Consumer Reports' dismissal of HomePod a familiar tale to Apple fans [u]

12346»

Comments

  • Reply 101 of 109
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    nht said:
    gatorguy said:
    Quite impressed that she's personally involved herself with this thread. That's the way misunderstanding and disagreement should be addressed. My opinion of Consumer Reports just took two steps forward. 
    Not really impressed.  They publicly called AI out for not attempting to contact them and unless they print a correction they are calling Mike a liar about contacting them.

    Her presence here indicates that they have read that Mike tried to email them but the rebuttal stands as it is.  And it's not like she's going to answer anything substantive anyway...it's deflection and damage control.

    Want to impress?  Change the rebuttal to indicate that AI did reach out.  Otherwise it's just BS.

    That AI even appears on their radar makes this a Nelson HA HA moment for CR and a big win for AI.
    I think Mike is more than capable of correcting the record himself if it needs it. I've not seen any tendency from him to shy away from a fight nor correct the record as needed. For his part he says "He's pleased". No reason for you not to be either. 
  • Reply 102 of 109
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    gatorguy said:
    nht said:
    gatorguy said:
    Quite impressed that she's personally involved herself with this thread. That's the way misunderstanding and disagreement should be addressed. My opinion of Consumer Reports just took two steps forward. 
    Not really impressed.  They publicly called AI out for not attempting to contact them and unless they print a correction they are calling Mike a liar about contacting them.

    Her presence here indicates that they have read that Mike tried to email them but the rebuttal stands as it is.  And it's not like she's going to answer anything substantive anyway...it's deflection and damage control.

    Want to impress?  Change the rebuttal to indicate that AI did reach out.  Otherwise it's just BS.

    That AI even appears on their radar makes this a Nelson HA HA moment for CR and a big win for AI.
    I think Mike is more than capable of correcting the record himself if it needs it. I've not seen any tendency from him to shy away from a fight nor correct the record as needed. For his part he says "He's pleased". No reason for you not to be either. 
    A bit of clarification.

    I'm pleased they reached out, and we're talking. I will happily report what they say about the questions we've asked -- but as of yet, they haven't answered any of the first three questions I've posed to them as a response to their rebuttal. Those questions specifically address the thought process behind discussing the sound quality of the HomePod in comparison to other devices just hours after they got it instead of the normal few weeks to a month, how the thoughts were delivered, and the difference in what Apple says about the second round of Consumer Reports testing of the MacBook Pro battery versus what they say about it.

    We're working on a schedule now, for a face-to-face meeting that should happen in the next few weeks. We'll either update here, or post a new article about the questions, or both.
    edited February 2018 roundaboutnowicoco3
  • Reply 103 of 109
    Seriously sad how CR feels compelled to focus on the clickbait. Was a time when they were bulletproof trustworthy.
  • Reply 104 of 109
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    Manqueman said:
    Seriously sad how CR feels compelled to focus on the clickbait. Was a time when they were bulletproof trustworthy.
    I'm not sure I'd describe them as not being trustworthy. For me, that seems to imply an intent to deceive. It seems more like they're caught up in the unfortunate result of the internet to get your data out there as fast as possible, which can lead to a certain level of sloppiness. Based on the review it doesn't seem like they were given any access by Apple before the launch and then spent very little time testing and comparing before posting their review.

    At the other end of the spectrum is AnandTech that still hasn't come out with their in-depth review of the iPhone X or A11 Bionic. It's been 104 days and 146 days, respectively.

    edit: Well, shit! Maybe they stopped doing them.


    edit2: On 07 Nov 2017, Ryan Smith, who tests and reviews iPhones (possibly more ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) said they're going to review both the iPhone 8 series and X.


    I know they like their in-depth reviews but I feel like it would behoove them to do smaller releases of the different parts to drive up readership and then when it's complete put it all together into one of their single, large reviews.
    edited February 2018
  • Reply 105 of 109
    foggyhill said:
    fredtwd said:
    I will not comment on CR either way; however, even though I have been a long time Apple fanboy, I have to agree with CRs assessment about the sound quality of the HomePod.  As always, I pre-oreder the new Apple product and was excited to pick it up on Friday.  I got home and set it up and tried to convince myself that it sounded as good as all the reviews said it sounded.  After a couple of days I figured that, perhaps, I got a bum speaker.  I went out a bought a second HomePod and it sounded exactly the same.

    I totally agree with: "the midrange tones were somewhat hazy, meaning that some of the nuance in vocals, guitars, and horns was lost ... Treble sounds, like cymbals, were underemphasized.".  I was also some disappointed with  how loud they would go.

    I'm clearly in the minority.  As a long-time Apple fan, it's disappointing.  I will live with the HomePod a few more days; however, I'm pretty sure I will be returning them this weekend.

    right... I have two and I have no such thing. Return it. Go ahead.
    Foggy, chill, it's only a speaker.  Sorry if I offended you. They just don't sound that amazing to me, we are all different.
  • Reply 106 of 109
    icoco3icoco3 Posts: 1,474member
    I found their reviews for cars to be utterly useless decades ago when I was buying my first car and haven’t bothered with them ever since.
    Suzuki Samurai fake tests and reviews from the 80's.  They ruined their reputation at that point and have I have not looked at them since.  Those kind of things are hard to overcome.
  • Reply 107 of 109
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    The AI visit to Consumer Reports has happened. More later this afternoon and over the weekend.
    roundaboutnow
  • Reply 108 of 109
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    The AI visit to Consumer Reports has happened. More later this afternoon and over the weekend.
    Thanks for the update Mike. I'm sure you'll have an interesting and insightful article for follow-up.
  • Reply 109 of 109
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    gatorguy said:
    The AI visit to Consumer Reports has happened. More later this afternoon and over the weekend.
    Thanks for the update Mike. I'm sure you'll have an interesting and insightful article for follow-up.
    There's a lot to unpack here, so we're putting off the first piece until Monday.
Sign In or Register to comment.