Featuring a blind listening test. But wait, there’s less! https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-buy-an-apple-homepod/?utm_term=.cda4db6175c0 How many different Siri’s are there now...5? iOS Siri..Apple TV Siri...HomePod Siri...MacOS Siri...AppleWatch Siri. Funny that some of them don’t even know each other, even though they live in the same house.
I know...that isn’t even available until AirPlay 2 is released later this year, and then you need to spend another $350.
One of the few articles that mention privacy. They don’t really mention the idea that voice is not like FaceID or TouchID at this point. Unless I lived alone and never had guests, I would and have turned off these features. I don’t want my messages or emails accessible by anyone in the room until voice has the same security as at least TouchID. Of course I want Siri to access more features on my watch and phone because they are authenticated and used only when I have them on me. It is strange that the Mac doesn’t work with Homekit, but that is probably for a thread about Macs rather than the HomePod. Also, two Sonos is not a great recommendation for the 36 million Apple Music subscribers, Apple Podcast users, the people that don’t want two speakers in the room ( like in a kitchen or another small space) or those that want access to more than one sides of the speaker for feeding two or more spaces. ( all of these describe my use case).
Sonos founder and former CEO reviews Apple's HomePod Some updates: I've gotten pretty used to the touchscreen tap controls– makes it pretty simple to quickly pause a song for a phone call or skip to another track. I would like to get some sort of stand for it. Here's to hoping for decent 3rd party support. Oh, and Deep Purple's Machine Head sounds pretty friggin' amazing on this thing.
More reviews: Exhaustive acoustical analysis demonstrates HomePod is '100 percent an audiophile-grade speaker' Apple HomePod - The Audiophile Perspective + Measurements! • r/audiophile
The sound quality reviews, both subjective and objective, are looking very positive. I see the HomePod replacing Bluetooth speakers in a home setting (what a large number use today) and perhaps introducing a new generation to good sound and accurate reproduction.
And the other link provided is about the same guy as well. We get it. After an exhaustive and extended period of 6 hours, reddit user WinterCharm has deemed the HomePod “a 100% audiophile-grade speaker”. He came to this stunning conclusion by comparing it to a KEF X300A, using a $75 USB microphone, and freeware Room EQ Wizard.
Trolling? Thats the typical response to anyone discussing the downsides of any Apple product...and I have many. Why would I spend $350 on a product that I don’t feel is release ready? Is Siri improved? No, it’s actually worse....it can’t even check your calendar. It can’t even create more than one timer. You have to disable basic functionality, or anyone can send text messages under your name. It doesn’t recognize a voice...like many other Apple products. No stereo. No support for other streaming services unless you use AirPlay. They really should have called it the Apple Music Speaker, because that’s what it is. iTunes is cross platform. Apple Music is cross platform. AirBuds are cross platform. But, this speaker...nope. Makes perfect sense.
It was release ready for folks into the Apple Music universe. Many of these folks want something more music centric. This is that over the competitors Now as a home assistant it’s not fully ready but will get better as updates roll out. But that’s not what the initial buyer of this expects.
That’s me! I have no interest in a personal assistant, and for where it is going, I don’t need stereo. My only complaint so far is that it’s not portable, I took it to my office today and had to do a factory reset to reconnect it on the office Wi-Fi. No5 a big deal, just wish there was an easier way. I don’t consider Jon’s posts trolling, he’s always got positive input when he sees it and is a valued member. The HomePods not for him at this point in development, but I doubt he would completely dismiss it if the features he wants are added later. There are a few other members whose posts in this thread would constitute trolling in my book. They know who they are.
I appreciate that. I was the initial buyer of this product too. I said as much earlier in this thread (see post #36). I expected more on the home assistant front. I was literally waiting for this to come out to buy it for my wife. We are in the Apple Music universe. We appreciate good sounding stuff. We don’t appreciate it when things are dumbed down...particularly when the price asked is a premium. So many things make no sense. I can accept a call on my iPad but not my HomePod? There just seems to be so many things lacking in continuity and common sense. And at this point, I Siriously have my doubts whether the home assistant functionality will get any better. (see what I did there? )
Another article about the audio: Apple’s Biggest Claim About HomePod Is Legit, According To Our Acoustics Tests
Very interesting. "As it plays music in a room, the HomePod records the behavior of the sound waves emitted using an array of six microphones situated along the inside wall of the device. This information is fed into the algorithms, which then adjust the output of the speakers to deliver a tailor-fit and consistent sound throughout the room" That must have taken some work.
I am in the Apple ecosystem but have no plans to purchase an HP. Simple reason is that I’ve made a good sized investment in Sonos, primarily the Play 1, that gives me access to Apple Music and others in rooms where we previously had no music access. My biggest concern is that Apple will someday pull the service from Sonos, which would be a mistake IMO.
That comparison to Volkswagen was of the tinfoil hat variety, but interesting review, nonetheless. Also, I would just take the HomePod back to Apple for a refund rather than selling it at this point. (If I was the tin foil hat type, I might be inclined to believe the whole post was leading up to a sponsored ad for the resell...)
I like that he at least gave an alternative (Klipsch), at a similar price point. But I just think it's weird to compare it to a $100K system. That's like reviewing a BMW 330i (many professional auto reviewers agree it's a great driver's car), and comparing it to a McLaren P1, and finding the BMW embarrassingly bad at so many things the McLaren nails.