Tim Cook says hardware, software integration puts HomePod ahead of competition

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  • Reply 41 of 121
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    An Apple employee who worked on HomePod tweeted that anyone who wants good sound with no surveillance should get a HomePod. Really? So that’s going to be Apple’s marking plan? I’ll keep my Bose Soundlink Mini which has great sound and doesn’t need to be continuously connected to power.
    I think that Apple overestimate how much we care about privacy. I mean I do, but with important documents, not my listening habits. Use that data and recommend some music. Thanks



    edited January 2018 rogifan_new
  • Reply 42 of 121
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,056member
    Dalrymple's take on the audio quality issue in interesting and insightful:

    http://www.loopinsight.com/2018/01/24/on-homepod-and-audio-quality/

    The comparison to iPod is apt, I think. My recollection is that I had the same reaction to the iPod as I am now having to HomePod: "Meh. Not for me." And iPod wasn't for me at the time. As the prices dropped, and it was a bit more refined, I did get a few. And I still have them. My last one was an iPod touch, that now sits proudly by the window, broadcasting a loop of windchime music into a cheapo BT lamp on the porch. Yes, I have a digial windchime.

    I have one of the last gen iPod nanos that my wife outfitted with a watchband. I remember looking at that and said, "hum. If only Apple could dress this up as an actual watch, they'd have something." Who knew.

    I am very much not the target consumer for HomePod, but I wasn't for iPod either. I recall all the fervor over removal of the headphone jack from the iPhone. The dongle and lightening earbuds I got with my iPhone 7 are unused in the original packaging. I'm not a broad music consumer, so $350 is not vale. To me. YMMV.

    As a shareholder, I hope there are consumers for this, but I have no evidence this is actually the case. 
  • Reply 43 of 121
    schlackschlack Posts: 719member
    I have an Echo and I want a HomePod. But my mental space doesn't want to deal with TWO virtual assistants in my home. Not sure how to proceed!
  • Reply 44 of 121
    zoetmb said:
    And with all these devices, I don't know how we perceive going back over 60 years to mono sound systems is perceived as "optimized for music" unless one wants to argue that the largely crappy new music released today, largely created within ProTools, doesn't need stereo.
    Common misunderstanding with the HomePod. It's not a mono device. The high/mid range will be reproduced in stereo due to the seven tweeters, while the low end will not (only one woofer). That's not a big deal for a mass market product like the HomePod. Most stereo effects do reside in the high/mid range, so although there is technically a difference with only one woofer, the non-audiophile is going to be hard pressed to find much of a difference with "true" stereo.
    StrangeDaystmay
  • Reply 45 of 121
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    zoetmb said:
    And with all these devices, I don't know how we perceive going back over 60 years to mono sound systems is perceived as "optimized for music" unless one wants to argue that the largely crappy new music released today, largely created within ProTools, doesn't need stereo.
    Common misunderstanding with the HomePod. It's not a mono device. The high/mid range will be reproduced in stereo due to the seven tweeters, while the low end will not (only one woofer). That's not a big deal for a mass market product like the HomePod. Most stereo effects do reside in the high/mid range, so although there is technically a difference with only one woofer, the non-audiophile is going to be hard pressed to find much of a difference with "true" stereo.
    The Google Home Max has twin woofers, but I still would not describe it as offering stereo sound nor would Google. Personally I even doubt having two of them produces "stereo" sound in the way we expect to hear it, even if reviewers say it does. 
    https://www.wired.com/review/google-home-max/
    edited January 2018
  • Reply 46 of 121
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    gatorguy said:
    zoetmb said:
    And with all these devices, I don't know how we perceive going back over 60 years to mono sound systems is perceived as "optimized for music" unless one wants to argue that the largely crappy new music released today, largely created within ProTools, doesn't need stereo.
    Common misunderstanding with the HomePod. It's not a mono device. The high/mid range will be reproduced in stereo due to the seven tweeters, while the low end will not (only one woofer). That's not a big deal for a mass market product like the HomePod. Most stereo effects do reside in the high/mid range, so although there is technically a difference with only one woofer, the non-audiophile is going to be hard pressed to find much of a difference with "true" stereo.
    The Google Home Max has twin woofers, but still would not describe it as offering stereo sound nor would Google.. 
    yes but the home pod has tweeters. Seven of them. And that apparently will create stereo sound. I dont know why but I doubt there are two many audophiles on this thread anyway. 
  • Reply 47 of 121
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    zoetmb said:
    I think a lot of people buy Alexa or similar devices thinking they’ll use them for a lot of different purposes, but end up using them mostly for music, with the occasional weather forecast, etc. But the Apple device seems to be the first one optimized for music, its actual “core” purpose. So it could be a good upgrade for people who got used to the convenience of Alexa, etc. but want something that sounds (and looks) better. 
    We won't know if it's really optimized for music until we hear it - marketing hype means nothing.   And with all these devices, I don't know how we perceive going back over 60 years to mono sound systems is perceived as "optimized for music" unless one wants to argue that the largely crappy new music released today, largely created within ProTools, doesn't need stereo.


    The fact that you believe it’s “mono” if where you’ve gone wrong. It does channel separation and has 7 drivers inside it. 

    http://www.loopinsight.com/2018/01/24/on-homepod-and-audio-quality/
  • Reply 48 of 121
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    asdasd said:
    gatorguy said:
    zoetmb said:
    And with all these devices, I don't know how we perceive going back over 60 years to mono sound systems is perceived as "optimized for music" unless one wants to argue that the largely crappy new music released today, largely created within ProTools, doesn't need stereo.
    Common misunderstanding with the HomePod. It's not a mono device. The high/mid range will be reproduced in stereo due to the seven tweeters, while the low end will not (only one woofer). That's not a big deal for a mass market product like the HomePod. Most stereo effects do reside in the high/mid range, so although there is technically a difference with only one woofer, the non-audiophile is going to be hard pressed to find much of a difference with "true" stereo.
    The Google Home Max has twin woofers, but still would not describe it as offering stereo sound nor would Google.. 
    yes but the home pod has tweeters. Seven of them. And that apparently will create stereo sound. I dont know why but I doubt there are two many audophiles on this thread anyway. 
    Is that a stereo joke?
    asdasd
  • Reply 49 of 121
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    mike54 said:
    Tim Cook has released this product and he needs to sell it, so he says what he needs to say.

    However, for this price they should of put in an A11 cpu and 3gb ram. Yea, probably not needed for now but for this price it may future proof it more.
    The A8 cpu with 1gb ram was released in 2014.
    Nonsense. You don’t even know why you want those things, you’re just being entitled. 

    $350 for a good speaker is cheap. For cheap Amazon assistant gizmo if may be a lot, but this is a quality speaker first. 
    edited January 2018
  • Reply 50 of 121
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    Soli said:
    asdasd said:
    gatorguy said:
    zoetmb said:
    And with all these devices, I don't know how we perceive going back over 60 years to mono sound systems is perceived as "optimized for music" unless one wants to argue that the largely crappy new music released today, largely created within ProTools, doesn't need stereo.
    Common misunderstanding with the HomePod. It's not a mono device. The high/mid range will be reproduced in stereo due to the seven tweeters, while the low end will not (only one woofer). That's not a big deal for a mass market product like the HomePod. Most stereo effects do reside in the high/mid range, so although there is technically a difference with only one woofer, the non-audiophile is going to be hard pressed to find much of a difference with "true" stereo.
    The Google Home Max has twin woofers, but still would not describe it as offering stereo sound nor would Google.. 
    yes but the home pod has tweeters. Seven of them. And that apparently will create stereo sound. I dont know why but I doubt there are two many audophiles on this thread anyway. 
    Is that a stereo joke?
    Yes I believe it was. Very subtle.... ;)
    asdasd
  • Reply 51 of 121
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member

    "Ahead of the competition"

    Well, he would say that wouldn't he?

    Never mind Tim, I won't be buying one or any other ''Home assistant' for that matter.
    As for sound quality, my proper HiFi system, does very well thanks.
    Goodie for you. But what about people who don’t have hifi systems or home theaters and just want a quality shelf speaker with some extras? Because you don’t need it no one should?

    Think, man. 
  • Reply 52 of 121
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    1983 said:
    I fear HomePod will be DOA. Apple lost the virtual assistant battle a long time ago. And there are plenty of other smart-speaker manufactures that do great sound quality too.
    It’s a quality speaker first, not an assistant. Which nobody has won, btw. And what other assistant speakers have great sound? not the dot. 
  • Reply 53 of 121
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    "Competition makes all of us better and I welcome it," Cook said. "(But) if you are both trying to license something and compete with your licensees, this is a difficult model and it remains to be seen if it can be successful or not."

    This quote tells us that Apple will license its Car OS and not build a car.
    License it to who? No automaker needs Apple here. They’re all alread doing their own thing (and probably way ahead of whatever Apple is doing).
    Disagree.  Almost every major auto manufacturer offers CarPlay & Android Auto, both of which are much better than anything the car guys offer.
    You’re confusing infotainment systems with an autonomous car OS. The automakers are working on their own autonomous systems is what rogifan was saying. 
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 54 of 121
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member

    asdasd said:
    An Apple employee who worked on HomePod tweeted that anyone who wants good sound with no surveillance should get a HomePod. Really? So that’s going to be Apple’s marking plan? I’ll keep my Bose Soundlink Mini which has great sound and doesn’t need to be continuously connected to power.
    I think that Apple overestimate how much we care about privacy. I mean I do, but with important documents, not my listening habits. Use that data and recommend some music. Thanks
    Apple already does this. But with google type services users become the product they sell to advertisers. 
  • Reply 55 of 121
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member

    eightzero said:

    As a shareholder, I hope there are consumers for this, but I have no evidence this is actually the case. 
    Do you do much research in this market? If not, how would you have evidence for it?
  • Reply 56 of 121
    gatorguy said:
    The Google Home Max has twin woofers, but I still would not describe it as offering stereo sound nor would Google. 
    Google describes using a pair of the Max speakers as providing "stereo separation", so the drawback to having a single Max would not be that it isn't technically stereo but rather that the stereo doesn't have much separation. That's the issue Apple is tackling by having the audio beam forming capability: greater separation from a compact source. I think they considered that to be more important than technically fulfilling "stereo" at the low end by having more than one woofer. 
  • Reply 57 of 121
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    1983 said:
    I fear HomePod will be DOA. Apple lost the virtual assistant battle a long time ago. And there are plenty of other smart-speaker manufactures that do great sound quality too.
    It’s a quality speaker first, not an assistant. Which nobody has won, btw. And what other assistant speakers have great sound? not the dot. 
    There's actually a few which may not have been the case when the HomePod was first announced nearly 8 months ago. Since then there's Sonos with Alexa (Google Home coming soon), Google Home Max, Sony's which will be somehow familiar in design to many of us here (!). Over the next few months a plethora of higher-end audio companies from Altec Lansing to Bang & Olufsen, JBL to Klipsch to Pioneer, will have their "great-sounding smart-speaker with assistant" on the store shelves as well.

    The scenery now is a bit different than it was 8 months back.  After the initial rush from the dedicated fans Apple may have their work cut out for them trying to stand out from an increasingly crowded market with excellent to good-enough sound at several price points.
    edited January 2018 rogifan_new
  • Reply 58 of 121
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    dysamoria said:
    macxpress said:
    I like how people here are just talking crap about a product they've never seen except in photos, nor used and are just making the same tired assumptions everyone seems to make when a new Apple product comes to market. Its always this well this thing is crap and nobody will buy it, it should have had this in it, and that in it, etc...and its overpriced for what it is. I just love armchair executives. Just as great as armchair engineers! 

    Apple knows what the hell its doing. It didn't get where it is today by just throwing crap products out to market. It knows what it wants to build, how they want to build it, why they want to build it, and who they're going to build it for. It didn't become one of the most successful companies in the world just by pure luck. 
    The Apple of today is burning through the reputation that the Apple of 2006-2012 earned with the earlier generations of products it produced that were top-level examples of their product categories (excellent computers and portables that anyone could use). Today's Apple clearly demonstrates not knowing what it's doing in terms of hardware (CPU throttling and suicidal machines to serve pathological thinness), QA (clearly insufficient), too-short development cycles (a new major release every year is too short for Apple's developers, third-party developers, and consumers), GUI design (since 2013's iOS 7 began the downward plunge on both iPhone and Mac), and customer trust (throttling again, but this time to avoid replacing defective hardware or batteries,; also passive-aggressively bullying customers into a ludicrously short product lifespan of three years)... etc.

    There are plenty of reasons to doubt the expertise at Apple. 
    So you're trying to tell me (us) that Apple's continuous record sales of iOS and Macs are from Steve's era? The Apple Watch taking over over the smartwatch sector was just because of Steve's era! Bahahahaha! Yes, the era of Steve Jobs was perfect. Nothing was ever delayed (cough white iPhone 4s cough), nothing ever failed (cough iPhone 4 Antennagate cough), nothing ever had repair program (cough 2011 MacBook Pro cough), etc. You have a very skewed version of Apple between 2006-2012. Its easy to think of the good things, and forget the bad things from 12yrs ago when you just think If Steve were here this wouldn't have happened. Absolute BS on iOS and macOS interface design. Maybe you don't like it, but that doesn't mean customers as a whole don't like it. People don't buy expensive things for the sake of buying them. Customer satisfaction is still right up there with everything it sells. Need I say more?


    edited January 2018 brertechJWSCtmayAppleZulu
  • Reply 59 of 121
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    Soli said:
    asdasd said:
    gatorguy said:
    zoetmb said:
    And with all these devices, I don't know how we perceive going back over 60 years to mono sound systems is perceived as "optimized for music" unless one wants to argue that the largely crappy new music released today, largely created within ProTools, doesn't need stereo.
    Common misunderstanding with the HomePod. It's not a mono device. The high/mid range will be reproduced in stereo due to the seven tweeters, while the low end will not (only one woofer). That's not a big deal for a mass market product like the HomePod. Most stereo effects do reside in the high/mid range, so although there is technically a difference with only one woofer, the non-audiophile is going to be hard pressed to find much of a difference with "true" stereo.
    The Google Home Max has twin woofers, but still would not describe it as offering stereo sound nor would Google.. 
    yes but the home pod has tweeters. Seven of them. And that apparently will create stereo sound. I dont know why but I doubt there are two many audophiles on this thread anyway. 
    Is that a stereo joke?
    Touché
  • Reply 60 of 121
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    gatorguy said:
    The Google Home Max has twin woofers, but I still would not describe it as offering stereo sound nor would Google. 
    Google describes using a pair of the Max speakers as providing "stereo separation", so the drawback to having a single Max would not be that it isn't technically stereo but rather that the stereo doesn't have much separation. That's the issue Apple is tackling by having the audio beam forming capability: greater separation from a compact source. I think they considered that to be more important than technically fulfilling "stereo" at the low end by having more than one woofer. 
    I don't recall reading a claim of stereo from Google themselves anywhere, but absolutely possible it was mentioned somewhere once. I don't see it in their product description but perhaps I've missed it. 
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