This thing is useless to anyone other than and apple user. Too bad. Just allowing Bluetooth streaming would have opened Homepod up to so many more people.
If somebody wants the advantages of Apple’s ecosystem, build quality, privacy protection and superior user experience, which includes HomePod, they should acquire an iPhone and or a Mac. Products such as HomePod are one of the advantages of using Apple gear, that’s the point.
This thing is useless to anyone other than and apple user. Too bad. Just allowing Bluetooth streaming would have opened Homepod up to so many more people.
If somebody wants the advantages of Apple’s ecosystem, build quality, privacy protection and superior user experience, which includes HomePod, they should acquire an iPhone and or a Mac. Products such as HomePod are one of the advantages of using Apple gear, that’s the point.
My Sonos system provides all of those advantages you speak of. And I don't need an iPhone to use it. None of those advantages you list need to be locked into just Apple for others to enjoy it. In fact, opening up the HP would be its biggest advantage. HP will always have a small market share until Apple allows others access to it. Too bad, it could've been a big hit.
Useless information. Without proper context of why the Smart Speaker segment is of any value or importance and how dominance in this sector can lead to fruitful change or improvement what's the point of tossing out a bunch of numbers? We don't know what the goal or endgame is and judging from the lack of clarity in 90% of articles about smart speakers it's becoming abundantly clear that analysts don't know either.
These articles are written from a puerile standpoint, they understand the numbers but fail to grasp the meaning or threads that these numbers travel on.
This thing is useless to anyone other than and apple user. Too bad. Just allowing Bluetooth streaming would have opened Homepod up to so many more people.
It does actually have Bluetooth, but (presumably) because Cook wants you to help inflate his services income, it won't stream anything but Apple Music directly, and trying to stream other services over AirPlay is a hassle.
Lack of bluetooth and/or an input jack keeps this off my radar.
I'm never going to put an internet-connected microphone in my home, period. Not one from google or amazon (people are insane to be okay with this), but not from Apple either. I'd love to have the HP's awesome sound reproduction in a really nice, portable form factor, but as it is, it's off the table for me.
Eventually these devices will be able to process more and more on-device. It's just going to take time to get there, and the biggest players are going to have to figure out a different way monetize/subsidize them apart from profiling their users. Apple will be well-positioned to enter that market in the future if they decide to do so.
I am extremely happy with my HomePod. I mostly listen to news and podcasts rather than music. No problems with Siri. She knows what do do normally, but I also confess I don’t demand too much of her. Change the volume, play music, podcasts, set timers, add items to shopping lists and notes. I plan on getting a second one for our downstairs kitchen/living room area this fall during the holiday sale period.
I'm never going to put an internet-connected microphone in my home, period.
So you don't own an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac? Why are you here?
Ha ha, you're funny. A predictable response from someone who hasn't been paying attention. I've been here on AI since 2002. I'm a dev, and I've probably owned more Macs than 99% of AI members; a few years back I attempted a count and was over 30 before giving up. That was just personal machines I bought myself, not ones purchased by any companies I've worked for. iOS devices are far fewer, I think only 6 or 7 (never with data plans), but my spouse/kids have a few more, and several other Macs as well.
Guess what. None of these devices have unfettered internet access from home, and I control very tightly what goes in and out of my network. If more people actually saw all the data going in and out of their personal devices, and had any clue about how it's being used, there would eventually be a rebellion. But the vast majority of it is hidden, and most people don't have the technical ability to see, let alone understand what's happening behind the scenes. Thankfully, we're finally getting a bunch of industry insiders who are coming out and publicly talking about the downside of all the data collection, but it will take many years and some really big disasters before things will change substantially. It will probably require legislation, which is frustrating, but reality.
Apple is one of the few "good guys", but at the end of the day, there are few things that I'm not ever going to give up willingly: real-time location, social graph, personal communication contents (and meta data, i.e. social graph), purchase habits, etc. Voice is on the short list as well. Location is an unfortunate challenge; thankfully regulators have finally put a stop to telcos freely selling that data.
I do believe that many basic tasks will eventually be handled on-device without any internet required. Things like timers and alarms, controlling things within one's home, playing music and video from local sources, maintaining lists, and eventually adding your own functionality via small bits of custom code, and at that time I'll be one of the first to hop on that train.
To my point above though, if Apple had simply added an input jack or a standard bluetooth input I can think of at least 3-4 places around my home that I'd want to place these, thanks to the great adaptive sound in a small, attractive package.
I'm never going to put an internet-connected microphone in my home, period.
So you don't own an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac? Why are you here?
Ha ha, you're funny. A predictable response from someone who hasn't been paying attention. I've been here on AI since 2002. I'm a dev, and I've probably owned more Macs than 99% of AI members; a few years back I attempted a count and was over 30 before giving up. That was just personal machines I bought myself, not ones purchased by any companies I've worked for. iOS devices are far fewer, I think only 6 or 7 (never with data plans), but my spouse/kids have a few more, and several other Macs as well.
Guess what. None of these devices have unfettered internet access from home, and I control very tightly what goes in and out of my network. If more people actually saw all the data going in and out of their personal devices, and had any clue about how it's being used, there would eventually be a rebellion. But the vast majority of it is hidden, and most people don't have the technical ability to see, let alone understand what's happening behind the scenes. Thankfully, we're finally getting a bunch of industry insiders who are coming out and publicly talking about the downside of all the data collection, but it will take many years and some really big disasters before things will change substantially. It will probably require legislation, which is frustrating, but reality.
Apple is one of the few "good guys", but at the end of the day, there are few things that I'm not ever going to give up willingly: real-time location, social graph, personal communication contents (and meta data, i.e. social graph), purchase habits, etc. Voice is on the short list as well. Location is an unfortunate challenge; thankfully regulators have finally put a stop to telcos freely selling that data.
I do believe that many basic tasks will eventually be handled on-device without any internet required. Things like timers and alarms, controlling things within one's home, playing music and video from local sources, maintaining lists, and eventually adding your own functionality via small bits of custom code, and at that time I'll be one of the first to hop on that train.
To my point above though, if Apple had simply added an input jack or a standard bluetooth input I can think of at least 3-4 places around my home that I'd want to place these, thanks to the great adaptive sound in a small, attractive package.
Enjoy living in a Faraday cage, I'd rather actually use my devices.
To your point though, what's wrong with AirPlay vs Bluetooth?
I'm never going to put an internet-connected microphone in my home, period.
So you don't own an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac? Why are you here?
Ha ha, you're funny. A predictable response from someone who hasn't been paying attention. I've been here on AI since 2002. I'm a dev, and I've probably owned more Macs than 99% of AI members; a few years back I attempted a count and was over 30 before giving up. That was just personal machines I bought myself, not ones purchased by any companies I've worked for. iOS devices are far fewer, I think only 6 or 7 (never with data plans), but my spouse/kids have a few more, and several other Macs as well.
Guess what. None of these devices have unfettered internet access from home, and I control very tightly what goes in and out of my network. If more people actually saw all the data going in and out of their personal devices, and had any clue about how it's being used, there would eventually be a rebellion. But the vast majority of it is hidden, and most people don't have the technical ability to see, let alone understand what's happening behind the scenes. Thankfully, we're finally getting a bunch of industry insiders who are coming out and publicly talking about the downside of all the data collection, but it will take many years and some really big disasters before things will change substantially. It will probably require legislation, which is frustrating, but reality.
Apple is one of the few "good guys", but at the end of the day, there are few things that I'm not ever going to give up willingly: real-time location, social graph, personal communication contents (and meta data, i.e. social graph), purchase habits, etc. Voice is on the short list as well. Location is an unfortunate challenge; thankfully regulators have finally put a stop to telcos freely selling that data.
I do believe that many basic tasks will eventually be handled on-device without any internet required. Things like timers and alarms, controlling things within one's home, playing music and video from local sources, maintaining lists, and eventually adding your own functionality via small bits of custom code, and at that time I'll be one of the first to hop on that train.
To my point above though, if Apple had simply added an input jack or a standard bluetooth input I can think of at least 3-4 places around my home that I'd want to place these, thanks to the great adaptive sound in a small, attractive package.
Enjoy living in a Faraday cage, I'd rather actually use my devices.
To your point though, what's wrong with AirPlay vs Bluetooth?
Doesn't AirPlay require an appleID? and appleID require a validating connection to the internet?
If I'm wrong and I can use AirPlay without a HomePod ever touching the internet, please let me know.
Faraday/tinfoil comments aren't really that funny anymore. Maybe 10-15 years ago. It also highlights on of my education points: the fact that people are so addicted to "convenience" that they're not willing to even attempt to look at the downsides weighing on the other side of those "conveniences".
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These articles are written from a puerile standpoint, they understand the numbers but fail to grasp the meaning or threads that these numbers travel on.
To your point though, what's wrong with AirPlay vs Bluetooth?