“Having two audiophile friends who spend truly terrifying sums of money on their hifi systems, I’ve always said that I’m glad my ears aren’t good enough to appreciate that kind of audio kit,” Ben Lovejoy writes for 9to5Mac. “However, while I wouldn’t describe myself as an audiophile, my ears do go up to the level of B&O, B&W and Naim’s lower-end speakers. Which means that I was pretty ‘meh’ about the HomePod announcement.”
“I’m sure Apple is right that it offers better audio than other smart speakers, but that’s not really saying much,” Lovejoy writes. “My view was that it wasn’t going to compete with my Sonos Play 5, let alone my more expensive systems, so I was ready to pass.”
Lovejoy writes, “However, three things conspired to persuade me to at least give it a shot.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: So, will you be buying a HomePod? Take our latest poll and/or let us know below.
Siri sucks. Siri is also in all of our pockets in an iPhone. Therefore, a speaker with the main feature as having Siri inside is pretty much worthless.
I don’t think this articles main point was the Siri feature as much as it serves as an Apple HomeKit hub. Now that I’m looking into wifi capable switches compatible with HomeKit, I’m learning you need a hub for many of these products to help set up turn on/off scheduling, etc.
Is it HomePod or HomeMade?
No. I dont talk to inanimate objects especially ones that cannot listen well. Pushing a button on my phones easy and not frustrating. And my inwall speakers are better than any apple speaker would be.
Dude, you have no integrity, no backbone.
Yes, I will be buying it.
I guess if you listen to low quality mono Apple Music streaming files of Chance the Rapper or Taylor Swift on a tiny speaker that is priced like an entry level 4KTV you will buy just about anything.
Well, if that’s what people are listening to, why pay more than 20 bucks for a speaker?…
Well I had planned on buying several until I found out multiroom and stereo isn’t supported. I *might* buy one now but their delay on these features is seriously making me consider waiting until perhaps HomePod version 2 comes out. Sounds like there are still some serious software issues needing worked out.
Features touted as “later this year” for a product that was announced last June doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
Boy you are fake news.
This is from apple web page.
Create stereo sound with a second HomePod.
Put another HomePod in the same room and they automatically detect and balance each other. With advanced beamforming capabilities, a HomePod pair is able to create a wider, more immersive soundstage than a traditional stereo pair.
And this,
AirPlay 2. Add HomePod to more rooms.
When you add HomePod to more than one room, the speakers communicate with each other through AirPlay 2. Play the same music everywhere or play different songs in different rooms. You can also control any other AirPlay 2–compatible speakers.
Get your facts straight your missing out,
If its not multiuser/voice capable i wont buy…
And Apple’s documentation is not clear about this… yet it is a very critical capabilty.
If there no multiuser support… is it then only meant for homes with a single occupant?
Apple should clarify this!
The extended rollout delay and feature “trimming” should be evidence enough that HomePod is going to be one of those rare Apple products with serious issues. Anyone who buys V1.0 is in for a treat…