robbyx
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Microsoft's Edge browser comes to Apple's iPad in beta release
Because you use Windows and it will no doubt integrate with Edge on your PC. This isn’t meant for Mac users.sdw2001 said:Why in god’s name would I install this?
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Analyst estimates average lifespan for all Apple devices at over four years
I replace my primary work Mac every 5 years. I have two minis that are about 10 years old and going strong. Both have upgraded RAM and SSDs. One is my home media server and the other is my work FileMaker Pro test server. Upgrading to an SSD makes a world of difference. I’ve upgraded a few friends’ old MacBook pros to SSDs and performance improvements are impressive.
When it comes to my iPhone, I seem to upgrade every three years. I went from the original to the 4 to the 5s to the 7 plus.
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Smart speaker satisfaction at 89 percent, HomePod adoption hits 3 percent, survey finds
AppleInsider said:If and when voice controlled hardware takes over, it will represent a paradigm shift from current UI applications dominated by touchscreens.
Apple is well on its way to lead such a revolution with HomePod. The smart speaker boasts an array of beamforming microphones and adaptive audio technology to better detect and respond to user voice commands, while onboard components offer access to Apple's various connected platforms like iCloud, Apple Music and HomeKit. As AppleInsider noted in its review, all that is missing is a smarter Siri.
Thats all? Should be easy to make Siri smarter! I mean, look at how much she’s advanced compared to other voice assistants since she was released...
Apple isn’t close to leading anything when it comes to voice despite what puff pieces like this one say. They are woefully behind. Amazon, Google and others are far more likely to upgrade their hardware to match or exceed HomePod than Apple is to suddenly make Siri smarter.
Voice UI is definitely the future, but Apple has a long way to go. The situation isn’t as dire as when Microsoft largely ignored mobile and completely missed the leap to smartphones and touch screens, but it’s similar. Microsoft had a mobile offering, but it was weak and uninspired and then along came the iPhone and blew everything out of the water. Unless Apple can radically and rapidly improve Siri, Google and/or Amazon will likely own the voice space, not Apple.
HomePod makes me believe that Apple is capable of engineering a great little speaker, and that is all. Nothing about Siri on HomePod suggests that Apple is anywhere close to having a market leading voice assistant. Apple had a giant head start in the voice assistant space and completely squandered its lead.
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Facebook rumored to take on Apple HomePod with first two smartspeakers
It's not a fad. It's the early days of a new user interface. No different from when the mouse and GUI came along. Plenty of people dismissed those as well. The problem with "smart" speakers is that they aren't smart. Yet. A decade from now, when these "assistants" understand nuance and context and can string together multiple queries easily, they will be the primary manner in which we interact with computers for everyday tasks.dysamoria said:
What is it with this speaker fad?fallenjt said:Please, FB, stay with what you're good at: Social Networking. Your mobile phone was a flop. No more hardware, please! -
Sonos fires back at Apple's HomePod by offering a pair of One speakers for $349
I don’t think you can compare the two. Apple did build a better watch. But HomePod doesn’t offer anything truly better than other products. And it’s limited in what services it supports. Plus it’s not a solution for home theater or people who want to buy true high end speakers for the home. Maybe one day Apple will offer a range of home audio products like Sonos does, but until then HomePod is just another Wi-Fi speaker.tmay said:
The Watch Industry would disagree with you. They thought that they didn't need to worry either.robbyx said:
Sonos has nothing to worry about. Apple doesn’t offer a range of speakers like Sonos. Everyone is comparing the entry level Sonos offerings to HomePod, but Sonos offers far better speakers than the Sonos One or Play:1. I guarantee the HomePod doesn’t come close to a Play:5, much less two Play:5 speakers linked together, a feature Apple promised and delayed.StrangeDays said:somebody’s worried about being fitbitted...
the Sonos One is a single-channel speaker. funny nobody had panic attacks about it being mono...yet now people are upset at the multi-channel HP and its seven drivers!
Of course none of these speakers will satisfy a true “audiophile” (I’m not talking about the sudden crop of overnight “audiophiles” eagerly awaiting HomePod as if no other good speaker exists). Thankfully Sonos has true audiophiles covered with the Connect and Connect:Amp options. One connects to your existing home stereo systems to play music through legitimate high end speakers. The other provides an amp so no home stereo system is necessary.
Apple can’t compete with Sonos. They simply don’t offer what Sonos does, no matter how good HomePod sounds. Discounting and bundling the Sonos One is a smart move. It steals a bit of Apple’s thunder (not that there’s much thunder around HomePod’s delayed and feature incomplete release), plus highlights just how weak Apple’s offering is compared to Sonos.
Let’s see, I can get one speaker with a half-baked voice assistant that supports a single music service...or two speakers that can link to create true stereo output, that work with numerous music services (including the only one supported by HomePod), and allow me to use a variety of voice assistants. Seems like a no brainer to me.