Stereo-Like Sound With HomePods Coming Before Multi-Room Audio Feature [Updated]

[MacRumors]

Apple's technology that will enable a pair of HomePods to automatically detect and balance each other to create stereo-like sound is coming soon, according to Matthew Panzarino, while the HomePod's multi-room audio support via AirPlay 2 will be available at some point later this year.

Both features are currently listed as "coming later this year" on Apple's website, so it was assumed they would be released in tandem.

Emphasis should be placed on stereo-like, as HomePod reviews published today confirm that users won't be able to set one speaker as the right channel and another as the left channel. Instead, as Apple notes, HomePods will use advanced beamforming capabilities to create a more immersive soundstage.

HomePod launches this Friday in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, and availability of the speaker is beginning to tighten ahead of time.

Update: An earlier version of this article referred to the more-than-one-HomePod-in-a-room balancing feature as "FullRoom," as mentioned in a few reports, but Apple says that is not the official name of the feature.

Article Link: Stereo-Like Sound With HomePods Coming Before Multi-Room Audio Feature [Updated]

 

[blacktape242]

and WHY couldn't they have figured that out at the release???? come on apple, just sounds lazy.

 

[avanpelt]

'At a later date'. Nice and vague there, Apple. I hope these things sit on store shelves for a while after the initial launch wave subsides. There certainly won't be any in my home, nor will I recommend it to anyone. This thing was announced nearly nine months ago (and in development for who knows how long before the announcement) and they still decided to release it before it was fully baked.

 

[JimmyBanks6]

I'm in the market for a new pair of speakers right now [and an integrated amp as well].

But a requirement is that I need to be able to play from my turntable, and without any way to use the speaker other than through iCloud Music or Apple Music, unfortunately I can't even consider the HomePod.

Too bad, the reviews all seem impressed by the sound quality.

 

[scrapesleon]

Don’t really care when they release it I just need my HomePod asap so my House is finally complete

 

[mtneer]

So how will the speaker know where the listener is each time it turns on? I imagine that would be a great part of the "immersive sound stage" experience.

 

[krause734]

Too expensive for many average people and too cheap for many audiophiles.

 

[filmantopia]

I believe after a few updates HomePod is going to be a formidable product in this space. No doubt Apple will be rapidly evolving its capabilities on an already solid foundation of great hardware.

 

[ck2875]

This thing was announced nearly nine months ago (and in development for who knows how long before the announcement) and they still decided to release it before it was fully baked.

Almost sounds like the baby my sister just popped out.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

Dumb question...

Are Apple TV 4K Airplay 2 compatible? I've only used mine as an Airplay recipient.

It'd be nice to have 7 of these around the room for that immersive sound.

 

[macguru212]

Buy four for quadrophonic sound!
/s

 

[whooleytoo]

Maybe this explains the employee 50% discounts on HomePods..

"Buy two (for the price of one!). Oh, and if you get them working together, let us know how, please?"

 

[mcdspncr]

The tech specs on the Apple website state that audio from an Apple TV can play over the HomePod via AirPlay. I wonder if this would be reliable enough and low latency enough for TV and Netflix? Wish the HomePod also included an audio jack so it could be plugged into a traditional TV as well. That might justify getting 2 of them for someone in the market for new home theater speakers, and doesn’t want to wire up a proper 5.1 surround system.

 

[jav6454]

So you'll have to shell out $700 + tax for a stereo-like experience? Lol, joke

 

[triangletechie]

Since AirPlay 2 is releasing later, hopefully that means "Full Room" comes out with the next round of OS updates.

 

[nsayer]

Meanwhile APFS for Fusion drives is nowhere to be seen.

 

[rikscha]

They are but it is not given that they will produce synchronous sound?

I would otherwise consider replacing my current setup with two of those

Dumb question...

Are Apple TV 4K Airplay 2 compatible? I've only used mine as an Airplay recipient.

It'd be nice to have 7 of these around the room for that immersive sound.

 

[JimmyBanks6]

Meanwhile APFS for Fusion drives is nowhere to be seen.

I don't get posts like this.

Are you so naive to think that the team working on a speaker is the same team working on a file system? Like really, think before posting.

 

[PictorGuy]

I want one. I really do. Apple is making it very hard for me to buy into it.

 

[avanpelt]

Almost sounds like the baby my sister just popped out.

So, by mocking me, you're defending Apple's decision to release a product that, at launch (and who knows how longer after launch), won't be able to do two things that Apple proudly touted at WWDC last June, I take it?

 

[gnomeisland]

The tech specs on the Apple website state that audio from an Apple TV can play over the HomePod via AirPlay. I wonder if this would be reliable enough and low latency enough for TV and Netflix? Wish the HomePod also included an audio jack so it could be plugged into a traditional TV as well. That might justify getting 2 of them for someone in the market for new home theater speakers, and doesn’t want to wire up a proper 5.1 surround system.

Several reviewers have tried, and, yes it does work. It isn't true 5.1 and if you stream something else or play some Apple Music the HomePod doesn't revert back to playing from the TV so you have to reselect it as the audio output for the Apple TV. So, yes, with caveats.

 

[roncron]

"Stereo-like sound?" This sounds a bit gimmicky, like the feature on 1990s boomboxes that made the "stereo" sound wider and more "exciting". I'll listen with an open mind when HomePods actually get this feature (why isn't it available upon release??), but for now, I'm skeptical.

What if you buy two HomePods and want true stereo sound, to hear the mix the way the artists intended it to be heard? Will that even be an option?

Like others have said, casual listeners probably won't want to spend $700 for a pair and audiophiles will probably want a true stereo not "stereo-like sound".

 

[ck2875]

So, by mocking me, you're defending Apple's decision to release a product that, at launch (and who knows how longer after launch), won't be able to do two things that Apple proudly touted at WWDC last June, I take it?

Wasn't mocking you, fwiw. I don't know if you interpreted what I said as me saying you sound like a crying baby or what, but I was just genuinely amused at how your description of releasing something prematurely lined up with my sister's pregnancy.

I completely agree that it's annoying that those features aren't ready at launch despite the delay from "late 2017." I'm curious what they're having issues with if they are able to demo the "stereo" for reviewers in controlled environments. Apple definitely announced it way too early imho, but probably felt pressured to have some answer to Amazon's Echo success.

 

[TheHateMachine]

So you'll have to shell out $700 + tax for a stereo-like experience? Lol, joke

B-b-but muh beam forming!

 

[Saipher]

It would be awesome to use a couple of HomePods in FullRoom mode as speakers when watching a movie/show on Apple TV. Maybe surround sound with mutiple HomePods? Does anyone know if that's in the pipeline?