Apple would have a clear marketing advantage. Still I’ll mostly use it as a speaker right and for that it’s amazing. Much better than my Bose Soundlink mini.
 
I measure the success of any purchase by the price / years of use.
There's nothing in the Home Pod that can't be improved upon over the next year or so that requires new hardware.
In that respect the Home Pod is a clear success. The software, and AI, are fixable.
Can you say the same about the other smart speakers?

HomePod can be improved by being completely wireless
 
Siri works just fine for me, especially with respect to interacting with HomePod. So far it's batting a thousand in bringing up music I want to play across a wide range of genres, and for basic control.

I'm not looking for much more beyond that when interacting with HomePod.
 
What have Apple got to omit, overcharge for and rebadge enough to make people wake up to the fact there is cheaper, more featured and quality competition out there. Badge snobbery is a thing of the past now.

Up to just this week when I was looking for a replacement to my Galaxy S6 I realised I myself was being sucked into the Samsung Phone hype myself and was going for the Note 8. A beautiful phone with stunning looks and performance. Agreed.

But. Do I really NEED to spend nearly £900 for the best phone on the market? No. The competition has caught up. So no longer is Samsung the go to equivalent Android phone. And that’s great news.

The Huawei Honor 9 is £280 now in the UK. It has all the features of flagship models but smaller screen and no Pen. But so what? It’s classy looking. Has all the features and more than my S6 and runs faster than the Galaxy S8. A few years ago it made sense to stump up for premium kit. But those days if not already gone now will be soon.

Apple have to realise this and quickly. The reason the Honor series are selling so fast is because they’ve got all the features people want. iR blasters(!). Headphone jacks. 4gb and 64gb storage (expandable) Dual cameras. Super fast processors. The list goes on as does the superb and stylish quality. And this. For less than a third of a Note 9. There comes a time when you have to step back and ask yourself do you REALLY need a speaker that costs three times the nearest competition and offers what it does?

If so. Great. If you need that badge on the front then fine. I see expensive VW cars that look no more impressive than their South Korean counterparts but it’s that badge. That kudos thing. Times are changing. The margins in reliability, performance and long term value are narrowing. And it takes folks a lot more convincing to part with their cash over one manufacturer over another than it once did.

(“What the heck was all that waffle all about?” -Macrumors Ed.)
(“No idea. Another BruceEBonus drivel/rant again no doubt!” - A MR Forum user)
You’re riffing. The numbers Apple just put up in Q1 proves Apple has insane loyalty and pricing power. $800 iPhone ASP. $88.3BB in revenue in 90 days. $20B in profit, the most ever by Apple and the most by any company ever. 13% sales growth y/y. 99% customer satisfaction. I could go on.

Software and ecosystem still matter and Apple customers will pay for iOS.

The Honor 9 is not an iPhone. Apple customers won’t go Android, at least now. Not everyone wants a budget phone. If it works well for you, great. Some of us pay for software.

It’s just like cars. Any car will get you from point A to point B. But people by Mercedes and BMWs for a reason.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BruceEBonus
I don't know, maybe Siri is just good at what I ask of it.
At home all I ask it to do is turn on or off lights, occasionally set a timer and that about it.
In the car it reads and responds texts just fine and nails the destination I ask for around the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex very consistently even with the seemingly continuous construction we have.

For replacing my Echo at home, it will serve its purpose.
It will look a bit better, sound a lot better and at this point that is all I really care for it to do.

I am not really in to bashing Apple or a product, if it didn't work for me for what I needed it to do, it'll go back to the store way ahead of that 14 day return period. I can not understand buying something, hating it and then keeping it. I will know in 2-3 days tops if I'm keeping it or not.
 
“It’s also an intelligent home assistant, capable of handling everyday tasks — and controlling your smart home. “

I’d say Apple is trying to pitch this as a smart speaker. Using “but audio quality” is an excuse to justify price and poor Siri performance.
 
So basically as long as query/command is something HomePod can possibly do, it does it. Why include data for commands that HomePod simply cannot accommodate? Is this to feed the “Siri sucks” chior?
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.