Apple's HomePod isn't about Siri, but rather the future of home audio

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  • Reply 21 of 142
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    1. Apple doesn’t offer high quality audio. This is a regular consumer product with decent audio and focus on lifestyle and removing technical friction. 

    2. If Apple wants Siri to become a succes they should stop being arrogant and block the likes of Spotify from having a decent Siri integration. I’m not going to pay $349 for a speaker that can only boot Apple Music when it’s spoken to.
    (Same for Amazon Prime on AppleTV... Apple is abusing their power as platform holder).
    1) Hopefully you'll be able to connect BT speakers to HomePod so you can get excellent audio the way you can with Echo so you can have any level of audio in any setup you desire. I'd also like to see Apple allow built-in Siri the way Amazon allows Alexa to work with 3rd-party vendors, but I doubt that will happen.

    2) Is it really Apple preventing Spotify and Amazon from coming to the Apple TV? They offer it for HomePod and there are plenty of other streaming services supported by all other Apple devices. This seems like a 3rd-party app issue.
  • Reply 22 of 142
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    gatorguy said:
    Soli said:
    lkrupp said:
    I have never understood the condescending comparison between the Echo products and the HomePod. If you want a digital assistant to tell you jokes and turn your lights on then yes, go buy an Echo. But if you are interested in superb high quality audio first and digital assistance as a side benefit then the HomePod is your gadget. The two products shouldn’t even be talked about in the same sentence. They are Apples and Oranges. As the author makes quite clear the HomePod is a high end home audio product, not primarily a digital assistant to compete with the Echo line. It’s no different than comparing a cheap pre-paid Android phone with the iPhone X. 
    1) Is HomePod Siri controlled? Yes.

    2) Does Siri tell jokes? Yes.

    3) Are there products that are Alexa controlled and speakers that work with the Echo and other Alexa-capable devices that will sound better than the HomePod? Based on the size and stated specs, that seems like a certainty.

    4) You know Amazon lets anyone license Alexa for pretty much any system they wish, right?

    FWIW Apple's beam-forming for the Home Pod is called TruePlay by Sonos and marketed as Smart Sound by Google.
    Absolutely false.

    All Sonos and Google perform are equalization. Apple is not only analyzing the frequency response of the room
    (and modifying the equalization to compensate) they are also analyzing sound in the time domain.

    This is far more complex than simple EQ (which has been around forever) and will give the HomePod a huge advantage over Sonos, Google or anyone else.
    How is Trueplay different?




    gatorguyaylk
  • Reply 23 of 142
    Soli said:
    gatorguy said:
    Soli said:
    lkrupp said:
    I have never understood the condescending comparison between the Echo products and the HomePod. If you want a digital assistant to tell you jokes and turn your lights on then yes, go buy an Echo. But if you are interested in superb high quality audio first and digital assistance as a side benefit then the HomePod is your gadget. The two products shouldn’t even be talked about in the same sentence. They are Apples and Oranges. As the author makes quite clear the HomePod is a high end home audio product, not primarily a digital assistant to compete with the Echo line. It’s no different than comparing a cheap pre-paid Android phone with the iPhone X. 
    1) Is HomePod Siri controlled? Yes.

    2) Does Siri tell jokes? Yes.

    3) Are there products that are Alexa controlled and speakers that work with the Echo and other Alexa-capable devices that will sound better than the HomePod? Based on the size and stated specs, that seems like a certainty.

    4) You know Amazon lets anyone license Alexa for pretty much any system they wish, right?

    FWIW Apple's beam-forming for the Home Pod is called TruePlay by Sonos and marketed as Smart Sound by Google.
    Absolutely false.

    All Sonos and Google perform are equalization. Apple is not only analyzing the frequency response of the room
    (and modifying the equalization to compensate) they are also analyzing sound in the time domain.

    This is far more complex than simple EQ (which has been around forever) and will give the HomePod a huge advantage over Sonos, Google or anyone else.
    How is Trueplay different?






    TruePlay is EQ only. They make it sound like it’s doing so much more, but when it’s all said and done it’s simple EQ. Sonos speakers lack:

    - Drivers that can emit sound in 360 degrees. They are standard generic front firing speakers (so is the Google Max).
    - Microphones placed 360 degrees around the speaker to measure sound continuously from the entire room to allow real-time adjustments.
    - Processing power of the A8 (which is serious overkill for just a speaker - unless it’s performing complex sound adjustments).

    I’m on mobile now, but later I’ll draw up a diagram to explain how I believe the HomePod works (based on how Apple described it at the keynote, videos they showed, terminology they used and my lifetime of experience working in recording studios and live on stage).
    jony0Rayz2016Martin57philboogied_2StrangeDaysspliff monkeyAirunJaewatto_cobra
  • Reply 24 of 142
    lkrupp said:
    I have never understood the condescending comparison between the Echo products and the HomePod. If you want a digital assistant to tell you jokes and turn your lights on then yes, go buy an Echo. But if you are interested in superb high quality audio first and digital assistance as a side benefit then the HomePod is your gadget. The two products shouldn’t even be talked about in the same sentence. They are Apples and Oranges. As the author makes quite clear the HomePod is a high end home audio product, not primarily a digital assistant to compete with the Echo line. It’s no different than comparing a cheap pre-paid Android phone with the iPhone X. 
    Exactly. Well said.
    Every article I've ever seen compares the HomePod to every other voice assistant and immediately says the HomePod is a stupid loser of a voice assistant. It has nothing to do with how Apple is positioning the HomePod. It's already been decided by the tech industry that the HomePod and Siri are definitely competing with Alexa and Echo, or Google Assistant and Google Home Mini. There's no way Apple can talk its way out of that. Everyone has already assumed that Apple delayed the HomePod to make Siri smarter so it didn't seem like an absolute dunce compared with the other two market leaders. This is even before Apple has a shipping product.

    The tech writers, bloggers, and Wall Street all want to let everyone know how incompetent Apple is when compared to Amazon and Alphabet. They're going to make sure Apple loses the battle before Apple steps onto the battlefield. It has already been decided Amazon Echo (lineup) and the Alexa combo is the massively dominating voice assistant market leader and Apple will never catch up with a supposedly "three-years late" product.

    Apple is getting any free pass with the HomePod. Wall Street fervently believes that a $30 Echo Dot with Alexa is far better than a $350 HomePod with Siri because Alexa is smarter and consumers can get ten Echo Dots for the price of one HomePod. Amazon wins again with market share percentage of ten to one proving that Jeff Bezos is a CEO genius and Tim Cook is an idiot. /s
    edited December 2017 aylk
  • Reply 25 of 142
    danvmdanvm Posts: 1,400member
    lkrupp said:
    I have never understood the condescending comparison between the Echo products and the HomePod. If you want a digital assistant to tell you jokes and turn your lights on then yes, go buy an Echo. But if you are interested in superb high quality audio first and digital assistance as a side benefit then the HomePod is your gadget. The two products shouldn’t even be talked about in the same sentence. They are Apples and Oranges. As the author makes quite clear the HomePod is a high end home audio product, not primarily a digital assistant to compete with the Echo line. It’s no different than comparing a cheap pre-paid Android phone with the iPhone X. 

    Maybe the HomePod will sound good for a $350.00 device, but I'm not sure I'll call it a high end audio product.  
    Solibaconstangaylk
  • Reply 26 of 142
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    gatorguy said:
    Soli said:
    lkrupp said:
    I have never understood the condescending comparison between the Echo products and the HomePod. If you want a digital assistant to tell you jokes and turn your lights on then yes, go buy an Echo. But if you are interested in superb high quality audio first and digital assistance as a side benefit then the HomePod is your gadget. The two products shouldn’t even be talked about in the same sentence. They are Apples and Oranges. As the author makes quite clear the HomePod is a high end home audio product, not primarily a digital assistant to compete with the Echo line. It’s no different than comparing a cheap pre-paid Android phone with the iPhone X. 
    1) Is HomePod Siri controlled? Yes.

    2) Does Siri tell jokes? Yes.

    3) Are there products that are Alexa controlled and speakers that work with the Echo and other Alexa-capable devices that will sound better than the HomePod? Based on the size and stated specs, that seems like a certainty.

    4) You know Amazon lets anyone license Alexa for pretty much any system they wish, right?

    FWIW Apple's beam-forming for the Home Pod is called TruePlay by Sonos and marketed as Smart Sound by Google.

    Absolutely false.

    All Sonos and Google perform are equalization. Apple is not only analyzing the frequency response of the room
    (and modifying the equalization to compensate) they are also analyzing sound in the time domain.

    This is far more complex than simple EQ (which has been around forever) and will give the HomePod a huge advantage over Sonos, Google or anyone else.
    Eric, Patently Apple chimed in on this several weeks ago commenting that Google Smart Sound was "a clear Apple HomePod rip-off with Smart Sound that will readjust sound using beamforming technology". Another Apple blog, iMore, made the same observation. Same applies to Sonos and TruePlay which based on description of the tech seems little different from Home Pod except in marketing language. 

    In any event you have zero real-time experience with ANY of these AFAIK, much less having enough data on all three for any actual side-by-side comparison in sound quality, soundstage, responsiveness, accuracy or anything else so how can you claim  "huge advantage"? You can't of course since you have no experience with them, just relying on marketing and educated guessing.  

    Perhaps best to wait a month (or three/four depending on long it takes Apple) and then chime in with "wrong" based on actual experience instead of marketing speak. Apple's product might be the best-sounding among the three. Or not. Just a wee bit early to pronounce Apple as best of the lot, especially considering that for whatever reason they may be changing the product they demo'd a few months ago. 
    https://www.imore.com/homepod-vs-sonos-one-vs-home-max-whats-difference
    edited December 2017 aylk
  • Reply 27 of 142
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    Soli said:
    gatorguy said:
    Soli said:
    lkrupp said:
    I have never understood the condescending comparison between the Echo products and the HomePod. If you want a digital assistant to tell you jokes and turn your lights on then yes, go buy an Echo. But if you are interested in superb high quality audio first and digital assistance as a side benefit then the HomePod is your gadget. The two products shouldn’t even be talked about in the same sentence. They are Apples and Oranges. As the author makes quite clear the HomePod is a high end home audio product, not primarily a digital assistant to compete with the Echo line. It’s no different than comparing a cheap pre-paid Android phone with the iPhone X. 
    1) Is HomePod Siri controlled? Yes.

    2) Does Siri tell jokes? Yes.

    3) Are there products that are Alexa controlled and speakers that work with the Echo and other Alexa-capable devices that will sound better than the HomePod? Based on the size and stated specs, that seems like a certainty.

    4) You know Amazon lets anyone license Alexa for pretty much any system they wish, right?

    FWIW Apple's beam-forming for the Home Pod is called TruePlay by Sonos and marketed as Smart Sound by Google.
    Absolutely false.

    All Sonos and Google perform are equalization. Apple is not only analyzing the frequency response of the room
    (and modifying the equalization to compensate) they are also analyzing sound in the time domain.

    This is far more complex than simple EQ (which has been around forever) and will give the HomePod a huge advantage over Sonos, Google or anyone else.
    How is Trueplay different?




    I’m on mobile now, but later I’ll draw up a diagram to explain how I believe the HomePod works (based on how Apple described it at the keynote, videos they showed, terminology they used and my lifetime of experience working in recording studios and live on stage).
    Ah, much better, what you BELIEVE the three companies are doing rather than your earlier "absolutely false". 
  • Reply 28 of 142
    gatorguy said:
    gatorguy said:
    Soli said:
    lkrupp said:
    I have never understood the condescending comparison between the Echo products and the HomePod. If you want a digital assistant to tell you jokes and turn your lights on then yes, go buy an Echo. But if you are interested in superb high quality audio first and digital assistance as a side benefit then the HomePod is your gadget. The two products shouldn’t even be talked about in the same sentence. They are Apples and Oranges. As the author makes quite clear the HomePod is a high end home audio product, not primarily a digital assistant to compete with the Echo line. It’s no different than comparing a cheap pre-paid Android phone with the iPhone X. 
    1) Is HomePod Siri controlled? Yes.

    2) Does Siri tell jokes? Yes.

    3) Are there products that are Alexa controlled and speakers that work with the Echo and other Alexa-capable devices that will sound better than the HomePod? Based on the size and stated specs, that seems like a certainty.

    4) You know Amazon lets anyone license Alexa for pretty much any system they wish, right?

    FWIW Apple's beam-forming for the Home Pod is called TruePlay by Sonos and marketed as Smart Sound by Google.

    Absolutely false.

    All Sonos and Google perform are equalization. Apple is not only analyzing the frequency response of the room
    (and modifying the equalization to compensate) they are also analyzing sound in the time domain.

    This is far more complex than simple EQ (which has been around forever) and will give the HomePod a huge advantage over Sonos, Google or anyone else.
    Eric, Patently Apple chimed in on this several weeks ago commenting that Google Smart Sound was "a clear Apple HomePod rip-off with Smart Sound that will readjust sound using beamforming technology". Another Apple blog, iMore, made the same observation. Same applies to Sonos and TruePlay which based on description of the tech seems little different from Home Pod except in marketing language. 



    Smart Sound can’t do beamforming. Neither can Sonos. I haven’t read the articles you quoted, but if they claim Google and Sonos are doing beamforming then they clearly don’t know a damn thing about audio. And if you’re relying on their opinions than neither do you.
    macguiAirunJaewatto_cobra
  • Reply 29 of 142
    gatorguy said:
    Soli said:
    gatorguy said:
    Soli said:
    lkrupp said:
    I have never understood the condescending comparison between the Echo products and the HomePod. If you want a digital assistant to tell you jokes and turn your lights on then yes, go buy an Echo. But if you are interested in superb high quality audio first and digital assistance as a side benefit then the HomePod is your gadget. The two products shouldn’t even be talked about in the same sentence. They are Apples and Oranges. As the author makes quite clear the HomePod is a high end home audio product, not primarily a digital assistant to compete with the Echo line. It’s no different than comparing a cheap pre-paid Android phone with the iPhone X. 
    1) Is HomePod Siri controlled? Yes.

    2) Does Siri tell jokes? Yes.

    3) Are there products that are Alexa controlled and speakers that work with the Echo and other Alexa-capable devices that will sound better than the HomePod? Based on the size and stated specs, that seems like a certainty.

    4) You know Amazon lets anyone license Alexa for pretty much any system they wish, right?

    FWIW Apple's beam-forming for the Home Pod is called TruePlay by Sonos and marketed as Smart Sound by Google.
    Absolutely false.

    All Sonos and Google perform are equalization. Apple is not only analyzing the frequency response of the room
    (and modifying the equalization to compensate) they are also analyzing sound in the time domain.

    This is far more complex than simple EQ (which has been around forever) and will give the HomePod a huge advantage over Sonos, Google or anyone else.
    How is Trueplay different?




    I’m on mobile now, but later I’ll draw up a diagram to explain how I believe the HomePod works (based on how Apple described it at the keynote, videos they showed, terminology they used and my lifetime of experience working in recording studios and live on stage).
    Ah, much better, what you BELIEVE the three companies are doing rather than your earlier "absolutely false". 

    My comment about what you said earlier being false is 100% correct.
    macguiwatto_cobra
  • Reply 30 of 142
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    gatorguy said:
    gatorguy said:
    Soli said:
    lkrupp said:
    I have never understood the condescending comparison between the Echo products and the HomePod. If you want a digital assistant to tell you jokes and turn your lights on then yes, go buy an Echo. But if you are interested in superb high quality audio first and digital assistance as a side benefit then the HomePod is your gadget. The two products shouldn’t even be talked about in the same sentence. They are Apples and Oranges. As the author makes quite clear the HomePod is a high end home audio product, not primarily a digital assistant to compete with the Echo line. It’s no different than comparing a cheap pre-paid Android phone with the iPhone X. 
    1) Is HomePod Siri controlled? Yes.

    2) Does Siri tell jokes? Yes.

    3) Are there products that are Alexa controlled and speakers that work with the Echo and other Alexa-capable devices that will sound better than the HomePod? Based on the size and stated specs, that seems like a certainty.

    4) You know Amazon lets anyone license Alexa for pretty much any system they wish, right?

    FWIW Apple's beam-forming for the Home Pod is called TruePlay by Sonos and marketed as Smart Sound by Google.

    Absolutely false.

    All Sonos and Google perform are equalization. Apple is not only analyzing the frequency response of the room
    (and modifying the equalization to compensate) they are also analyzing sound in the time domain.

    This is far more complex than simple EQ (which has been around forever) and will give the HomePod a huge advantage over Sonos, Google or anyone else.
    Eric, Patently Apple chimed in on this several weeks ago commenting that Google Smart Sound was "a clear Apple HomePod rip-off with Smart Sound that will readjust sound using beamforming technology". Another Apple blog, iMore, made the same observation. Same applies to Sonos and TruePlay which based on description of the tech seems little different from Home Pod except in marketing language. 



    Smart Sound can’t do beamforming. Neither can Sonos. I haven’t read the articles you quoted, but if they claim Google and Sonos are doing beamforming then they clearly don’t know a damn thing about audio. And if you’re relying on their opinions than neither do you.
    Unlike you I don't claim to know that Apple or Google Max or Sonos is already the best-sounding of the lot. I also don't claim as fact whether in practice they all arrive at much the same result even if not using the identical hardware or marketing terms. Just repeating comments made by others who have presumably had a least some exposure to them and/or the technology involved just as you are. You claim to already have all the available data necessary to crown the winner tho I doubt it. It may be months before Apple even has a finalized product you can try for yourself, and what Apple demoed 6 months ago may not be identical to what Apple ships a month(s) from now. 

    And yes you are absolutely correct that Google Smart Sound (not certain about Sonos) relies on EQ according to the reading I've done tonight (Thanks. Seriously), so whether "beam-forming" as done in a shipping and finished Home Pod makes much if any difference in a relatively small mid-range individual speaker streaming 256kbps Apple Music (is any other music service supported?) over your own home network in a normal room will be interesting at least. We will all know. Eventually.
    edited December 2017 VRing
  • Reply 31 of 142
    k2kwk2kw Posts: 2,075member
    Soli said:
    Seems like an awesome speaker, but I’m pretty set for speakers right now. Have them hooked up to my Apple TV to play Apple Music when I’d like to, so really I’d like to see how Apple markets HomePod in relation to HomeKit and as a Siri assistant before I decide to grab one. But we’ll see. Need a little more confirmed info before I make a decision. 
    I just bought my 3rd Echo (this time for the bathroom so I can have voice control and audio without blasting it from two rooms away). I've been using the original for 3 years now, use them every day, and can't imagine not having them.

    That said, I was very interested in what HomePod could offer me for the living room if I purchased two units. Since I almost always watch my TV via the Apple TV I'm hoping that I'll be able to use them as speakers for the TV as well as Siri voice activation without having to pick up the remote, hold down its Siri button, and speak into it.

    I'd like Spotify to come to HomePod with a simple voice command, but if not I have Echos with great speakers connected. The rumors that Amazon is coming to the Apple TV App Store was another minor bonus, but I already have that option on my TV and dislike Amazon's set up where all the free Amazon Video for Prime members is mixed in with rentable and purchasable streaming content.
    It's very disappointing that DED is now trying to lower exceptions for the delayed HomePods with respect to SIRI capabilities (hopefully these low expectations will be shown or heard as unfounded when the HomePods finally arrives).

    I think that most people are expecting that when the $350.00 HomePod arrives it will out Alexa the Echo.   There have probably been at least a dozen articles on AppleInsider this year describing the expected HomePods as Siri Speakers (not Apple Music Speakers).

    As DED wrote in his May 28, 2017, editorial  (bolding is mine):

    A week away from WWDC17, there's much anticipation about what Apple might show: new Macs, iPads, a Siri Speaker, future insights on the company's vision for iPhones, Apple TV, Health, Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence. 
    Going back almost a year, DED wrote in his January 7, 2017 , Editorial : 

    Is Apple getting Siri-ous in the face of Amazon's Alexa Echo?


    Apple's 2014 establishment of a corporate office and R&D center in Cambridge (below) and its 2015 acquisition of VocalIQ--a startup that originated with the University of Cambridge Dialogue Systems Group and focused upon automotive projects with carmakers including General Motors--show a clear investment in voice-first interfaces beyond simply following others.

    A report from last November detailed job listings stating, "Apple is entering an exciting phase in Siri development, and we are aiming high both in terms of what Siri can do and the software engineering practices we follow in developing it. You will be working in a team of highly talented software engineers and speech scientists to expand the capabilities of Siri."

    That makes it a bit premature to assume that the barely profitable experiments in voice-first assistants conducted by Apple's rivals are winning or leading in any meaningful way, although it does allow lazy journalists to generate sensational-sounding reports.

    In 2017, Siri looks to be a key area of advancement at Apple.

    2017 is coming to a close and I don't yet see how Siri has been a "key area of advancement at Apple"  - at least what I've seen pre HomePod release.
    Apple made phenomenal advancements with the X/OLED Screen and the FaceID sensor array - Siri's improvements don't come close to even approaching this or the LTE Watch.


    I am looking for the HomePods to :
    1. Provide great integration with Apple products for music, podcasts, etc. 
    2. Provide great multi-room audio like SONOS (that why they compared it to the SONOS Play 3)
    3. Provide improved TV audio connected to Apple TV. Hopefully Apple or Beats would produce a whole home theater system with a wireless subwoofer using HomePod technology.
    4. Provide an Alexa like experience that can be used for Smart home control and integration with Calendars, shopping lists, and other APPS. The fact that the A9 chip is included leads me to hope that Apple is really aiming to make this a new platform. I expect that WWDC 2018 will have sessions for building siriOS Apps.

    Six years after Siri was released I feel that it has not fulfilled the potential that Steve Jobs saw in it. (Apple has shown with the watch that when they put the effort and resources into development they make great improvements year over year.)

     Apple's products and services should be either the best or second best in every category, Siri included.   There will be no excuses when the HomePod ships.   The comparison to Google Home, Echo and Alexa products like the Sonos One will be both natural and valid.  Unfortunately this editorial seems to be lowering the bar for SIRI in the HomePod very much different from what he was expressing a year ago. It seems very much like Soviet writers in Pravda re-writing history.  
    gatorguySoliphilboogiemuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 32 of 142
    Soli said:
    1. Apple doesn’t offer high quality audio. This is a regular consumer product with decent audio and focus on lifestyle and removing technical friction. 

    2. If Apple wants Siri to become a succes they should stop being arrogant and block the likes of Spotify from having a decent Siri integration. I’m not going to pay $349 for a speaker that can only boot Apple Music when it’s spoken to.
    (Same for Amazon Prime on AppleTV... Apple is abusing their power as platform holder).
    1) Hopefully you'll be able to connect BT speakers to HomePod so you can get excellent audio the way you can with Echo so you can have any level of audio in any setup you desire. I'd also like to see Apple allow built-in Siri the way Amazon allows Alexa to work with 3rd-party vendors, but I doubt that will happen.

    2) Is it really Apple preventing Spotify and Amazon from coming to the Apple TV? They offer it for HomePod and there are plenty of other streaming services supported by all other Apple devices. This seems like a 3rd-party app issue.
    Hey Soli,

    Like you said, let’s hope the speaker supports hooking up third party speakers. I don’t think this will be the case considering Apple’s focus of only adding the bare essential connections and positioning this as an ‘end device’, but who knows!

    On Spotify & Siri, it seems Apple is keeping Spotify away from using Siri (as well as on iOS, which I think is absurd since I now have to control my music in an unsafe way while driving):
    https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/apple-homepod-spotify-2017-10

    On Amazon & AppleTV, after a very long dispute between Amazon and Apple it seems they are finally getting to a beta:
    https://www.google.com/amp/appleinsider.com/articles/17/11/30/amazon-prime-video-app-for-apple-tv-beta-testing-by-employees-underway-release-date-still-unknown/amp/


  • Reply 33 of 142
    Soli said:

    We don't even know if HomePod will support anything other than Apple Music or allow other wireless speakers to connect. I suspect they will, but we don't know. But, hey, go ahead and call it now without having a single review by which to judge the actual performance.
    It doesn’t matter if it allows other stuff to connect to it. I don’t have nor intend to get any items from outside the Apple ecosystem.
    lkruppwatto_cobra
  • Reply 34 of 142
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    1. Apple doesn’t offer high quality audio. This is a regular consumer product with decent audio and focus on lifestyle and removing technical friction. 

    2. If Apple wants Siri to become a succes they should stop being arrogant and block the likes of Spotify from having a decent Siri integration. I’m not going to pay $349 for a speaker that can only boot Apple Music when it’s spoken to.
    (Same for Amazon Prime on AppleTV... Apple is abusing their power as platform holder).
    Just stifle it. You sound like Elizabeth Warren or some other anti-capitalist left winger. And it’s Amazon that took Apple’s ATV products off its store shelves and refused to release an app for the ATV, not Apple.  Get your blathering bullshit straight will you. Apple is abusing their power as a platform holder? Jesus H Christ, Moses in the Reeds you gotta be kidding me. And I bet you think Apple is a monopoly because it’s the only one who makes iPhones and Macs too. Mindless stupidity at its finest.
    edited December 2017 d_2brucemcwatto_cobra
  • Reply 35 of 142
    I like Apple products and own several of them. I believe the HomePod will be a another good product within its price point. Every article I have read of people who attended its unveiling loved its sound for its price point. They compared it to the Sonos play 3 with some saying it sounded better. None sompared it to the Sonos play 5 nor less a $85,000 speaker set. You have to be realistic in your sound expectations. There is no way Apple would charge less for the HomePod then the Sonos play 5 if it sounded better then it. 
    baconstangwatto_cobra
  • Reply 36 of 142
    cgWerkscgWerks Posts: 2,952member
    1. Apple doesn’t offer high quality audio. This is a regular consumer product with decent audio and focus on lifestyle and removing technical friction. 
    I'm going to have to hear one first. If it really is comparable to, say the HK system in a BMW, but in the living room, that is going to be impressive for such a small device. (Hopefully he's not talking about  I'd have a very hard time even believing that if I hadn't heard a few small boom-box sized yacht systems in my youth (at the hifi stores). You can actually do quite a bit with a 4" speaker if done right... though I suppose it isn't going to be matching some real 3-way 15" cabinets. But, who has those anymore?

    This might be a product for my family, as I'm having a hard time convincing everyone we need a good stereo system.... or where it should be located. It's typically been down in the family room by the TV (but I sold most of it the last time we moved). So, a lot of the music listening that happens - believe it or not - has been iPads (minis at that) just standing on the counter and playing music. (I usually have to go to another part of the house after about 15 minutes, as I'm just so irritated by how horrible it sounds.) But, my wife and son don't seem to mind. (I've never had real high end equipment, but sound like that hurts my audiophile-soul!)

    But, this is something simple and rather unobtrusive that they'd probably use... and maybe something I can talk them into (it's a bit pricy, but not so much compared to putting together a reasonable stereo system or good powered bookshelf speakers). And, it could save my ears! :)

    gmgravytrain said:
    Apple is getting any free pass with the HomePod. Wall Street fervently believes that a $30 Echo Dot with Alexa is far better than a $350 HomePod with Siri because Alexa is smarter and consumers can get ten Echo Dots for the price of one HomePod. Amazon wins again with market share percentage of ten to one proving that Jeff Bezos is a CEO genius and Tim Cook is an idiot. /s
    Different audience, I hope. You couldn't give me an Echo. I don't want one. Besides not trusting Amazon with that kind of info and power, I really don't need to order eggs or ask trivial pursuit questions. I've got my phone or computer for that.

    And, I could really care less that the HomePod is Siri based, as I find Siri mostly useless as well. Hopefully it will *at least* be able to understand play/pause/volume commands, or maybe initiating a playlist. That's plenty for me.

    What I care about is how it sounds. If it's pretty good for a small, movable device that substitutes for iPads blaring out telephone quality audio that hurts my ears, I'm game. :)

    danvm said:
    Maybe the HomePod will sound good for a $350.00 device, but I'm not sure I'll call it a high end audio product.  
    True... though what's a high end audio product? One person might think that it's a $200 set of Bose bookshelf speakers? I've got an A.R.T. matched amp and studio monitor set that's pretty decent. Another might think that's junk and point out some $5k speaker and amp setup. And, that could be some high-end audiophile's junk.

    As I mentioned above, I've heard a pretty good small unit (likely close to 4" woofer based) many years ago that impressed me (I think it was in the $2-3k range... and would have challenged about anything you'd find at a typical consumer electronics store, at least in a typical room). So, it's possible Apple has made this as good or comparable to most people's home stereo systems (for those who have actual home stereo systems anymore).

    But, most people don't have home stereo systems anymore, it seems. They listen on ear-buds or have some BT speakers, etc. The best audio they probably have are the speakers on their computer (if they game) or maybe by their TV... though I often think most surround-sound TV type setups (even costing many hundreds of dollars) are pretty bad). The only advantage they typically have is (overdone) bass. And, if this is a successful product, thats a *really* easy thing for Apple to add.

    k2kw said:
    Apple's products and services should be either the best or second best in every category, Siri included.
    Unfortunately, I wouldn't get your hopes up too much. As I said above, I don't care all that much about the Siri aspect. But, if you do... consider Apple's track record so far in this, or look at any of their products that use search/AI type technologies. Apple simply sucks at this stuff. They are just finally getting basic cloud-services under control. Maybe they will improve, but I don't think it's going to be in the HomePod expected time-frame (i.e.: maybe a year or two from now).
  • Reply 37 of 142
    robjnrobjn Posts: 280member
    I can’t wait to listen to HomePod. This is groundbreaking speaker design - it has 8 amplifiers, a driver arrangement that will radiate sound like the theoretically perfect ideal audiophiles dream of, and takes computational audio to a new level. I wondering how it will compare to a Devialet - you can buy 4 HomePods for the price of one Devialet - so even if one HomePod is not as loud as a Devialet it could be a bargain.

    Who cares about what Siri on it can or can’t do? It promises to be best sounding speaker. And you can control it without Siri - it has touch controls on top. It will also work without Apple Music as any other AirPlay speaker does.
    cgWerkswelshdog
  • Reply 38 of 142
    BK2KBK2K Posts: 2unconfirmed, member
    I’ve not met anyone who owns an Alexa enabled speaker who doesn’t love it. They’re available now, priced to move and ‘good enough” for the money. Personally the privacy concerns kill it for me and I’d love to control my lights and music with Homepod, but at the moment it’s vapourware. I’d reckon it’s going to be a bumper Christmas for Google and Amazon. Was the point of the article “But Homepod sounds better”? It’s going to have to.
  • Reply 39 of 142
    Rieux said:
    dewme said:
    [AirPods'] simplicity and immediacy of pairing, ... potability, ... and reasonable balance between sound isolation and environmental awareness makes them one of the most pleasurable-to-use products that Apple has ever produced. 
    I like Apple products as much as the next Apple Insider reader, but I'm pretty sure you can't drink AirPods. Or at least you shouldn't.
    Lol.


    Solimbenz1962
  • Reply 40 of 142
    BK2K said:
    I’ve not met anyone who owns an Alexa enabled speaker who doesn’t love it. They’re available now, priced to move and ‘good enough” for the money. Personally the privacy concerns kill it for me and I’d love to control my lights and music with Homepod, but at the moment it’s vapourware. I’d reckon it’s going to be a bumper Christmas for Google and Amazon. Was the point of the article “But Homepod sounds better”? It’s going to have to.
    Indeed if the listening feature cannot be turned off it may be a concern: https://www.wired.com/2017/02/smart-tv-spying-vizio-settlement/

    It may not be so much an intended implementation, as the potential for future unilateral change with or without warning, or hacking or simply an exploit bug:
    https://www.wired.com/story/macos-high-sierra-hack-root/

    Horn loaded tweeters have me very interested in this product from an audio perspective. Also the EQ is in my experience huge - room acoustics play a fundamental role in sound 'color'. For those who feel Apple does not offer high quality audio they may want to consider http://studiosixdigital.com/audio-hardware/iphone_3gs_microphone.html and try the ALAC codec with some high end multi driver headphones...

    https://audioboost.wordpress.com/2012/05/10/ipods-with-wolfson-or-cirrus-logic-audio-chip-which-one-is-better/

    Horns have been a benchmark in audio for the better part of a century http://www.klipsch.ca/products/klipschorn-70th-anniversary-edition and while every type of driver has pros and cons, for accurate transient response especially at the high end I have only ever heard one conventional dome tweeter that could compete with the Klipsch or Decca ribbons...
    edited December 2017
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