Smaller, Lower-Priced HomePod Appears Increasingly Closer to Launching

[Pistol_pete]

Too bad in Europe their price is basically immutable. No discounts no nothing. I wouldn’t mind grabbing a couple more otherwise.

Maybe after it’s discontinued.

Its down to £199 in John Lewis in the UK, the price has definitely started to move.

 

[citysnaps]

So basically like the Sonos Move which already works with Apple Music?

Sonos Move works autonomously with Apple Music, without any Apple device (phone/tablet/computer), relying only on spoken commands?

 

[Pistol_pete]

Exactly… in Europe it's 329 euro which is 359,02 US dollar. Even though in Europe this includes VAT, that's still a lot for a speaker, and there's no way you can get a discount.

In the UK its dropped £199 so not all europe is the same

 

[citysnaps]

Out of curiosity...last night, based on others' comments, I took two of my four HomePods that I had located in different rooms, and created a stereo pair in my living room, as an experiment.

At the moment, they're not ideally placed in the room. But I will say the sonic difference between the mono HomePod I had in my living room and the stereo pair that I have now is astonishing.

Of course I was expecting some benefit/difference, but not that level - the difference knocked me out. I wasn't expecting that. There's no way I'm going back to a mono set up for that room.

Many thanks to the above members who advocated stereo pairing!

 

[Baymowe335]

Don't think you can make such a statement based on your personal opinion and try to apply it to all. Obviously many users disagree with you.

There have been extensive a tests done disproving the theory Siri sucks.

 

[mangoman]

Once it allows me to double it as a sound bar for my TV (not only Apple TV) then I'm in. Until then, I'll pass.

I hear you, but... I just bought my first one from Best Buy. At $200, I couldn't let the TV-direct limit keep my wallet from twitching.

 

[Analog Kid]

I believe there's your answer. As far as I remember they require to be in the same network as your iPhone to be fully functional. Give it a try connecting them to your main network and see if it'll work.

That was my point, actually. For a single unit, I don’t need to be on the same network but it seems I do once I create the stereo pair. I don’t see this documented anywhere, and the sharing settings in the Home app are exactly the same (still allowing me to choose “everyone” and “those sharing my home”) but in practice this seems to be the case.

 

[AppliedMicro]

You don’t know how to work it. In order to give someone access. You give them access to your HomeKit.
On a different note, it’s crazy how many people don’t understand the concept of WiFi speakers. Sonos has been around for sometime.

That's the thing: It shouldn't be that complicated to give someone access to play music on someone else's speaker.

Plug-In (3.5mm jack) and go.
Pair & Go (via Bluetoth)
Maybe, just maybe even downloading a free cross-platform app (Sonos) or using one they already have (Spotify).

But many people can't be bothered to go through signing-in just to play music.

 

[roguedaemon]

 

[Detnator]

There have been extensive a tests done disproving the theory Siri sucks.

I’d really like to see these tests and I suspect I’m not the only one. Can you point us to any?

My personal experience is that Siri sucks, however, I’m an Australian having lived in US now for 7 years and my accent is becoming something of a hybrid so I can appreciate she might have trouble with that whether I set her to Aussie or US. I know plenty of people have flawless experiences with her and plenty of people have terrible experiences with her. All anecdotal. If there’s any actual scientific comparison tests or whatever, I for one would like to see them.

 

[TimCookandCo]

Hopefully alongside Siri 2 at WWDC

Siri should get smarter, more proactive and more useful (in terms of smarter in what ways, well, that's the job for Tim Cook and Co to figure it out). Right now, Siri isn't really useful, and I rarely activate her on my iPhone
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HomePod mini sounds like a no-brainer. What's more interesting is the idea of improving the hardware of the main HomePod. Hard to imagine improving the sound by much. A faster chip wouldn't seem to make a material difference (it's already fast). What else could they do?

Add a screen. That would be a huge difference to the overall UI experience and interaction experience.

 

[Baymowe335]

I’d really like to see these tests and I suspect I’m not the only one. Can you point us to any?

My personal experience is that Siri sucks, however, I’m an Australian having lived in US now for 7 years and my accent is becoming something of a hybrid so I can appreciate she might have trouble with that whether I set her to Aussie or US. I know plenty of people have flawless experiences with her and plenty of people have terrible experiences with her. All anecdotal. If there’s any actual scientific comparison tests or whatever, I for one would like to see them.

Here is one that I go to a lot, although it’s a bit older...I think it’s 2018, but Siri does commands better than any, local better than Alexa and on par with Google, Commerce second, navigation comparable with the top, and information middle of the pack.

Siri isn’t the worst of the 4 in any test and is the best in commands and tied or second in everything else.

 

[ouimetnick]

Out of curiosity...last night, based on others' comments, I took two of my four HomePods that I had located in different rooms, and created a stereo pair in my living room, as an experiment.

At the moment, they're not ideally placed in the room. But I will say the sonic difference between the mono HomePod I had in my living room and the stereo pair that I have now is astonishing.

Of course I was expecting some benefit/difference, but not that level - the difference knocked me out. I wasn't expecting that. There's no way I'm going back to a mono set up for that room.

Many thanks to the above members who advocated stereo pairing!

I actually decided to buy and try a HomePod out. Mine should be here soon I’ll buy another if one sounds decent and try out a stereo pair. Right now I have several custom built amplifiers that I’ve built based on some old Hafler amplifiers. Using several different speakers depending on what I’m listening to. Boston Acoustics VR-M90, EarthWorks Sigma 6.2 monitors, some old but restored Ohm C2, 1950s Knight 800 in a EV aristocrat Cabinets, and some others. If this HomePod is any good (or good enough) I’ll move my dedicated stereo out of my bedroom and stick the the HP.

 

[citysnaps]

I actually decided to buy and try a HomePod out. Mine should be here soon I’ll buy another if one sounds decent and try out a stereo pair. Right now I have several custom built amplifiers that I’ve built based on some old Hafler amplifiers. Using several different speakers depending on what I’m listening to. Boston Acoustics VR-M90, EarthWorks Sigma 6.2 monitors, some old but restored Ohm C2, 1950s Knight 800 in a EV aristocrat Cabinets, and some others. If this HomePod is any good (or good enough) I’ll move my dedicated stereo out of my bedroom and stick the the HP.

Hah! I still have my Hafler amp from many years ago, putting it together from a kit. And along with that an Apt Holman preamp. Together they were a nice pair. I should fire them up sometime.

 

[iAssimilated]

The Homepod has disappeared from the Apple Refurbished site (ie it's not just not available, but gone):

https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished/homepod

Sorry for the double negative, but I felt the mood warranted it.

 

[eject]

How long did the iPod Hi-Fi last?

I still use mine, excellent sound quality