Fact is, I think of most of this is already in development. EQ adjustments seem pretty straight forward and with all the discussion around HomePod's sound, this can be very doable. Especially with EQ already done on the iPhone/iPad.
We really are expecting speakers and Apple Music to be baked into HomeKit with AirPlay 2. Same as we see with Alexa now.
Multiple user support has long been requested, and as other speakers add this, it is only a matter of time. They held off at the beginning most likely because it wasn't accurate enough like we see happening to others. As Apple improves Siri/voice recognition, it shouldnt be an issue.
We don't know what Apple is going to do, but none of these are moonshot ideas.
We need SiriKit for music and podcasts. And everyone who says AirPlay that’s BS. Why should I have to use my phone if I want to listen to music outside of Apple Music? I want to be able to say “Hey Siri, play Mellow Jazz from Jazz Radio and Siri to know it’s the Jazz Radio app. Or “Hey Siri, play my funk playlist from Pandora”. Having to control all of this from my phone defeats the purpose of having a voice controlled speaker in the first place. And if Apple assumes the only place I get music from is Apple Music we’ll that’s just arrogant.
So your complaint has to do with Siri’s abilities in general, not just with HomePod. Siri can’t do the things you’re asking on your phone or any iOS device as of today. So did Apple’s assumption become arrogant when HomePod was released or prior to that ?
There are no controls on the HomePod other than volume up/down. Clearly Apple intended HomePod to be a voice first platform.
Ok so there are other touch controls on the HomePod.
You thinking of it as a voice first platform doesn’t mean that’s what it is. I don’t use the voice assistant at all personally. I like controlling what I am playing by my own hand and eyes, not by voice. If someone is at my place and wants to hear a song Siri works just fine. I am sure that I am not the only person that purchased this looking for a solid sounding WiFi speaker , and not a voice first smart speaker.
I understand that Apple pushed the Siri piece when it was announced. It still didn’t make me want the speaker for that reason. I can only speak for myself and my usage, but as I said I believe that I am not the only person that bought this speaker for a reason other than Siri and voice commands.
I wonder how much of a touchscreen the top of the HomePod is. Not “how much of the top of the HomePod is a touchscreen,” but rather the nature and capabilities of the touchscreen itself. Meaning, if they wanted to add EQ control directly to the top of the device, would they be able to do it with the existing hardware, simply by adding a new interface to the touchscreen. If it’s just a “dumbtouch” interface and not multitouch, I’m not sure they could.
EDIT: Hey, 12 minutes left. I looked at their list of controls and none of them look like they include gestures of any sort, not even swipe. Seems like there could be some trouble in adding an effective EQ interface, then.
Dear Apple Engineers and Product development team,
I really wanted to buy your HomePod - I really did! I have a large music collection and I want to listen to with the best possible experience. I'm intrigued by the innovations HomePod brings.
But after listening to it in multiple stores to get a sense of what it was capable of, I decided to spend $1350 AUD on a NAD amplifier (C328) and some Bowers and Wilkins speakers. The HomePod just wasn't powerful enough.
Why am I writing to you? There's talk that you'll release a less expensive HomePod. However, if you're targeting the Audio experience first then go the other way. Build a larger device to make better use of the incredible technology you've introduced in the HomePod.
These points and the lack of promised stereo and multi-room capability are really disappointing. We purchased two units with the understanding that these two promised features were in fact "coming soon", now that 11.3 has come and still not here had my wife wanting to return the pods and wait to see if Apple ever follows through on those promises before repurchasing. We actually filed a support case with AppleCare and have been told we can return them even though we are well outside of the usual return by date. Waiting on the wife's final decision on that one... She loves the sound, hates that it does not deliver as promised.
Why would you want multi room and stereo? I’m annoyed that HomePod doesn’t have them but both doesn’t make any sense if you have only two?
Dear Apple Engineers and Product development team,
I really wanted to buy your HomePod - I really did! I have a large music collection and I want to listen to with the best possible experience. I'm intrigued by the innovations HomePod brings.
But after listening to it in multiple stores to get a sense of what it was capable of, I decided to spend $1350 AUD on a NAD amplifier (C328) and some Bowers and Wilkins speakers. The HomePod just wasn't powerful enough.
Why am I writing to you? There's talk that you'll release a less expensive HomePod. However, if you're targeting the Audio experience first then go the other way. Build a larger device to make better use of the incredible technology you've introduced in the HomePod.
What you are looking for is HomePod to have an aux port. The true high end audio market is too small for Apple. Seeing that Siri is the weakest link right now I think they chose the right balance with best in class hardware at $349. If it was $999 and bigger and their only smart speaker, forget about it. They’d appear to have lost their marbles. No, I believe they chose the right starting point. You can always get two as a stereo pair (soon) or buy a few and get audio in several rooms around the home. I’m sure what you want would make you happy, but unfortunately for you that’s not going to happen. I do wonder if we ever see a HomePod mini from them. We may, but knowing Apple it wouldn’t surprise me if they double down on this midrange segment, perhaps reducing the price over time down to $299 or lower. Perhaps in the next two - four years their next sound product is a TV with Apple soundbar. The TV market is in serious flux right now, so we’ll see.
Hey @andrew what do you think of Alexa Blue Prints, it sound so Apple I had to check if it was really Amazon, only it is, kinda of a shame it isn't Apple.
When I suggested that Apple was entering a market they didn't seem to get with the HomePod, I was promptly lambasted by the wonderful folks who patrol these streets, sure the augment will be made that Apple is in competition with high-end sonos and not with cheap eco trash, but do we really think HP would exist if it wasn't for all the buzz Alexa was getting thus prompting this hack job sub par effort from Tim, what's yet to be answered is what exactly did Apple fix when this product was delayed and they claimed it wasn't ready ? Was it then subsequently ready when it finally shipped ? was how it is now what Apple was aiming for from when they first announced it ? Is this what Apple regards as ready?
Look, I love the idea of the voice assistants getting better. More skills like this is really what is needed to make the actually... useful. With Amazon Alexa specifically, it is so hit and miss. I hate how the commands work, and half the time they don't even work properly. I have my pet feeder connected to Alexa and whenever I activate her, she mishears me, then when she does understand me, she says she can't feed my dog. Even though it is the exact command I used every other time.
In the end I wind up frustrated and doing whatever I asked of her manually. That frustrating will kill the assistants because people will become more annoyed than delighted by them.
Trying to turn peoples perception around once it goes sour can be a daunting task and I think that is something Apple was trying to avoid, though they still ended up there for many.
I'm hoping that Apple keeps continuous resources in HomePod for at least the next four years like they did with the Apple watch. Not like with the apple TV which seems to get updates once every 2-3 years. Most of these should be software updates starting with the missing Stereo support but then they should make a HomePodPlus that would include aux port and a HomePodBar with optical and HDMI ports. I would like to just have one speaker system that can be used with iPhone/iPads , my computers both macOs and windows, and my TV anywhere in my house. And it should be the classic "It just works" ease of use.
... I do wonder if we ever see a HomePod mini from them. We may, but knowing Apple it wouldn’t surprise me if they double down on this midrange segment, perhaps reducing the price over time down to $299 or lower.
Two contributors to that ever happening, yet I doubt Apple ever wants to go too much lower there: 1. Make it a "gateway" product, i.e. initiation to ecosystem. (Unlikely, as Watch better potential as new gateway offering) 2. Monetize it beyond AppleMusic subscription. For instance, audiobooks, Texture app oral capability, enhanced Siri shopping.
Nice article and ditto the commentary. I don't have HomePod yet. Farther off, I'd like to see customizable Siri. I always cut short Siri's weather forecast from iPhone in morning. The Siri on the Watch has more attitude, saying "Brrrrrr" if it's unseasonably cold. While I'm a numbers guy visually, orally I like attitude. You should be able to tell your Siri what is Cold, Cool, etc as it differs whether you live in Ottawa or Miami, or if you're 20 or 70.
Traffic-wise I'd like Siri eventually to say nothing to me if route is clear. Just alert me if a problem to getting to work or a flight on time. Same thing for customizing news filters. Right now, Internet's SNR pretty awful. Ditto any general newspaper and specialty sites. So much noise or content useful to others but not you, finding signal often wastes much time. So wish list: customizable Siri
Coincidently ... This happened just minutes ago with the HomePod we have on the Kitchen countertop at one end near a wall. The countertop opens to a great room plan so a massive area to fill with sound. I was thinking NPR news sounded a bit muffled and had too much bass. On a hunch I moved the HomePod a few inches and a few seconds later the sound improved dramatically and was crystal clear. I don't know if I forced a recalibration of the beam-forming which caused the improvement due to a glitch in its set up or if it literally needed to be moved because of bad positioning in the first place. Either way it was a dramatic change in the eq.
There are no controls on the HomePod other than volume up/down. Clearly Apple intended HomePod to be a voice first platform.
Well... I'm not saying it's not a voice-first platform, but HomePod has touch controls beyond the displayed volume controls. There are three tap gestures: A single tap for play/pause, double-tap for next track, and triple-tap for previous track. You can also invoke Siri by touching and holding the display (in case you have kids who won't stop yelling out "Hey, Siri" or something and need to turn that off).
Comments
Fact is, I think of most of this is already in development. EQ adjustments seem pretty straight forward and with all the discussion around HomePod's sound, this can be very doable. Especially with EQ already done on the iPhone/iPad.
We really are expecting speakers and Apple Music to be baked into HomeKit with AirPlay 2. Same as we see with Alexa now.
Multiple user support has long been requested, and as other speakers add this, it is only a matter of time. They held off at the beginning most likely because it wasn't accurate enough like we see happening to others. As Apple improves Siri/voice recognition, it shouldnt be an issue.
We don't know what Apple is going to do, but none of these are moonshot ideas.
Ok so there are other touch controls on the HomePod.
You thinking of it as a voice first platform doesn’t mean that’s what it is. I don’t use the voice assistant at all personally. I like controlling what I am playing by my own hand and eyes, not by voice. If someone is at my place and wants to hear a song Siri works just fine. I am sure that I am not the only person that purchased this looking for a solid sounding WiFi speaker , and not a voice first smart speaker.
I understand that Apple pushed the Siri piece when it was announced. It still didn’t make me want the speaker for that reason. I can only speak for myself and my usage, but as I said I believe that I am not the only person that bought this speaker for a reason other than Siri and voice commands.
EDIT: Hey, 12 minutes left. I looked at their list of controls and none of them look like they include gestures of any sort, not even swipe. Seems like there could be some trouble in adding an effective EQ interface, then.
Here's an email I sent to Apple yesterday...
I really wanted to buy your HomePod - I really did! I have a large music collection and I want to listen to with the best possible experience. I'm intrigued by the innovations HomePod brings.
But after listening to it in multiple stores to get a sense of what it was capable of, I decided to spend $1350 AUD on a NAD amplifier (C328) and some Bowers and Wilkins speakers. The HomePod just wasn't powerful enough.
Why am I writing to you? There's talk that you'll release a less expensive HomePod. However, if you're targeting the Audio experience first then go the other way. Build a larger device to make better use of the incredible technology you've introduced in the HomePod.
1. Make it a "gateway" product, i.e. initiation to ecosystem. (Unlikely, as Watch better potential as new gateway offering)
2. Monetize it beyond AppleMusic subscription. For instance, audiobooks, Texture app oral capability, enhanced Siri shopping.
Traffic-wise I'd like Siri eventually to say nothing to me if route is clear. Just alert me if a problem to getting to work or a flight on time. Same thing for customizing news filters. Right now, Internet's SNR pretty awful. Ditto any general newspaper and specialty sites. So much noise or content useful to others but not you, finding signal often wastes much time. So wish list: customizable Siri