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For streaming in the home office, I have. I got sick of draining my iPhone battery streaming from it to the HomePod when my Echo Dot can play SiriusXM natively w/o need of the phone. SXM also doesn't repeatedly cut out, or need multiple attempts to start/stop like it does on HomePod.
So far so good with the new OS. No lags, drifting with sync... so far. Maybe they finally fixed this silly thing that has been problematic since version 15.
Interesting, mine is even worse with Tahoe / Home OS 26. Before it would fail to connect, or say it was connected when it wasn't. Now it does that AND just stops playing every couple hours. Forget Siri, all I want is a simple AirPlay speaker and it can't even do that.
Mine wouldn’t connect to my iPhone 17 Pro Max.
I then tried to cast my iPhone with my M4 Mac Mini after updated to Mac OS26 and it worked.
I then came across a YouTube video that showed how to do a soft reset on the iPhone, it worked!
That didn’t last long.
It just cut out on one speaker again.
It has reconnected though at the moment.
☹️
I then tried to cast my iPhone with my M4 Mac Mini after updated to Mac OS26 and it worked.
I then came across a YouTube video that showed how to do a soft reset on the iPhone, it worked!
That didn’t last long.
It just cut out on one speaker again.
It has reconnected though at the moment.
☹️
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What I can’t stand is that they have still not given us an option to turn the damn shuffle off by default. It’s so annoying when you tell it to play an album and it constantly defaults to a shuffled tracklist. Even now on HomePodOS 26.
Even when AirPlaying from a phone, it’ll automatically shuffle whatever you’re listening to, you always have to go back and turn it off.
Even when AirPlaying from a phone, it’ll automatically shuffle whatever you’re listening to, you always have to go back and turn it off.
I've not had this problem. When i tell my homepod to play an album (or a playlist I created) it plays them in the correct order, everytime.
Well I’m out. The HP minis have always been one of the worst Apple devices I’ve owned. Slow and unreliable. A remote UI with massive lag. Sound has never been all that great with punchy little bass and pokey highs, leaving a lack of mids for a truly empty sound stage. Makes sense for having an 8 year old watch processor. I was expecting a nee model to improve matters but that never came. Now with OS 26, they are bottom rung. Which tracks given how Apple rolls. New model will handle OS 26/27 just fine. The first gen minis? Well… LOL.
Every new OS has tanked it’s performance by adding new features I have no need for. Playing music has always been spotty. The nee bug in OS 26 b3 is corrupted buffers which produce squelches and blips in some uploaded tracks that survives reboots.
It was really nice of Cook to cut off the exit strategy of using an iPad as a homekit hub though. Using my M4 iPad Pro to control Siri is palpable compared to the mini. Instant from “Hey Siri.”
They also removed Home controls from macOS which I don’t know how it didn’t lead to a riot. Offloading it to “Scenes” should have been the realization that Apple is on fumes regarding real innovation and now wedging corporate interest even above UX.
This company actually used to be about quality because their CEO almost bankrupted TWO companies in his pursuit of the perfect PC. The new CEO has heart palpitations over shaving 23 cents off every iPhone sold.
I don’t even care if they release a new one. Their walled garden is starting to feel like a jail.
Every new OS has tanked it’s performance by adding new features I have no need for. Playing music has always been spotty. The nee bug in OS 26 b3 is corrupted buffers which produce squelches and blips in some uploaded tracks that survives reboots.
It was really nice of Cook to cut off the exit strategy of using an iPad as a homekit hub though. Using my M4 iPad Pro to control Siri is palpable compared to the mini. Instant from “Hey Siri.”
They also removed Home controls from macOS which I don’t know how it didn’t lead to a riot. Offloading it to “Scenes” should have been the realization that Apple is on fumes regarding real innovation and now wedging corporate interest even above UX.
This company actually used to be about quality because their CEO almost bankrupted TWO companies in his pursuit of the perfect PC. The new CEO has heart palpitations over shaving 23 cents off every iPhone sold.
I don’t even care if they release a new one. Their walled garden is starting to feel like a jail.
I've never ventured into the HomePod/HomePod Mini waters, but am considering them.. I currently have an Amazon Alexa in almost every room of the house. It used to work great for "whole home audio", but it's been pretty hit or miss lately. And Amazon has started displaying ads on the Show version - quite annoying.
I am waiting for the new version to drop. I've been following this thread and reading up.
I am waiting for the new version to drop. I've been following this thread and reading up.
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I have 2 original HomePods I use for music, homekit, alarms and basic questions for Siri. For the most part they've been great.
I have had compatibility issues with poor AirPlay implementation in apps, This ranges from app DRM to proprietary app audio engine compatibility, basically AirPlay not working in ways it's supposed to be due to the apps services fear of piracy.
I prefer wired audio sources for dedicated devices (TV's, computers, etc) and the HomePods are just something I have for music and homekit and for that purpose they are great.
I have had compatibility issues with poor AirPlay implementation in apps, This ranges from app DRM to proprietary app audio engine compatibility, basically AirPlay not working in ways it's supposed to be due to the apps services fear of piracy.
I prefer wired audio sources for dedicated devices (TV's, computers, etc) and the HomePods are just something I have for music and homekit and for that purpose they are great.
I have 2 OG HomePods as a stereo pair, 2 Mini paired in the living area, 1 in the office and another pair in the office’s bathroom. The main music devices in the office/studio are Sonos- two Five,the big Sub3 and a Move when we sit outside and chill. Privately ai use a Braun A2 with two LS150 speakers. Here’s my experience,,,
Nothing except the good old speakers-with-amp-and-cables-sounds as good as the Sonos. The sub makes all the difference and is sorely missed on the HomePod.
The OGs are nice speakers for light music, nothing more. They lack bass and range. For the price a Beo M5 sounds better. Still, these are marvelous speakers for e.g. a bedroom. Nice, warm, good stereo, nothing to set up except pairing. They have problems about once a year which is absolutely okay for electronics of this age. They are not speakers per se. I use them mostly for airplay and let Siri play a playlist or something like that. Asking - with German OS - for an English band still end up hilarious. It’s a joke. It lacks, as all things Apple, the simple gesture of having an EQ because the listener doesn’t know what he or she needs.
The Minis…………. Mixed bag. Beautiful design that looses all appeal after some time because you cannot really deep clean that mesh. Beautiful sound for their size but not mobile. No sub which would be a game changer. Nice when they play fair with other Airplay devices and sync the audio so Minis and the Brauns become one, but the sync only randomly works. Amazing as a HomeKit Controller but why does Siri take multiple attempts to turn of all lights in the Studio? The touch area is a nice design aspect but trying to make the Minis louder mostly ends up with you accidentally pausing the audio. Anything complex and Siri throws the towel. Wanting it to play a Playlist named NEW endsup with generic new music played. The Minus for some reason have some of the weakest sauce Siri I have seen so far, even the Apple Watch feels more responsive.
There is, as so often with Apple, stunning technology here (plus the best industrial design you could ask for) and wasted potential at the same time.
What would make them better…?
Subwoofer. A good, strong bass. Something like the bigger Sonos Sub.
Equalizer. User driven, per device, with user profiles.
Apps. Audiobooks, everrand, Kindle/Audible, Calm and whatever else the user needs… directly accessible via HP.
AI. Speech recognition on the level of Whispr, integration of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, whatever your drug is. And that AI should be able to interact with Music, HomeKit, WebSearch, ToDos, Calendar etc. Like what Siri was promised to do last year. Being able to normally speak, be understood even if I make a mistake and get a sensible response would be a game changer.
Connectivity. Bluetooth. Wired. PoE. Open it up, Apple.
With this, and all of the above would be possible with today’s technology, the HomePod System would become what it originally intended to be. A great audio system, a HomeKit hub, a conversational interface that gets you, an important structural part of the Apple ecosphere architecture. There is so much this could be, if you add this kind of setup to an Apple TV as Surround System, to a MacBook as automatic external latency free speakers, to your iPhone, to an AVP as multiple Mini audio islands that support te spatial audio.
As with so many Apple products it should not be killed, it should be brought to the best of what it could be.
Nothing except the good old speakers-with-amp-and-cables-sounds as good as the Sonos. The sub makes all the difference and is sorely missed on the HomePod.
The OGs are nice speakers for light music, nothing more. They lack bass and range. For the price a Beo M5 sounds better. Still, these are marvelous speakers for e.g. a bedroom. Nice, warm, good stereo, nothing to set up except pairing. They have problems about once a year which is absolutely okay for electronics of this age. They are not speakers per se. I use them mostly for airplay and let Siri play a playlist or something like that. Asking - with German OS - for an English band still end up hilarious. It’s a joke. It lacks, as all things Apple, the simple gesture of having an EQ because the listener doesn’t know what he or she needs.
The Minis…………. Mixed bag. Beautiful design that looses all appeal after some time because you cannot really deep clean that mesh. Beautiful sound for their size but not mobile. No sub which would be a game changer. Nice when they play fair with other Airplay devices and sync the audio so Minis and the Brauns become one, but the sync only randomly works. Amazing as a HomeKit Controller but why does Siri take multiple attempts to turn of all lights in the Studio? The touch area is a nice design aspect but trying to make the Minis louder mostly ends up with you accidentally pausing the audio. Anything complex and Siri throws the towel. Wanting it to play a Playlist named NEW endsup with generic new music played. The Minus for some reason have some of the weakest sauce Siri I have seen so far, even the Apple Watch feels more responsive.
There is, as so often with Apple, stunning technology here (plus the best industrial design you could ask for) and wasted potential at the same time.
What would make them better…?
Subwoofer. A good, strong bass. Something like the bigger Sonos Sub.
Equalizer. User driven, per device, with user profiles.
Apps. Audiobooks, everrand, Kindle/Audible, Calm and whatever else the user needs… directly accessible via HP.
AI. Speech recognition on the level of Whispr, integration of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, whatever your drug is. And that AI should be able to interact with Music, HomeKit, WebSearch, ToDos, Calendar etc. Like what Siri was promised to do last year. Being able to normally speak, be understood even if I make a mistake and get a sensible response would be a game changer.
Connectivity. Bluetooth. Wired. PoE. Open it up, Apple.
With this, and all of the above would be possible with today’s technology, the HomePod System would become what it originally intended to be. A great audio system, a HomeKit hub, a conversational interface that gets you, an important structural part of the Apple ecosphere architecture. There is so much this could be, if you add this kind of setup to an Apple TV as Surround System, to a MacBook as automatic external latency free speakers, to your iPhone, to an AVP as multiple Mini audio islands that support te spatial audio.
As with so many Apple products it should not be killed, it should be brought to the best of what it could be.
They are not perfect but they still work. I have to OG HomePods and 7 minis so I have invested a lot into them. They still work, including the OG HomePods I got in 2018 so I can’t complain.
I also use echos in all rooms but that is mostly for smart home control and visual display of information on the shows. However, I don’t like the echo’s for music at all. I much prefer and then there is the deep integration with my other Apple devices.
I got tired of waiting for Apple to release the new HomePod mini so I picked up a couple. Hopefully the extended return period for Christmas will work in my favor if the new ones drop in early 2026.
I set 2 up as a stereo pair and use them in the family room. They're set as audio for my AppleTV, as well. I have another mini set up in my office for music and AppleTV audio. The minis seem a bit more "tinny" than the OG HomePod which is currently in the MBR, again setup as a speaker for AppleTV as well as other uses.
I already miss the "whole house" audio that I was able to set up with the Echos. I can stream Apple Music on all of the HomePods simultaneously, but that plays havoc with the AppleTV setups - I have to turn the audio off on the HomePods not in the family room or I get "whole house" audio for a television in the other room.
And there's no native support for SiriusXM on the HomePods, so I have to stream that from either my phone or iPad.
Unfortunately, there's no easy way to do all of the automation - it all comes with a set amount of headache and frustration, especially for my non-techie wife. Oh, that Apple stuff would once again "just work".
I set 2 up as a stereo pair and use them in the family room. They're set as audio for my AppleTV, as well. I have another mini set up in my office for music and AppleTV audio. The minis seem a bit more "tinny" than the OG HomePod which is currently in the MBR, again setup as a speaker for AppleTV as well as other uses.
I already miss the "whole house" audio that I was able to set up with the Echos. I can stream Apple Music on all of the HomePods simultaneously, but that plays havoc with the AppleTV setups - I have to turn the audio off on the HomePods not in the family room or I get "whole house" audio for a television in the other room.
And there's no native support for SiriusXM on the HomePods, so I have to stream that from either my phone or iPad.
Unfortunately, there's no easy way to do all of the automation - it all comes with a set amount of headache and frustration, especially for my non-techie wife. Oh, that Apple stuff would once again "just work".
"Siri add what you're playing to the living room, bedroom and office."
...is my typical routine, but I'll occasionally do the entire house or just 1 or 2 rooms. My girlfriend isn't techie but she figured out 'Siri, stop playing music in X room' when she wants to watch TV or work in the office.
I'm VERY happy with it. It not only figures out the what living room, bedroom and office mean but more impressively the office is an AirPort Express (AirPlay 1) connected via Toslink to a Yamaha amp for my HiFi setup and audio sync is near perfect. I figured I would just try it but and order an AirPlay 2 receiver, that was years ago.
1st gen airplay doesnt support multiroom audio unless you use a macOS source. surprised you haven't run into that issue before. if you keep your eye on ebay you can get a gen 2 airport express for like $35-40