vmarks

appleric said:

"The HomePod is not a Halo product. The iPod was a Halo product. The iPhone is a Halo product. If the HomePod were a Halo product, it would be one you could purchase stand-alone and use out of the box without anything else. And that's sort of true, but with a lot of caveats." . . True, but the iPod WAS not a Halo product… it required FireWire, was a Mac only device that required iTunes. When they opened it up to Windows uses buy replacing the FireWire with a USB connection, THEN it had a larger audience, yet still required iTunes.

cgWerks said:

I have to disagree with Victor about the only two groups of Mac users being iOS developers and old-Mac-people who won't adapt their workflows to iOS. My hunch is that this is what possibly too many at Apple also believe, but it's isn't accurate. And, I agree that maybe Apple's long-term strategy is to push people over (so they can ditch the Mac).

The problem is that there are a lot of Mac users who are creatives, or just people with complex workflows who went to the Mac due to productivity gains. iOS is convenient and sometimes superior, but most of the time, it is a compromise (portability for loss of productivity).

iOS simply isn't up to the task (nor is it designed to be). Sure, if Apple keeps adding Files type stuff into iOS it helps, but the UI itself (which is a gain for some things) that is the problem. Could they write new UI aspects that would transform an iPad into a Mac like device when keyboard/trackpad are attached? Sure. But, why do that? Each form factor has it's physical advantages, and the OSs have their functionality and workflow advantages. Why is Apple so determined (it seems) to invent the El Camino? Build trucks AND cars, just like nearly every automotive company does.

While I'm sure it is better now (split screen, more RAM, Files, etc.), I did actually use an iPad for 2-3 years as my sole mobile environment. I wasn't doing the same kind of work I do now, but even so, I often felt held back and slowed down. With what I do today, not only would it slow me down, but I'm not even sure if it is possible. My son (an iOS user since birth) is saving up for a Mac because he wants to produce YouTube videos and that kind of stuff on his own. He's tried various editors on his iPad, but even he realizes it isn't going to cut it (even though it is his more native environment).

 

ihatescreennames said:

AppleInsider said:

Missing December allowed products by Amazon and Google to gain a critical foothold in the smartspeaker market. Apple is prioritizing audio quality over voice functions though, which could help justify the HomePod's $349 pricetag.

I mentioned this in another thread, sorry for the repeat.

I seem to remember when HomePod was first announced there was talk of Siri having a limited functionality on it, like it would only support some music and HomeKit commands.  But on apple.com it says this on the HomePod page:

”Because it has Siri, HomePod can hear and answer questions in the most popular categories. Timers. Clocks. Measurements. Translations. News. Sports. Weather. Traffic. And general knowledge. It’s great at the things you want to know, and do, in your home.”

That doesn’t seem as limited as we were led to believe. Or am I missing something? 

(I suppose the limitations could be in the form of no personal stuff, like setting reminders and no functions it won’t support like making phone calls)

TomE said:

allegedly = Hypothetically Speaking