Sonos greets Apple HomePod's arrival with joking Spotify playlist

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Comments

  • Reply 41 of 60
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    Rayz2016 said:
    Not sure why folk are having hard time with this. Sonos needed the attention, and went about getting in a way that reads as a polite welcome. 

    Sonos doesn’t have to lose for Apple to win. Just sayin’
    I'm amazed that so many took offense to what was a mature, clever, and fun way to get some free publicity on a day all the hype was focused on their new competitor. I wish more companies did this (like Apple has done in the past, as previously noted).

    PS: I believe Sonos has stated that they want to get Siri as a digital personal assistant option for their Sonos One (and what I assume are future devices in that category).
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 42 of 60
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    And while It goes without saying that I’m a big fan of Apple, they have, in the past, on occasion, been known to behave like assholes:


    Just sayin’
    Soliwatto_cobramuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 43 of 60
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    Rayz2016 said:
    And while It goes without saying that I’m a big fan of Apple, they have, in the past, on occasion, been known to behave like assholes:


    Just sayin’
    I think that icon is hysterical, but your point is valid. If you think a friendly playlist is petty then you have to admit that this icon is even more petty by a factor of 1000.
    edited February 2018 muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 44 of 60
    bshankbshank Posts: 255member
    saltyzip said:
    BubbaTwo said:
     THomePod reviews have been impressive
    The verge only gave the homepod a score of 7.5

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 45 of 60
    Apparently the HomePod has excellent sound however it's not so great at reading a recipe for pasta. Gotta say though my KRK's are shite at cooking.
    Rayz2016
  • Reply 46 of 60
    jumejume Posts: 209member
    Sonos is scared that they will die soon.
    Unitl HomePod actually becomes "smart" Sonos and others have nothing to be scared about. HomePod at this stage is just pretty expensive and good sounded BT speaker...
    edited February 2018 Soli
  • Reply 47 of 60
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    jume said:
    Sonos is scared that they will die soon.
    Unitl HomePod actually becomes "smart" Sonos and others have nothing to be scared about. HomePod at this stage is just pretty expensive and good sounded BT speaker...
    ...wifi speaker. No bluetooth streaming, which I don't think be as good quality sound anyway even if it might be convenient for certain sources. 
    edited February 2018 muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 48 of 60
    polymniapolymnia Posts: 1,080member
    I see no reason for Sonos to be scared. They don’t compete with Amazon or Google speakers directly. They have some features that overlap, that’s all. 

    No one looking for a premium, audio-focused multiroom system is going to go with Google or Amazon. As far as HomePod, the product doesn’t yet match Sonos’ core multi-room & stereo pairing competencies. 

    I’m as big an Apple partisan as you will find this side of DED here at AppleInsider, but I don’t see a clear path to Apple destroying Sonos. There are many hurtles left for Apple to clear before relegating Sonos to irrelevance. And Sonos is moving to align itself with the Apple ecosystem. So if HomePod & AirPlay 2 take off (hehe), Sonos will play nice with them. 

    I know it’s popular on this forum to talk up epic fails. But I don’t think that is what is coming for Sonos. 
    gatorguySoli
  • Reply 49 of 60

    It's very understandable that Sonos is upset about Apple's HomePod.

    In a recent review of the HomePod by Ben Lovejoy:

    "Finally, a head-to-head with the Sonos Play 5. This is a single speaker, but much larger than the HomePod. The Sonos also costs $150 more [$499 US versus $349 US].

    Here, I was even more surprised. This was much closer. I toggled back and forth between the two speakers multiple times, before finally concluding that the two are not only in the same league, but rank really closely within it. And if I had to give the edge to one, it would actually be HomePod.

    Sorry, Sonos, but for iPhone owners at least, Apple just killed the Play 5 – not just the Play 3 Apple preferred to use as its basis for comparison."

  • Reply 50 of 60
    evilutionevilution Posts: 1,399member
    You can airplay Spotify from your iPhone to the HomePod and control it all through SIRI on the HomePod.
  • Reply 51 of 60
    dws-2dws-2 Posts: 276member
    I understand why they did this, but it's the wrong attitude. Probably more than half the people who like Sonos speakers also like the Apple ecosystem. An attack on Apple feels sort of like an attack on their choice.

    Their actual strategy with products is good, but marketing-wise, not such a good move. It's a petty move that most people don't care about; instead, they should use the extra press to explain the great features they have. At this point, the media would still cover it, and they'd actually be getting information out there that people care about.

    Edit: A Top 10 Features that Sonos has that Apple doesn't would be a great move, for example. Talk about operating with Android, using any music service, integration with Alexa, integration with Apple, existing multi-room audio and stereo. Talk about not being forced to make a choice for speakers that you might have for a long time. There's lots of good reasons to choose Sonos over Apple.
    edited February 2018
  • Reply 52 of 60
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    dws-2 said:
    I understand why they did this, but it's the wrong attitude. Probably more than half the people who like Sonos speakers also like the Apple ecosystem. An attack on Apple feels sort of like an attack on their choice.

    Their actual strategy with products is good, but marketing-wise, not such a good move. It's a petty move that most people don't care about; instead, they should use the extra press to explain the great features they have. At this point, the media would still cover it, and they'd actually be getting information out there that people care about.
    If a cordial greeting is “attitude“ and an “attack” then what song titles would you have chosen? Can you point which song titles sound attacky to you?
    edited February 2018 gatorguymuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 53 of 60
    Soli said:
    dws-2 said:
    I understand why they did this, but it's the wrong attitude. Probably more than half the people who like Sonos speakers also like the Apple ecosystem. An attack on Apple feels sort of like an attack on their choice.

    Their actual strategy with products is good, but marketing-wise, not such a good move. It's a petty move that most people don't care about; instead, they should use the extra press to explain the great features they have. At this point, the media would still cover it, and they'd actually be getting information out there that people care about.
    If a cordial greeting is “attitude“ and an “attack” then what song titles would you have chosen? Can you point which song titles sound attacky to you?
    The greeting is OK, nothing really nasty about it.

    The panic is in their 2 for 1 "sales". Competing in that way with someone who doesn't need to profit as much as you do is really not a good way at all.

     They do have something to fear as this product is square in the middle of their space and will eat up a lot of their profits. Les profits means the rest of their range must make more profit to compensate... Well, that's not a given at all. This also cuts in the R&D they can put in competing products, the same issue Android OEM's trying to go upmarket are doing.
  • Reply 54 of 60
    I used to really like Sonos. I invested heavily in the company. But recent updates to the app have made the user experience unbearable. I'll likely switch when a decent alternative arrives, 
  • Reply 55 of 60
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    foggyhill said:
    Soli said:
    dws-2 said:
    I understand why they did this, but it's the wrong attitude. Probably more than half the people who like Sonos speakers also like the Apple ecosystem. An attack on Apple feels sort of like an attack on their choice.

    Their actual strategy with products is good, but marketing-wise, not such a good move. It's a petty move that most people don't care about; instead, they should use the extra press to explain the great features they have. At this point, the media would still cover it, and they'd actually be getting information out there that people care about.
    If a cordial greeting is “attitude“ and an “attack” then what song titles would you have chosen? Can you point which song titles sound attacky to you?
    The greeting is OK, nothing really nasty about it.

    The panic is in their 2 for 1 "sales". Competing in that way with someone who doesn't need to profit as much as you do is really not a good way at all.

     They do have something to fear as this product is square in the middle of their space and will eat up a lot of their profits. Les profits means the rest of their range must make more profit to compensate... Well, that's not a given at all. This also cuts in the R&D they can put in competing products, the same issue Android OEM's trying to go upmarket are doing.
    They may be panicking, but it's not evident in this cordial and funny playlist to get from free press from the HomePod launch, and it's not evident in their Sonos One deal. Note you have to buy 2 Sonos Ones to get the $50 off. Does $25 off a $200 item when you buy 2 sound like panic, to you? It doesn't to me, just as Apple lowering the price of iPods to match MS' Zune just before the Zune launch didn't sound like panic, to me.

    They'd be fools not to take seriously any contender to the market with a product as good as the HomePod, Being a product from Apple means they definitely shouldn't right it off. This playlist and comments from their CEO(?) that posted today give me a lot of respect for the company (which is a company which I've never once bought a product from, would be more open to consider because of how mature, courteous, and level-headed they've acted). We don't see that often and I wish we saw more of it.
    edited February 2018 gatorguymuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 56 of 60
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    Soli said:
    foggyhill said:
    Soli said:
    dws-2 said:
    I understand why they did this, but it's the wrong attitude. Probably more than half the people who like Sonos speakers also like the Apple ecosystem. An attack on Apple feels sort of like an attack on their choice.

    Their actual strategy with products is good, but marketing-wise, not such a good move. It's a petty move that most people don't care about; instead, they should use the extra press to explain the great features they have. At this point, the media would still cover it, and they'd actually be getting information out there that people care about.
    If a cordial greeting is “attitude“ and an “attack” then what song titles would you have chosen? Can you point which song titles sound attacky to you?
    The greeting is OK, nothing really nasty about it.

    The panic is in their 2 for 1 "sales". Competing in that way with someone who doesn't need to profit as much as you do is really not a good way at all.

     They do have something to fear as this product is square in the middle of their space and will eat up a lot of their profits. Les profits means the rest of their range must make more profit to compensate... Well, that's not a given at all. This also cuts in the R&D they can put in competing products, the same issue Android OEM's trying to go upmarket are doing.
    They may be panicking, but it's not evident in this cordial and funny playlist to get from free press from the HomePod launch, and it's not evident in their Sonos One deal. Note you have to buy 2 Sonos Ones to get the $50 off. Does $25 off a $200 item when you buy 2 sound like panic, to you? It doesn't to me, just as Apple lowering the price of iPods to match MS' Zune just before the Zune launch didn't sound like panic, to me.

    They'd be fools not to take seriously any contender to the market with a product as good as the HomePod, Being a product from Apple means they definitely shouldn't right it off. This playlist and comments from their CEO(?) that posted today give me a lot of respect for the company (which is a company which I've never once bought a product from, would be more open to consider because of how mature, courteous, and level-headed they've acted). We don't see that often and I wish we saw more of it.
    That's why I said the ribbing is AOK, and using one of the few advantages they got to make a point.

    But, it will undoubtedly hurt and hurt bad cause they can't really compete on the processing side (computaional audio, same thing as computational photography) and it will only get worse with time as others like Samsung, yes Samsung, will also enter square into their market.

    Apple's clients are smack dab in the middle of Sono's demos and Sonos has been struggling on the software / integration side for quite a while.

    For a little while, their sales will actually go up as Apple by expanding the overall market will rise all boats (just like when they went into the smart phone market and Blackberry had it's best years in Sales just before their sales plummetted).
    edited February 2018
  • Reply 57 of 60
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    foggyhill said:
    But, it will undoubtedly hurt and hurt bad cause they can't really compete on the processing side (computaional audio, same thing as computational photography) and it will only get worse with time as others like Samsung, yes Samsung, will also enter square into their market.

    Apple's clients are smack dab in the middle of Sono's demos and Sonos has been struggling on the software / integration side for quite a while.

    For a little while, their sales will actually go up as Apple by expanding the overall market will rise all boats (just like when they went into the smart phone market and Blackberry had it's best years in Sales just before their sales plummetted).
    This isn't the iPhone v Blackberry. The HomePod is a single speaker at a certain price point and Sonos only has a single product that even has any smart speaker functionality. Even if Apple released a HomePod firmware update that made it as good or better than Alexa and Google Now it would still barely interconnect with what Sonos and many other speaker companies offer. Sonos biggest competitors have been and still remain to be Bose and others, not Apple.
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 58 of 60
    lmaclmac Posts: 206member
    Hey, it’s the new Apple HiFi.
  • Reply 59 of 60
    BubbaTwo said:
    Sonos is scared that they will die soon.
    They are probably more scared about Amazon and Google than the HomePod.  THomePod reviews have been impressive, however, Google and Amazon have bundled their VA with other speakers not to mention Spotify compatibility.  I think the HomePod will succeed, as history has shown their enough loyal Apple customers.

    Sonos HomePod Playlist is clever!
    I don’t get it...
    Sonos smart speakers can be either a Sonos Google Home smart speaker or a Sonos Amazon Alexa smart speaker (or both, I suppose).
    But to say that Sonos is “afraid” of what powers it is a bit silly, isn’t it?? Lol, a bit like saying Ford is afraid of gasoline or something! It comes off as a pretty wacky sentiment.
  • Reply 60 of 60
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    lmac said:
    Hey, it’s the new Apple HiFi.
    That's not at all accurate. The iPod Hi-Fi was an accessory for the iPod. The HomePod, while still limited, is it's own product category and designed to be used independently with Siri as the primary UI (despite what some Apple fanatics trying to say about Siri being an unimportant, secondary feature, and that using as a wireless speaker controlled by your iPhone is the primary utility).

    It's either between the original iPhone or the PowerMac G4 Cube. One the one end of the spectrum it could be like the iPhone, which was missing functionality that more mature smartphones had. Hell, the iPhone was even missing some aspects that many dumb phones had had for years. That isn't to say that this product won't or can't fail, but that depends on how Apple will shore up Siri to make it a good digital personal assistant with access to a 3rd-party App Store.

    The difference between the iPhone and the HomePod is that the iPhone's foundation was groundbreaking and solid before it was released, which can't be said for the HomePod because adding better speakers than the Amazon Echo isn't a foundation, there's nothing stopping any other vendor from offering better speakers in a digital personal assistant (which the Google Home Max and a pair of Sonos Ones may already offer, depending the review), and there are plenty of speakers that connect wireless and wired to every digital personal assistant (even Siri) for better sound. For that reason, it could be more like the PowerMac G4 Cube, but that would mean that sales will plummet post initial hype and Apple will be forced to meet market demands with a different product.

    My guess is that it's somewhere in the middle with Siri getting a rapid expansion (at least, I hope, but Apple had a huge head start and is oddly behind their competitors), and we'll see their product category get different priced tiers. I'd like to see substantially smaller and cheaper devices once Siri improves to the point of being Alexa from 3 years ago, and I'd like to see a larger, more expensive item that people will actually use as a replacements for their HEC speaker system.
    edited February 2018 muthuk_vanalingam
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